Our Story       

 

Mazur and Hockman, Inc. has been doing business in the peanut industry for more than 70 years.  M&H started as the George F. Hartnett Co, in Chicago, IL, in 1944.  Realizing the best place to keep a pulse on the peanut industry and provide our customers with the best market information, the company sent Tom Mazur to open an office in Albany, GA in the mid-’60s.  Tom Mazur and Larry Hockman worked in the Albany office and in 1986 bought the company from George and changed the name to Mazur and Hockman, Inc.

After a 15 year career with The Kroger Co, Richard Barnhill worked with Larry for 2 years and then bought the company from him in 2002. 

 

 

Our Team

 

Richard Barnhill, Owner and President, has a BS in Mechanical Engineering.  Richard has more than 30 years in the peanut industry, starting in 1986 with The Kroger Co. as their Plant Engineer at Tara Foods, Kroger’s Peanut Butter Plant, in Albany, GA. In 1991, Richard became the General Manager for Tara Foods, responsible for Plant operations, as well as Sales and Procurement of peanuts.  Richard’s extensive experience with Peanut Butter operations, procurement, and retail sales for a major national grocery company, gives him a unique perspective.

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Stuart Franklin, Peanut Broker, joined M&H in April 2016, he has a B.S. in Psychology, minoring in Human Resource Management at GA Southwestern University.  Stuart joined us after a successful 8 years with National Distributing Company.  His focus is on peanut sales and other special projects.  

          

Joseph Warnken, Peanut Broker, joined M&H in July 2019, he has a B.B.A. in Marketing from Texas State University.  Joey joined us after working 15+ years at Wilco Peanut Co. and 2+ years in the oil and gas industry.  His focus is on both domestic and export sales and speaks Spanish.

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Patrick Collins, Logistics Manager/Inside Sales, joined M&H in 2012, he has a B.S. in Marketing from UNC Wilmington and works on contract management, logistics, scheduling, inside sales, and special projects.

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Pam Nichols, Office Manager, joined M&H in September 2020  and has a MBA in Accounting.  She previously worked 8 years in accounting locally and also with the Ga. Soil and Water Commission.  She handles accounting, administrative duties, contract management, and logistics.

 

Purpose  

 

Our purpose is to provide accurate and timely market information with analysis and recommendations to help our customers make the best possible buying decisions.

 

 

Our Business  

 

We have good relationships with all US Peanut Shellers.  This allows us to know the markets and special situations in all three US growing areas.  We also have relationships in Mexico and Argentina which give us good insight into demand and supply in these markets that can influence the US market.  We also work with traders in Europe which give us insight into the EU and other world markets.

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We buy peanuts for or consult with many companies.  This includes National Brand and Private Label companies in Peanut Butter, Candy, Snacks, and Ingredients.  We are often in the market trading peanuts. We think our customer base and activity in the market gives us an excellent feel for the market at all times.

Living in the heart of the largest peanut growing area in the US, we have relationships with farmers, buying point operators, seed shellers, equipment dealers, etc, that give us additional perspective into the industry and market place.  This helps us provide a more precise analysis that includes these factors that shape the peanut market.

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We provide crop tours several times during the year, with our customers.  This is not only valuable for the customer, but gives us additional exposure to the crop, farmers, and shellers.  

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Thank you and we look forward to working with you!