Q & A with new Cargill manager
Cassio Peixoto is shown with his wife Yuska and daughters Cecilia, 15, and Manuela, 13. He is the new plant manager for Cargill in Blooming Prairie. Submitted photo
Cargill Inc. of Blooming Prairie has announced the appointment of a new plant manager.
The Times recently interviewed Cassio Peixoto, a South America native.
Here’s the text of that interview:
Q: What is your experience?
A: My entire career is in Cargill. I’ve joined the company in 2004 as a production intern in a Corn Milling plant in Uberlandia, Minas Gerais state in Brazil. Since than I’ve been working in multiple roles in plant operations, continuous improvement, production excellence and SAP implementation.
Q: What was your last job?
A: In January 2023, I moved with my family to Plymouth, Minn., to work as North America Regional Production Excellence Lead for the Cargill Starches and Sweeteners business and that was my last job before the actual one as Blooming Prairie Plant Manager.
Q: What is your personal background?
A: I’m 45 years old. I was born and raised in Uberlandia. A 600 thousand citizens city in Minas Gerais state in Brazil. I have 3 siblings (2 brothers and 1 sister). I’ve been happily married with Yuska for 17 years and we have two daughters: Cecilia (15) and Manuela (13).
Q: What has been your educational background?
A: I was graduated in chemical engineer and business administration in Uberlandia, Brazil. I also have a specialization degree in operations management. I’m a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certified by Cargill program.
Q: When did you first meet Cargill?
A: I joined Cargill in 2004.
Q: What does Cargill mean to you?
A: Cargill has provided everything for me and my family. It’s a company with very strong Ethic values and they are very well aligned with my own personal values. I’m so proud to be a Cargill employee for more than 20 years.
Q: What do you plan to accomplish in Blooming Prairie?
A: The Cargill Blooming Prairie facility has such a strong team, and the plant performance is great in all areas: safety, environmental, quality, costs and efficiencies. My expectation is to add some of my production excellence experience to the plant so we can build a continuous improvement mindset and become an even more safe, reliable and efficient organization.
Q: How do you view the CAP?
A: I was so happy to know the CAP and to attend my first CAP meeting. This is a very important panel and I’m looking forward for the next ones so I can learn more about the community and find new opportunities to help.
Q: How do you plan to make Cargill more of a community member?
A: I plan to have more members of Cargill Blooming Prairie facility leadership team actively participating of existing initiatives and on identifying new ways to support the community.
Q: How can Cargill grow in BP?
A: We have a strong product portfolio in BP, a great team, a safe and reliable plant and volume growth projections for the next fiscal years, which is a great scenario for future investments in our plant.