Beckhoff USA Adds Buck Tanner, Steve Boelte to Growing Business Development Team

Beckhoff Automation continues to expand its business development efforts in the U.S. by hiring Buck Tanner and Steve Boelte. The two new Business Development Managers will expand Beckhoff market share by identifying strategic opportunities with new companies and increasing use at existing customers. Tanner and Boelte have joined a strong team of Business Development Managers in the U.S. who have worked to identify and win key accounts since 2019.

Tanner began his career as a mechanical design engineer at SAIC, a large technology integrator, before taking on sales and engineering roles at Rockwell Automation for roughly four years. For the past eight years, he worked at B&R Industrial Automation in a variety of sales and management positions, most recently Vice President and Director, Eastern U.S. Based in Greater Atlanta, he holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as a Master of Science in Engineering Management and an MBA from Milwaukee School of Engineering.

“I am thrilled to join a company that focuses on both staying at the forefront of innovation in industrial automation and fostering a great culture,” said Tanner. “Beckhoff USA is in a prime position to win new opportunities with end users, machine builder OEMs and systems integrators and I am excited to help move the needle on total market share. That is personally exciting for me, as is being part of an organization that is in high-growth mode and achieving great things.”

Before joining Beckhoff, Boelte also spent eight years at B&R as Territory Sales Manager and Regional Manager in the Milwaukee area. He previously held sales and management positions for other major electrical components suppliers, including seven years at Hinrich Electric and nearly six years at Werner Electric Supply. Boelte has a passion for coaching and mentoring, which he uses to drive organizational development across the Midwest. He earned a Bachelor of Science from Olivet Nazarene University.

“Engineers and business leaders are realizing they must innovate to succeed in this market, and software and hardware offerings from Beckhoff are ideally suited to help them,” Boelte said. “The Business Development Manager team is excited to keep identifying and going after new key accounts. As part of our collaborative company culture, we also work to increase teamwork across the sales team to provide even better customer experiences.”

The founding members of the Business Development Manager team include Josh Crayton, formerly of Yaskawa; Greg Marsh, formerly of Siemens; and Keith Beadle, an experienced regional sales engineer for Beckhoff.