Whitney Winter

President Meco Corporation

Last Reviewed: September 28, 2026

Executive Summary

Whitney Winter is president of Meco Corporation, a family-owned manufacturer in Greeneville, Tennessee, that makes Americana charcoal and electric grills and smokers and folding furniture under the Stakmore and Sudden Comfort names. A Greene County native, Winter joined the company as a product manager immediately after graduating from East Tennessee State University in the late 1990s and has spent her whole career there, becoming president around 2022. The role is a demanding one in a sector that has largely moved offshore: Meco still makes and assembles its grills in Greeneville, competing directly with imports on price.

Career Highlights

• President of Meco Corporation, per Teknovation (October 2024) and the Greeneville Sun (August 2026).
• Joined Meco as a product manager directly after graduating from East Tennessee State University in the late 1990s.
• Had been with the company nearly 30 years, and president for two, as of October 2024.
• Has advocated at state and national level for policy changes benefiting domestic manufacturers of steel goods, per Teknovation.
• Selected by the Greeneville Energy Authority board in August 2026 to fill a board vacancy, subject to Greeneville City Council approval.
• Listed with a biography page by the U.S. International Trade Administration as President, Meco Corporation.

Professional Journey

Winter grew up in Greene County, Tennessee, studied at East Tennessee State University and, on graduating in the late 1990s, was hired straight away by Meco as a product manager. Meco was already an old company by then. Robert Austin Sr. founded it in 1959 as Metals Engineering Company, and it began marketing barbecue grills from its Greeneville factory in 1969 and making folding chairs and tables there in 1971. It remains family-owned and operated by Robert Austin and his wife, Kathryn C. Gamble-Austin.

Winter spent most of the following decades in the business before becoming president, a role she had held for about two years when Teknovation profiled the company in October 2024. By then Meco employed roughly 170 people, against a peak of around 900, and could produce more than 4,000 grills a day. Its products are Americana residential charcoal and electric grills and water smokers, largely built in Greeneville from domestically made body components and a mix of U.S. and imported parts, and the Stakmore and Sudden Comfort folding furniture lines. Winter described the position plainly in that interview: “It’s constantly a fight to be a domestic manufacturer competing against production, prices, and materials made in China.” She has advocated at the state and national level for policy changes that would benefit domestic manufacturers of steel goods, and has put effort into the company’s culture and its outreach to local schools, bringing students on factory tours and hosting interns from area colleges.

Outside the company, the Greeneville Energy Authority’s board voted unanimously in August 2026 to select Winter to fill a vacancy left by Sarah Webster, pending approval by the Greeneville City Council. The International Trade Administration also carries a biography page listing Winter as President of Meco Corporation.

Education

East Tennessee State University

Graduated in the late 1990s; the degree and field of study were not identified in any source reviewed.