CUstom Cylinders

CEO

Ryan Knaack

Ryan Knaack, our CEO, has been with Galland Henning Nopak since April 2021. Ryan has extensive experience growing closely-held middle-market businesses while increasing customer service levels and employee engagement in the business. He worked first as a Certified Public Accountant and consultant for 12+ years before joining the staff of a manufacturing client to lead operations in 2014 until ownership’s successful exit in 2018. After the owners’ exit, Ryan continued to lead company operations for a multi-national brand, expanding its facilities and product lines until exiting late in 2020.

Ryan holds an undergraduate and master’s degree in accounting from the University of Wisconsin Madison Business School, an MBA in Marketing and Data Analytics from UW-Whitewater, and is a licensed CPA and CGMA.

Human Resources Manager

Becky Renz

As the Galland Henning Nopak “Queen of Fun,” Becky is responsible for all aspects of human resources, which involves developing the workforce to be positioned for sales growth. Becky joined GHN in May 2021 with more than 15 years of HR experience in manufacturing, including other family-owned organizations. Becky has an undergraduate degree in human resources from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MBA from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She enjoys creating processes that allow people to work efficiently while keeping the family environment of the company intact. Becky lives in the Lake Geneva area with her husband and daughter.

Chief Engineer

Sudarshan Sharma

Sudarshan Sharma is the Chief Engineer at Galland Henning Nopak. He joined GHN in July 2016. He has more than 25 years of experience developing pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders for various purposes, including industrial and mobile, off-highway vehicle applications. Sudarshan and his team design accumulators, pneumatic valves, balers, and a wide variety of cylinders–including tie-rod, round body, welded construction, telescopic, bolted construction, and mill duty cylinders, as well as cylinders meeting ABS, DNVGL, and U.S. Coast Guard regulations.

Sudarshan has an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an M.E.M. degree from Duke University. He is licensed as a Professional Engineer in the state of Texas.

President

Matt Tanke

Matt joined Galland Henning Nopak in February 2015 with more than 15 years of sales experience across multiple industries. As Vice President of Sales, Matt was responsible for all sales and marketing initiatives across both the Galland Henning and Nopak product lines. In August 2022, Matt was promoted to President of Galland Henning Nopak. He is now responsible for the engineering and operations of the company, in addition to retaining his leadership of the sales and marketing team. Working closely with our targeted distribution network for the Nopak product line, Matt develops and monitors targeted campaigns to ensure the best results and customer service for our distributors. Matt also works with our global partners on both product lines to ensure world-class service and support.

Matt has successfully completed multiple fluid power educational programs at MSOE and the University of Minnesota. Matt is dedicated to the quality, service, and experience our customers receive when doing business with Galland Henning Nopak.

Vice President of Sales

Hillary Scofield

Hillary joined Galland Henning Nopak in February 2021 with more than 17 years of industrial sales experience. As a Regional Sales Manager, she was responsible for cylinder and accumulator sales across the northern United States. In September 2022, she was promoted to Vice President of Sales and now oversees cylinder and accumulator product sales throughout the company. Hillary is committed to growing business and customer relationships throughout the marketplace while she continues to manage the Northern U.S. She works closely with Inside and Outside Sales, Engineering and Production.

Hillary has an undergraduate degree in marketing from the University of St. Francis and an MBA from Benedictine University. She has also received Six Sigma Green Belt Quality and Scrum Master certifications.