Premium Peanut, LLC has hired Karl Zimmer as its new president and chief executive officer.

Premium Peanut was formed in fall 2014. Its $50 million, state-of-the-art shelling facility is being built on the outskirts of Douglas, Ga.  Shelling will start with 110,000 tons for the 2015 peanut crop and is expected to grow to 140,000 tons within the first three years but capacity to shell 200,000 tons will be available.

Zimmer, who will start work at the peanut shelling facility in July, previously spent 14 years with General Cable, a Fortune 500 global manufacturer of copper and aluminum wire and cable products, where his last assignment was as Senior Vice President Sub-Saharan Africa, Global Supply Chain, and Europe & Africa Product Supply. In these roles, during which he and his wife lived in Barcelona, Spain, he had general management responsibility for the estimated $250 million business in sub-Saharan Africa while also overseeing all manufacturing, engineering and supply chain for the $2 billion Europe and Africa regions, encompassing 12 plants and over 3,000 associates.

Zimmer began his career at General Electric in 1999 after completing six quarters of co-op assignments with GE Aircraft Engines, including a six-month assignment in Munich, Germany. He then completed GE's Operations Management Leadership Program prior to moving into a SixSigma Black Belt role.

Zimmer received a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Cincinnati and is actively involved in a wide range of activities with his alma mater, as well as the Boy Scouts of America.

Premium Peanut is a grower-owned company and has partnered with seven buying points, all within a 60-mile radius of the shelling facility, to handle the farmers' stock purchases and storage.