San Ramon and San Jose, he spends countless hours meeting with various agricultural organizations throughout Salinas and all of Northern California, constantly seeking out new technology and trends within the industry. Although ZAG mostly works with ag-related companies, its network expands to Silicon Valley. “I’d put the speed of ag manufacturing against Silicon Valley any day of the week,” Gatzke exclaims, noting the speed and evolution of the ag industry. “People outside of ag manufacturing think they run 24 hours a day and seven days a week, but ag manufacturing really is 24/7. You have to always have your systems up and trucks have to be ready to ship. If trucks don’t ship, product doesn’t keep. There are so many moving parts, constantly surrounded by high speed and high pressure.” When asked if it has been difficult keeping up with the ag industry, Gatzke responded that “the industry has never been slow but it’s never been as fast as it currently is. It is not necessarily difficult to keep up, but it requires more focus. A wide vision is crucial in this industry. You can’t afford to focus on what happened yesterday because what you did yesterday isn’t going to get you where you need to be tomorrow.” He also added continuous learning is key in this industry and as president, he is obligated to learn every day and if he’s not, he is “falling behind.” Gatzke comes from an ag background, having been born into a family of vegetable farmers. It was natural for him to couple his background with his passion for computers to create ZAG Technical Services. He said it was also natural to support and sponsor the WGCIT.
“We see Western Growers enabling the advancement of the industry as a whole, and the technology focus that Western Growers is bringing to the world of ag is not just the future, it is the present,” said Gatzke. “To be a part of something like this is an honor.”
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30 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2019
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