Jan 16, 2020

Columbia Basin organic grower to represent Trécé in Northwest

Trécé Inc., an international Oklahoma-based manufacturer of pheromone- and kairomone-based insect monitoring and control systems, has appointed two agricultural experts to oversee the company’s sales and business development efforts in two West Coast regions.

One of the new hires, tree fruit specialist and organic apple orchard owner John Klefbeck, will serve as Technical Sales Representative, overseeing sales in the Pacific Northwest region, according to a press release from the company. Among his responsibilities, Klefbeck will introduce and support new products in Trécé’s PHEROCON and CIDETRAK product line aimed to manage insect pests that attack apple crops throughout the region. He will be based near Yakima, Washington.

Klefbeck, who continues to own and manage a Washington organic apple orchard, previously leveraged his skills as Columbia Basin tree fruit specialist by serving as a crop advisor and sales and customer relations representative for two agricultural service companies, Wilbur-Ellis Agribusiness and Northwest Wholesale, both in Washington State, according to the release.

The other new hire, entomologist Kevin Cloonan, Ph.D., will serve as the company’s Technical Representative for California’s southern San Joaquin Valley, and as Trécé’s California Research and Development Representative, according to the release. Based in Fresno, Calif., Cloonan will be responsible for business development and commercial accounts in the southern San Joaquin Valley, oversee distributor and grower relations in the region, and work with government and university research collaborators across the state as part of Trécé’s extensive R&D program.

Prior to coming to Trécé, Cloonan served as a postdoctoral research associate at Canada’s Acadia University, according to the release. He is the author of numerous insect pest management research papers focusing on pheromone lures and trapping, and over the past several years has given frequent presentations at academic gatherings across the United States and Canada on topics such as the exploitation of odor-mediated insect behaviors, novel attractant testing for Drosophila suzukii, and navel orangeworm oviposition repellant.

“Both Kevin and John are exceptionally well-qualified additions to Trécé’s team of highly trained representatives,” Bill Lingren, Trécé founder and chief executive officer, said in a released statement. “Kevin’s deep academic credentials, and John’s extensive experience as a technical specialist in production and IPM and as an owner and producer, have equipped them to bring fresh technical and practical knowledge where it is needed most—right into the fields and orchards where our products are used.”

Cloonan holds a Ph.D. in entomology from Pennsylvania State University, where he served as an instructor in general entomology and integrated pest management; a Master of Science in entomology from the University of California, Davis; and a bachelor of science in entomology from the University of Idaho, according to the release. Klefbeck holds a degree in horticulture and tree fruit production from Wenatchee Valley College in Washington State, and is a graduate of the Washington State Agriculture and Forestry leadership Program.