The Board of Directors of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association elected officers at a meeting in Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

Leading the Association as president will be Tim Burenga, vice president of sales and purchasing at Worksaver, Inc., in Litchfield, Ill. The company manufactures more than 500 types of attachments for tractors, skid steers, and mini-skid steers. Worksaver is a founding member of the Association, and Burenga is the fourth executive from the company to be elected president.

The board elected Burenga to a one-year term beginning immediately. He succeeds Matt Westendorf of Westendorf Manufacturing in Onawa, Iowa. Serving with Burenga will be:

  • First Vice President Ben Hellbusch, vice president of sales and marketing at Duo Lift Manufacturing Co. and general manager at Busch Equipment Co., both in Columbus, Neb.
  • Second Vice President Randy Reinke, CEO of Custom Products of Litchfield, Inc., in Litchfield, Minn.
  • Treasurer Paul Jeffrey, general manager at MacDon in Kansas City, Mo.
  • Secretary Craig Harthoorn, president of H&S Manufacturing Co. in Marshfield, Wis.

The officers will lead a 16-person Board of Directors. The Association serves as an advocate and resource for about 650 businesses in the farm implement industry in the United States and Canada. Member companies represent each link in the farm equipment supply chain. Manufacturers, the core group of members, design and produce equipment to complement multi-national tractor lines.

“Our members come from a diverse group of companies that specialize in solving problems that farmers and ranchers encounter every day,” Burenga said. “I’ve had the privilege of knowing the members of our Association since I was 8-years-old. That’s when my father, Tom Burenga, was elected to the board. I was part of a generation of sons and daughters of board members who became childhood friends and are now leaders in their families’ businesses. Our companies are built on designing innovative products that improve farm operations, and we are made better by the resources and opportunities available to us through the Association.”

Harthoorn, the newest member of this leadership team, has been in the agriculture industry for more than 35 years and president of H&S since 2017. He described himself as “humbled” to be elected as an officer and “proud to be part of this strong and vibrant Association.”