Derek Varela -
Business Operations Manager

As EPI’s Shipping and Receiving Coordinator, Derek works with transit companies to schedule and dispatch all outbound and inbound LTL and FTL freight, moreover communicating with customers to ensure our product arrives on site when it needs to. After providing top-notch customer service, Derek’s primary focus is to oversee warehousing all raw materials and finished goods that arrive and leave our facility, along with PPE and other production items for inventory.

Derek believes that it is important to be informative, punctual, and a reliable leader that our customers can count on for everything they need during the shipping process.

With his expansive and knowledgeable background of agriculture and food production, he gained a lot of his leadership and communication skills from working with three of Michigan's top breweries. Derek transitioned into the manufacturing side of the logistics industry after starting his job here at EPI working with the delivery of geomembranes, that serve to protect his passion with the preservation of the environment.