Key Technology has announced the appointment of Ray Kramer to the position of senior director of North America sales. Kramer is responsible for managing Key’s sales organization in the U.S. and Canada to bring the company’s digital sorters, conveying solutions and process automation systems to food processors and other manufacturers.

“This is the perfect time to increase our focus on North America, which has historically been our largest region. With big new developments, such as the launch of our VERYX family of digital sorters, and the continuous evolution of our best-in-class Iso-Flo conveyors, opportunities for growth have never been greater,” said Steve Pellegrino, senior vice president global sales at Key. “We’re excited to have Ray here supporting our very experienced sales team. Ray has extensive collaborative selling and sales management expertise, working with large capital equipment manufacturers that provide customized solutions and integrated systems. With Ray on board, we’re ready to take our activities in this important region to the next level and continue to strengthen our global leadership position.

Prior to joining Key, Kramer was the general manager of YXLON USA, a producer of industrial x-ray systems. Previously, he was with Keithley Instruments/Danaher Corp, first as their director of worldwide sales & support – semiconductor division and later as managing director sales – Americas. Prior to that, he was sales director – North and South America at Eltech Systems Corp (Diamond Shamrock). Kramer holds an undergraduate degree in chemistry and math from Gettysburg College and an MBA from John Carroll University.

“Key is an industry leader, respected for innovative technology, quality engineering and superior customer service. Now, our VERYX sorters are taking the industry by storm, bringing new functionality and setting new standards of performance for a wide variety of products and applications,” said Kramer. “A talented and successful sales team already exists at Key. My job is to assist them in cultivating new markets and expanding existing markets to help customers improve food safety, increase yields and reduce operating costs.