Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc., has named James Shurts as the new Great Plains Ag Division President and Tony Wisker as the new Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Shurts and Wisker will work together to further strategic planning, implementation of new product launches, and enhance customer and dealer support within the Ag Division.
Shurts joined Great Plains Mfg. in 2019 as a Product Manager of the Ag Division and was promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing in 2021. Prior to his time at Great Plains, his experiences include operations management, product and business development, sales and marketing oversight, and dealer development for other ag equipment manufacturers. Shurts received an Engineering degree from Kansas State University and MBA from Friends University. Shurts is certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt, a Lean and Kaizen Facilitator, and remains active on his family’s farm in North Central Kansas.
Replacing Shurts as Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Wisker will have combined responsibility for the Ag Divisions’ Sales, Marketing, and Training departments. Wisker joined Great Plains in 2018 as a Regional Sales Manager, where he played a critical role in developing the Great Plains Sales team. Wisker grew up around a family farm in Central Indiana before pursuing a B.S. degree in Agricultural Engineering from Purdue University, and an MBA from DePaul University in Chicago. He has spent all of his career in the agricultural industry with varying roles from engineering, technical support, marketing, dealer network development, and sales management.
“Both James and Tony bring with them a wealth of ag industry experience,” said David Disberger, Executive Vice President of Great Plains Manufacturing, Inc. “Their proven leadership will be vital in further developing our internal teams, introducing new and innovative products to the marketplace, and providing extraordinary support of Great Plains products within our dealer network.”
