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Meet the Staff

The staff of GRK Fasteners are proud of the company's committment to innovation, quality and exceptional personalized customer service.

Meet a few of the GRK Staff!

Dr. Mirco Walther, D.B.A.
Co-Owner and President
Mirco grew up in Germany and Canada and is fluent in both German and English. He has been with GRK since its inception in 1990 and has held various positions in that time.

Uli Walther
Co-Owner and Executive Chairman
Uli is from Germany and is fluent in both English and German. He has an extensive background in the fastener industry in Europe and North America. Uli has held various senior management titles since GRK was founded in 1990.

Gerda Walther
Co-Owner and Chief Financial Officer
Gerda is from Germany and she speaks both English and German. Gerda serves as both the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer since GRK's founding in 1990.

Eva Puderbach
CAO and Human Resources
Eva is from Germany, and is fluent in both English and German. She manages a variety of responsibilities and tasks including payroll, human resources and accounting. She has been with GRK since August, 1997.

Les Mayes
Director, Information Technology
Les is one of the two 'computer people' at GRK. His typical day includes: meetings, troubleshooting problems, designing/developing new softare, installing/testing new equipment and promoting GRK Fasteners through various means. Les has worked for GRK Fasteners for many years and full-time since 2002.

Jon L. Hanson, BAS.ABM
National Sales and Marketing Manager
Jon is originally from Iowa. He travels extensively overseeing the territory sales managers promoting GRK products throughout the U.S.A and Canada. He is also in charge of marketing, including the budgeting and scheduling of advertisements. Jon has worked for GRK since 2003.

Chris Johnson
Sales and Marketing Manager
for Eastern USA and Canada
Chris has an extensive management background and has worked in several Canadian provinces. In September of 2007, GRK hired Chris as its Sales & Marketing Manager for Eastern Canada and the Eastern USA.

Patricia Cenedese
Office Manager
Patricia handles responsibilities and duties ranging from customs, imports, exports, duty, inventory and accounting. She has been with GRK since February, 1998.

Swen Ruhmann
Inventory and Quality Control Manager
Swen is from Germany and is fluent in both English and German. He is responsible for quality control, inventory procurement and the plant's major electrical and mechanical systems. Swen has been with GRK Fasteners since 2002.

Arlene
Inside Sales Supervisor
Arlene has been with GRK for several years. Whether visiting our office or calling in, Arlene is generally your first contact with GRK. She is responsible for all aspects of customer service, as well as the procurement and upkeep of office supplies.

Hedi
Customer Service / Inside Sales
Originally from Austria, Hedi is fluent in both English and German. She is your GRK contact for web order training. Hedi has been with GRK since August 2002.

Kristian
Customer Service / Inside Sales
Kristian started in the GRK warehouse in November, 2005 transferring to inside sales in 2006.

Joyce
Customer Service / Inside Sales
Joyce started at GRK in May 2006, and is currently being trained to assist in various departments.

Angie
Trade Show Coordinator,
Administrative Assistant
Angie coordinates GRK's trade show activities, works in inside marketing, and provides administrative support to Uli, Mirco and Jon. She has been with GRK since April, 1996.

Adriana
Inside Marketing
Adriana maintains our GRK catalog and keeps our customers up to date with the changes. She works with Jon and our Salesmen to provide them with current information. Adriana is fluent in both English and Italian. She has been working part-time at GRK since October, 2002.

Noreen
Inside Marketing
Noreen is expanding the Retail Locator within our GRK website. She talks to our retailers and helps them register on our website and place their business information and logo. Noreen has been with GRK since January, 2006.

Lisa
Assistant, Human Resources
Lisa is a graduate of Confederation College in Thunder Bay and has been a part of the GRK accounting department since 2005. In January, 2008 Lisa joined the Human Resources department while continuing to work with accounting.

Silvia
Office Assistant
Silvia assists in all daily accounting work and a variety of tasks. She is conversant in French. Silvia has been working part-time at GRK since October, 2001.

Krystyna
Office Assistant
Krystyna works with our inside marketing database, maintains GRK files and collates our catalog. She speaks both English and Polish. Krystyna has been working part-time at GRK since August, 2004.

Fred
Assistant, Inventory and Quality Control
Fred is GRK’s longest serving employee, starting his relationship with the company in 1994. After being a reliable part of the warehouse staff for many years, in 2007 Fred was promoted to be GRK’s Assistant Inventory & Quality Controller.

Lois
Assistant, Information Technology
Lois joined GRK in October of 2004 and works with GRK's computer systems and software as well as the web site.

Warehouse Staff at GRK Fasteners
Norm Schottler, Warehouse Manager, February 1999
Gary, February 1999
Tim, February 1999
Roddy, May 2000
Cam, July 2000
Kerry, September 2001
Eric, November 2001
Greg, January 2002
Ernst, October 2002
Ryan, January 2005
Scott, April 2005
Rodney, September 2005
Frank, November 2005
Allan, January 2006
David, January 2006
Randy, January 2006