ASHEVILLE – IFB Solutions, the largest employer of people who are blind or visually impaired in the country, has hired Travis Guerra to oversee its Asheville operations as the nonprofit’s new Asheville plant manager. The Asheville manufacturing facility, located on Sardis Road, is one of the manufacturing facilities operated by IFB Solutions including its headquarters located in Winston-Salem.

In his new role, Guerra will lead IFB’s Asheville manufacturing team and oversee all facility operations. “Who I am is an open book,” said Guerra. “I like to treat people the way they want to be treated, because I want to be treated the same way. I want to create the type of environment where folks know that I’m focused on their well-being and what they can accomplish as individuals.”

IFB’s Asheville plant employs more than 137 people, about half of whom are blind or visually impaired, to manufacture products such as uniforms, field equipment and office products for the US government and military. The Asheville facility operates product lines that support Military Resale and the Impulse Merchandising Program for the Defense Commissary Agency. Employees who are blind assemble and package more than 400 different products, which are then shipped and sold at military installations and commissaries around the world. Asheville employees also manufacture poncho liners for the U.S. military — affectionately known as the woobie — and also sells military-grade woobies to the public through its online Pinnacle Mercantile store.

In addition to its manufacturing facilities, IFB operates Base Supply Center retail stores in government locations and military bases. IFB also offers a growing number of work-from-home positions for blind or visually impaired individuals across the country.

“I want to make our blind associates feel more independent and to encourage and promote more opportunities for people who are blind,” Guerra said. “As a plant manager, I can help with those opportunities even more than I could before.”

Over the last decade, Guerra has managed manufacturing and production operations in the

Greensboro, N.C. area. He holds an associate degree in information system technology from

Rockingham Community College and has experience maintaining ISO 9000 standards in

manufacturing environments.

Guerra resides in Marion, N.C. with his fiancée and their three children. In his free time, Guerra is an avid billiard player and enjoys participating in competitive billiard tournaments.