Rapala Lands Rick Billings for Vice President of Operations

MINNETONKA, Minn. (September 29, 2005) – Minnetonka-based Normark
Corporation, member of the Rapala VMC Group, has tapped Rick Billings
for Vice President of Operations. He takes over for Marc Jensen who was
named Vice President of Acquisition Integration for Normark Corporation
in July. Billings brings more than 10 years of Operations Management
experience.
In his new position, Billings will be responsible for all warehousing,
distribution, and customer service at Normark.
“I’ve known Rick for 20 years and his passion for fishing is
unmatched,” added Gregg Wollner, executive vice president, general
manager for Rapala. “His knowledge of fishing combined with his
operations expertise will make him a great fit here at Rapala. We look
forward to a future of success.”
Most recently, Billings was vice president of North American Operations
and Rochester Site General Manager at Pemstar in Rochester, MN,
overseeing all operations and day-to-day manufacturing functions.
Previously Rick was a product engineer for IBM.
“I’ve been passionate about fishing for as long as I can
remember and I have enjoyed success with Rapala products from the
start,” says Billings. “I associate the Rapala brand name with
innovative, high quality, and highly effective products. I am very
excited to apply my Operations background to an industry I am passionate
about and for a highly respected, industry leader like Rapala.”
Born and raised in Rochester, MN, Rick is an avid outdoorsman as well as
an avid angler, his primary interest is tournament bass fishing, which
he has been pursuing for the past seven years.

About Rapala
Dedicated to delivering memorable fishing experiences every time, the
Rapala/VMC Group, based in Vääksy, Finland (Helsinki Stock Exchange:
RAP1V), manufactures and markets fishing lures, fishing line, fishing
rods, hooks, terminal tackle, knives and accessories under the Rapala,
VMC, Blue Fox, Storm and Williamson brand names. The company was
unofficially founded in 1936 when Lauri Rapala invented the Rapala
fishing lure. Rapala maintains its strict standards of quality and
craftsmanship while delivering its fishing products to anglers in more
than 130 countries.