BASF site manager named Upstate Workforce board chair

Jerome Kirkland, site manager for the BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions Converse site in Spartanburg County, has been named chairman of the Upstate Workforce Board.

The board works to build and maintain a workforce development system that meets the needs of employers of Cherokee, Spartanburg and Union counties. Certified by the governor every two years, board members represent diverse businesses the three counties. Kirkland has served on the board since 2021.

“Jerome Kirkland has been a powerful addition to the board,” Ann Angermeier, executive director of the Upstate Workforce Board, said in a news release. “I knew he would be a model board member when I first met him at the BASF ECMS Converse plant. My goal that day was to convince him to join the Upstate Workforce Board. We are so pleased that he is now the chairman.”

“For the past four years, I have had the great privilege to be part of a board that is playing a major role in creating a better quality of life in our community,” Kirkland said in the release. “As chair, my goal is to keep that momentum going forward.

Kirkland earned his bachelor’s degree as well as his MBA from the University of Michigan. He has served as the Converse site manager since October 2019, and before that worked as a plant manager at the BASF site in Lincoln Park, Mich. Before BASF, Kirkland worked in various roles in manufacturing over the past 20 years. He is a 2021 graduate of Leadership Spartanburg.

BASF Environmental Catalyst and Metal Solutions serves customers in many industries including automotive, aerospace, indoor air quality, semiconductors and hydrogen economy, and provides full loop services with its precious metals trading and recycling offering.