James R. Schroeder
Vice President, Engineering
James R Schroeder is vice president of engineering at Hormel Foods. In his position, he oversees all aspects of engineering for the company, including design, construction and commissioning of plant facilities and equipment, plant engineering and maintenance as well as environmental engineering.
Schroeder started his career with Hormel Foods in 1984 at the Fremont (Neb.) Plant where he held a number of supervisory positions. In 1990, he became plant engineer at the Beloit (Wis.) Plant and in 1994 assumed the role as manager of plant engineering at the Austin (Minn.) Plant. In 1998, he was promoted to special assignments engineer and then to manager of corporate engineering projects at the corporate office in Austin, Minn. He was named manager of projects and plant engineering at the corporate office in 1999.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial and management systems engineering from the University of Nebraska. Schroeder is a graduate of several executive education programs, including the Engineering Management Program at the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University and the Minnesota Management Institute at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. In addition, he has earned several professional certifications from the Association for Facilities Engineering and the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals.
Within the Austin, Minn., community, Schroeder is an active member and the past president of The Church Council at St. Olaf Lutheran Church. He also serves as a member of the Board of Commissioners for Austin Utilities.