Russ Hopper has been promoted to vice president, manufacturing of Link-Belt Construction Equipment Company effective Jan. 1, 2012. Chuck Martz, Link-Belt’s chairman, CEO and president made the announcement at the company’s headquarters in Lexington, Ky.

Hopper began working at Link-Belt 36 years ago as a welder. He moved quickly into the supervisory ranks within welding production and continued to take on more management responsibilities, gaining a thorough understanding of all manufacturing processes including assembly and paint operations. Based on that understanding, he was named production manager for all processes. In that position, Hopper played a vital role in the conversion of the production organization into the Link-Belt production system using Lean Kaizen tools and philosophies.

“No one knows the Link-Belt production system better than Russ,” said Martz, “and no one is better suited to lead our manufacturing organization. Russ’s shop floor experience will give him boardroom insights into taking care of our people, meeting our sky-high production standards and producing an even better product for our customers.”

For more information, call 859/263-5200 or visit www.linkbelt.com.