SALISBURY — Steve Bert of Houston, Texas, has been named vice president of sales and marketing for Imperial Brown, one of the leading manufacturers of walk-in coolers and freezers in the world, according to an announcement by President Justin Sandall.

Imperial Brown, based in Portland, Ore., also has manufacturing facilities in Salisbury and Prague, Okla., making the company and its products easily accessible across the United States.

Bert brings 23 years of business-to-business experience to Imperial Brown, with an emphasis on working in an environment of multiple manufacturing plants.

He spent his first 10-plus years in the metals distribution business, including inside sales, outside sales, inside sales manager, and sales manager of a $58 million branch in Houston.

He then spent 13 years working for a manufacturer in the QSR (Quick Service Restaurants) industry. In his role as vice president of sales and marketing, Bert oversaw the growth of a small, private corporation with 34 employees to a medium-sized company with 84 employees and a worldwide sales reach. He also handled manufacturing, purchasing, scheduling and general management responsibilities.

“Bert has a holistic view of the manufacturing business, and he understands the importance of balance and teamwork among all branches of the company, with a focus on GP generation,” Sandall said. “He is an obvious choice to lead IB’s sales and grow its chain business. He understands the metal industry, he understands manufacturing, and his experience and relationships complement Imperial Brown perfectly.”

”I’m extremely excited to join the Imperial-Brown company,” Bert said. “The quality product produced by the excellent people associated within all facets of their operation made it an easy choice to want to be a part of this great organization. I see a very bright future with big growth opportunities ahead of us in the near future.”

Bert and his wife, Michelle, have two children, Dylan, 19, and Madison, 17.

Imperial Manufacturing was started in Portland in 1970 by Al Zell to serve the commercial refrigeration industry by manufacturing the insulated panels used to build walk-in coolers and freezers. In 2012, Imperial Manufacturing acquired W.A. Brown & Son of Salisbury, a 100-year-old company, to form Imperial Brown. This year, the company acquired Arctic Temp of Prague, Okla.

The company is a leader in temperature management facilities for food service, biotechnology, medical, supermarket and building construction industries.

It manufactures walk-in coolers and freezers for restaurants and commercial kitchens, cold storage components for fish processing plants, ice makers for dam construction, wide range testing chambers, pharmaceutical development and manufacturing; high humidity and dry chambers, robotic enclosures, and archival storage chambers for some of the most valuable and fragile documents in human history.