Easy Automation Welcomes Sam Pendleton as New Shareholder
- Easy Automation
- 32 minutes ago
- 3 min read
With a focus on building ownership from within, EAI welcomes Sam Pendleton, Vice President of Sales, as a shareholder.
Welcome, Minn. (June 25, 2026) – Easy Automation, Inc. (EAI), an international supplier of automation technology and equipment to the feed manufacturing, agronomy, and grain handling industries, announces that Sam Pendleton, Vice President of Sales, has become a shareholder in the company, effective immediately. This milestone reflects EAI’s ongoing commitment to investing in its people, preserving its family-owned identity, and building an organization with lasting staying power.
The decision to bring Pendleton into ownership was deliberate, rooted in EAI’s long-term strategy to build a company whose structure reflects its values. The Gaalswyk family has been intentional about ensuring that the people who carry the greatest responsibility in the business also hold a genuine stake in its outcomes. This follows the addition of Jayden Grupe, General Manager, to the ownership group.
Brady Gaalswyk, Co-President & Owner, Easy Automation, Inc shared, “EAI has always been a family business, and that’s something we’re deeply proud of, but we’ve never believed ‘family’ must mean only the people who share our last name. As we grow, we want to build a company where leaders feel genuinely invested in the mission, and where that investment goes both ways. This is one expression of that commitment. It’s about building the kind of company where people want to plant their flag for the long haul.”
Pendleton has been central to EAI’s commercial growth over the last several years, building and leading the company’s sales team and managing its key customer relationships. For Co-President Chris Gaalswyk, the decision was about recognizing both Sam’s contributions and the mindset he brings to his work every day. According to Chris, Sam embodies EAI’s core values and has demonstrated an ownership mentality long before the title was official.
“To me, sharing ownership is just an extension of the team atmosphere at EAI. As we work alongside each other in the day-to-day activities of running the business, we lean on each other to help the company succeed. Bringing in additional shareholders allows this teamwork mindset to also be at the ownership level, allowing the best decisions to be made,” commented Chris Gaalswyk, Co-President & Owner, Easy Automation, Inc.
For Pendleton, joining the ownership team is both an honor and a deepening of a commitment he has already felt throughout his time at EAI. He has described the company’s culture, its people, and the growth he has witnessed firsthand as the factors that made this decision straightforward. Looking ahead, he is focused on contributing a perspective that balances EAI’s deep institutional knowledge with a forward-looking view shaped by years across the agriculture and automation industry.
“Being asked to become a shareholder at Easy Automation was something I never expected, but I am truly honored by the opportunity,” shared Sam Pendleton, Vice President of Sales & Shareholder, Easy Automation, Inc. “From the very beginning, I have felt like part of the family here,
and this is the natural next step in deepening that commitment. The growth I’ve seen over the last several years, the culture, the team that picks each other up, that’s what made this an easy decision. I’m excited to help guide where we go from here.”
The addition of Pendleton to the ownership group does not signal a shift in EAI’s direction but rather reinforces it. The Gaalswyk family remains deeply committed to the company’s family-owned identity and to creating an environment where employees can grow personally and professionally. Shared ownership, in their view, is one of the most meaningful ways to extend that commitment. For customers and industry partners, it is a signal that the people serving them are fully invested in the long-term health of the business and the relationships it is built on.
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About Easy Automation Inc.
Easy Automation Inc. (EAI) is an international supplier of automation technology and equipment to the feed manufacturing, agronomy, and grain handling industries. EAI is unique in providing customers the opportunity to fully integrate their operations with industry-leading solutions in controls, software, and equipment. With a strong conviction in company values and a service-oriented approach, EAI provides matchless service and practical engineering for exceptional solutions. For more information about EAI, visit easy-automation.com.