Charles E. Sukup is Chairman of the Board of Sukup Manufacturing Co. Previously, he served as president of Sukup Manufacturing Co. from 1995 until 2020. Located in Sheffield, Iowa, it is the world’s largest family-owned manufacturer of grain handling and storage equipment, including grain dryers, commercial grain bins and steel buildings. Sukup Manufacturing Co. protects and preserves the world’s grain supply, the tools that produce it, and the people who need it.
Charles holds twelve (12) U.S. Patents and is a registered professional engineer in both Iowa and Arkansas. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Manufacturers. He is a member of the Iowa State University Foundation Board of Governors, the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Advisory Council, the Advisory Board for the REACH Program of the University of Iowa College of Education, and the First Citizens Bank Board of Directors. He has served as the President of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) and Chair of the Iowa Association of Business & Industry (ABI). He served on the board of Lutheran Services in Iowa (formerly Lutheran Social Services), the Iowa 4-H Foundation, and was a member of the Leadership Iowa class of 1989-1990. He received his B.S. (with distinction) in 1976 and his M.S in 1982 from Iowa State University in Ag Engineering. Charles has received several awards including the Leadership for Iowa Award, the Legends of Manufacturing Award and the ASABE Sunkist Young Designer Award. He is also an ASABE Fellow. From Iowa State University, he has received the George Washington Carver Distinguished Service Award, the College of Engineering Anson Marston Medal and the Iowa State University Alumni Recognition Medal.
Charles and his wife, Mary (Heimbuch), a native of Mason City and a graduate of ISU in Home Economics, live on a farm near Sheffield where they raised their children Elizabeth, Andrew and Jonathan.