HIAWATHA, IOWA, April 10, 2025 — Crystal Group, Inc., a trusted designer and manufacturer of rugged high-performance edge compute solutions in Eastern Iowa, announced today that Kaly Etten has joined the company as VP, People and Culture.
Etten brings more than 15 years of dynamic leadership across the aerospace, defense, transportation, and staffing industries. Most recently, she served as Director, HR Business Partner and Talent Acquisition at CRST The Transportation Solution, where she partnered closely with senior leaders to develop and execute people strategies that aligned with business growth and transformation goals.
“Kaly’s proven ability to lead large-scale, people-focused initiatives with empathy and trustworthiness makes her an exceptional addition to our leadership team,” said Aaron Maue, President at Crystal Group. “She understands the power of culture in driving performance, engagement, and innovation. As we expand into new markets and technologies, Kaly’s leadership will be instrumental in attracting, developing, and retaining the next generation of talent.”
With advanced expertise in workforce planning, succession strategy, and organizational development, Etten has built programs that drive employee engagement and retention while fostering inclusive, high-performance environments. She is known for her ability to align human resources strategies with business objectives, lead through change, and build resilient, empowered teams that deliver results.
“It’s a privilege to be the leader of People and Culture but also, another employee-owner who has the opportunity to live the core values every day,” said Etten. “With a shared commitment to winning, doing hard things, and taking extreme ownership, I’m excited to continue to shape our culture that invests in the success of our people and consistently wows our customers.”
About Crystal Group, Inc.
Crystal Group, Inc. is a leading provider of high-performance, rugged compute solutions for defense, government, commercial and industrial markets. Founded in 1987, this fast-growing, employee-owned business specializes in the design, customization, build and testing of rugged servers, embedded computers, networking devices, displays, and data storage for high reliability in harsh environments.
Their integrated solutions meet or exceed IEEE, IEC, and military standards, including MIL-STD-810, 167-1, 461, and MIL-S-901, to bring seamless, real-time artificial intelligence, autonomy and cybersecurity to demanding edge applications. All products are manufactured in the company’s U.S. facility, certified to ISO 9001:2015/AS9100D standards and are backed by a five-plus-year warranty.
©2025 Crystal Group, Inc. All rights reserved. All marks are property of their respective owners. Design and specifications are subject to change.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ellie Gretter
Email: ellie.gretter@crystalrugged.com
Phone: 319.378.1636 ext. 298