Ray Murray Inc. transfers full ownership

Mike Hopsicker acquired 100 percent ownership of Ray Murray Inc. (RMI), a distributor of hearth, grill and propane products. He has been the majority owner since 2014.

The partnership between Hopsicker and the Murray family started in 2005 when they began working together on a planned transition of ownership. Prior to RMI, Hopsicker was CEO of Agway Inc. and spent eight years as the CEO of Agway Energy Products, a retail marketer of propane and fuel oil.

During the past several years, RMI expanded its reach through four acquisitions.

LP Gas Hall of Fame inductee Ray Murray, with brothers Jim and John, will remain advisers to the business as members of the RMI management team and will continue to serve in their current management roles for several years.

“The final ownership transfer was the last piece in a long transition, but with the Murrays’ continued involvement, the management of the business is not effectively any different than when I assumed the majority shareholder role several years ago,” says Hopsicker.

“I am so proud of what has been accomplished getting to this point,” says John Murray. “Mike has assembled an outstanding team, and I am looking forward to continuing to work with him and the entire team to help RMI reach even greater heights.”

New corporate vice presidents

Harvey

In other company news, Casey Harvey has been promoted to vice president of sales, and Scott Porter has assumed the role of vice president of operations.

As vice president of sales, Harvey has the responsibility of leading RMI’s 14 sales representatives, as well as overseeing all of the company’s sales activities and providing primary leadership to its marketing efforts.

Harvey started with RMI as a regional sales manager in 2008. After four years of successfully growing the company’s Mid-Atlantic territory, he was promoted to director of sales in 2013. Prior to RMI, he spent 10 years with Carroll Independent Fuel Co. in Baltimore where he was manager of sales and marketing.

Porter

Porter has a long career working in operations, including leadership roles in product and asset management, purchasing and quality assurance.

He joined RMI in May 2016 to help with the optimization of its enterprise resource planning system, assist with acquisitions and improve operations. Since that time, he has spearheaded many operational improvement projects, including helping RMI assimilate two acquisitions and the reorganization and improvement of its Goldsboro, North Carolina, warehouse, the company says.

Porter was the director of purchasing and operations at Wes-Garde Components in Hartford, Connecticut, prior to joining RMI.

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