About Carl Kipp, Jr.

Carl Kipp, Jr. began his successful career by attending The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and graduating with a bachelor's degree in Agriculture, majoring in Agricultural Engineering. In June of 1953, Carl served for two years in the United States Army. Upon returning from the Army, Carl began his business career at the Sucher Packaging Company in Dayton, Ohio. From 1956 through 1968, Carl served as the Vice President of Beef Operations for Sucher.

In 1969, Carl started the Ohio Feed Lot, Inc, located in South Charleston, Ohio, and became the Executive Vice President. It was with the Ohio Feed Lot that he began composting operations, as well as oversaw construction of the first commercially successful in-vessel composting system in the U.S.

In 1978, Carl, along with other investors, formed a new company, Paygro, Inc. This new company was formed when a division of Mead was purchased and then joined to the composting division of Ohio Feed Lot.

In 1984, Carl bought out the remaining shareholders and became the sole proprietor and President of the company now known as Paygro Company, Inc. Paygro became a household word for product quality east of the Mississippi River. Under his leadership, the company pioneered marketing of bark products, professional potting mixes and other horticultural products for the consumer market.

Carl currently holds three patents on composting processes and equipment. Presently, he is Immediate Past President and a member of the Executive Committee of the U.S. Composting Council. Additionally, Carl serves or has served on the board of numerous associations in his field, including the National Bark and Soil Producers Association (NBSPA) and the Ohio Compost Association (OCA). He has served on quality control and standards committees with both the NBSPA and the OCA, and has often contributed to other national efforts in this field. He also served as a consultant to the US-EPA and to The Ohio State University in the development of national guidelines for pathogen destruction during the composting process.