Wagstaff Inc. the Spokane Valley-based manufacturer of aluminum casting equipment, has announced Steve Anderson will become the company’s new CEO, succeeding Kevin Person, who is retiring on March 29 after serving as CEO for the past 13 years. 

Anderson, Wagstaff’s current vice president of sales and marketing who has been with the company since 1995 and held various positions over the past 29 years, will assume the CEO role on April 1. 

“It’s exciting in a way, and I feel fortunate,” Anderson says. “Wagstaff has been around since 1946 and is well-recognized in Spokane and globally.” 

Anderson received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and business management from Washington State University and has held engineering roles within the Wagstaff’s research and development department, automated services group, and applications. He also gained leadership skills in the roles of research-and-development automation manager, and engineering director. In 2016, he was promoted to his current role.

The CEO-succession plan has been in the works for some time, and has been preceded by various transition meetings, Anderson says. 

“I’m fortunate to take over a company that has a strong niche in the market, and which has relied on innovation,” Anderson says. 

Wagstaff Inc. is headquartered at 3910 N. Flora in Spokane Valley, with additional offices around the world and a second manufacturing facility in Hebron, Kentucky. The company employs about 400 workers in Spokane and an additional 80 globally.

Wagstaff manufactures machinery to cast molten aluminum into long rectangular slabs or cylindrically shaped billets using direct-chill casting. Wagstaff also has expanded services to the custom machining industry through its Wagstaff Applied Technologies group, which provides machining services, process automation, and project management.