Our newest Senior Project Manager, Chris Poling, brings over 25 years of experience and a highly unique skill set to EFI Group. He is a cement industry specialist and seasoned project leader committed to ensuring our clients receive the highest levels of safety, efficiency and profitability.
A proven creative problem solver, Chris’ passion is developing solutions based on new thinking and, as a result, he is the holder of six patents for isolating heavy metals from waste streams, as well as the developer of innovative grinding processes. As Chris put it:
“I wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t have some weird, funky problem in front of me to figure out. You can solve a lot of things by going to books, but in some cases too much knowledge boxes you into a corner. I certainly rely on the knowledge I’ve gained throughout my career and on the experience of others, but what really drives me is taking industries where they’ve never been before. My core strength has been bringing thinking to the table that you won’t find in a book.”
In fact, Chris made the decision to join EFI Group specifically because of our firm’s problem-solving culture and the opportunities our work provides to innovate solutions to highly challenging manufacturing challenges. In particular, Chris appreciates the value EFI Group places on creativity and the environment we’ve created to support the generation of new ideas and multiple alternative options for our clients.
Chris is also an author and international speaker on topics related to mercury capture and grinding. His long list of awards includes 1st runner-up in the Consulting Engineers Council of Louisiana’s Engineering Excellence Competition, the ICRI Award of Excellence and Outstanding Contributor to the North Point Community Award. Additionally, Chris is OSHA/MSHA certified.
Prior to joining EFI Group, Chris held leadership positions at a number of high-profile companies including SCB International Materials where he served as Vice President of Mercury Capture Systems and Lafarge North America where he was Plant Manager at the Richmond BC and Sparrows Point locations.
Chris is an avid volunteer with his church, a home brewer and classic car enthusiast who loves tinkering with his four-wheeled treasures which include a Triumph TR6, a Mustang Convertible and a Mach 1. Chris and his wife have two children who are talented dancers in ballet, jazz, hip-hop and tap. Their love of dance is likely embedded in their DNA as Chris was known as a drama geek in high school and spent much of his time singing and dancing on stage. While he may have traded in his dance shoes for a calculator in college, he clearly never lost his creative spirit and that has been fueling his success in engineering ever since.
Get to know Chris better by connecting with him on LinkedIn.
