Howard Nelson joined Swanson in 2006 as chief financial officer, bringing with him over 26 years of experience in manufacturing and mining services industries, 17 of which were as a chief financial officer. Nelson began his CFO career at National Mine Service, Inc, Indiana, Penn. in 1986 where he served as a member of the board of directors. In 1997, he joined Erie Plastics in Corry, Penn., as vice president of finance and CFO. During his tenure as CFO, Nelson successfully managed all legal, tax and infrastructure needs to establish manufacturing operations in Hungary and prepared the company for initial public offering. By 2003, Nelson became vice president, general manager of Erie Plastics. In this role, he was responsible for three manufacturing plants, two in the United States and one in Hungary. Nelson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting with Honors from Pennsylvania State University (1976). He is a certified public accountant and a certified management accountant