Wesleyan MBA class visits Mister Bee
Fifteen MBA students from West Virginia Wesleyan College on Feb. 7 toured the Mister Bee Potato Chip plant in Parkersburg. Owner Mary Anne Ketelsen, far left, speaks to the students. (Photo Provided)
Rob Graham, vice president of sales at Mister Bee, explains potato chip manufacturing to students in an MBA class from West Virginia Wesleyan College. (Photo Provided)
Professor Kim Conrad and her MBA class from West Virginia Wesleyan College visited the Mister Bee Potato Chip factory in Parkersburg as part of the classroom instruction. (Photo Provided)
Fifteen MBA students from West Virginia Wesleyan College on Feb. 7 toured the Mister Bee Potato Chip plant in Parkersburg. Owner Mary Anne Ketelsen, far left, speaks to the students. (Photo Provided)
Rob Graham, vice president of sales at Mister Bee, explains potato chip manufacturing to students in an MBA class from West Virginia Wesleyan College. (Photo Provided)
Professor Kim Conrad and her MBA class from West Virginia Wesleyan College visited the Mister Bee Potato Chip factory in Parkersburg as part of the classroom instruction. (Photo Provided)
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PARKERSBURG -- Fifteen MBA students from West Virginia Wesleyan College visited a local potato chip maker as part of their classroom instruction.
Mister Bee Potato Chips was host to Professor Kim Conrad, and her MBA class on Feb. 7 at the company's production facility as part of a real-world business teaching experience. Mister Bee is the only potato chip maker in West Virginia.
The students, divided into five teams of three students each, are addressing different business development and marketing challenges facing the small, woman-owned business. At the end of the semester, the teams will present to Mister Bee leaders their findings and recommendations.
"We thought after our initial briefing with Dr. Conrad, it would be helpful if the students saw firsthand the manufacturing facility and our state-of-the-art fryer and processing facility," said Mary Anne Ketelsen, president of Mister Bee Potato Chips. "They can see the process from start to finish and meet the people who make it all happen."
Having an existing company to focus on is far greater experience than a simulation in the classroom, Conrad said.
"Our students and our institution are very grateful that an iconic West Virginia brand like Mister Bee would enthusiastically open their doors to graduate students who want to make a difference," Conrad said.
Issues facing the business never cease, according to Ketelsen.
"No matter how long you've been in business, there are challenges that keep you up at night," Ketelsen said. "Mister Bee enjoys working with students of all ages and the talented public school and higher education faculty in the state. I am looking forward to hearing the insights and observations the MBA students share with us after their plant tour, research and collaboration."
Mister Bee also works with West Virginia University at Parkersburg and West Virginia University Potomac State College in Keyser on strategies to grow more in-state potatoes for production at the company.
Educational partnerships with the West Virginia Manufacturers Association also are in the works, she said.
Mister Bee Potato was founded in 1951 by Leo and Sara Klein on Mary Street in Parkersburg. Chips would be made in the morning and then Klein would distribute the fresh product in the afternoon.
In November 1962, the company moved to West Virginia Avenue where the plant is today. Leo Klein operated the business until 1979 when he passed away at the age of 73. The company remained with the Klein family until incurring financial difficulties in 2010. Mister Bee now operates as West Virginia Potato Chip Co. and was purchased in 2015 by new owners Mary Anne (Welch) Ketelsen, Douglas Ketelsen, James Richard Barton, Gregory Barton and Gregory Reed, along with Mary Maxine Welch participating in financing.