Columbia Machine, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Rick Goode as its new President and Chief Executive Officer effective October 1, 2006. 

Jerry Findley, President and CEO of Columbia for the last nine years, has worked closely with Rick for nearly a year to ensure a seamless leadership transition.  Columbia Machine has realized significant growth and performance improvements during Jerry’s tenure.  He decided to retire from full time operating responsibilities but will continue on a reduced-hours basis to focus on business development projects and certain industry and customer programs.  Jerry will also remain a member of Columbia’s Board of Directors.

Findley commented, “Serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia has been tremendously fulfilling to me personally.  I very much appreciate the overwhelming support and dedication of Columbia employees.  The patronage, trust and friendship of our many customers worldwide have simply been fantastic.  Columbia’s history is rich with success, and the future is as exciting as ever.”

Rick Goode begins as President after eleven years of increasing responsibilities with Columbia, including most recently as Executive Vice President.  Previously, Rick was Vice President and General Manager of Columbia’s Palletizer Division.   Prior to that, he was General Manager of Columbia/Okura LLC.  

“I am excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for Columbia,” says Goode.  “We are a company that was built on the belief that taking care of customers is our most important job.  Day in and day out, we work hard to provide each customer with complete palletizing solutions.  My plans are to stay the course we have been on for the last 70 years, continue to focus on the development of technology that will make our customers successful and build an industry-leading support infrastructure to service our customers around the world.”

Columbia Machine, Inc. is a privately held, family-owned business headquartered in Vancouver, Washington and is a leading worldwide supplier of equipment & services for the palletizer and concrete product markets. Celebrating its 70th anniversary in 2007, the company continues to prosper and expand in its core markets, including the successful robotics joint venture with Okura Yusoki and the recent acquisitions of Turmac, Inc. and Paco Corp.’s masonry equipment line.  In addition, Columbia leads the industry in innovative solutions and new developments for the highly competitive markets it serves.