CHICAGO — With the pending retirement of Lee McConnell, vice-president of commodities procurement, the Blommer Chocolate Co. has announced plans to organize its commodity department.

The company said Karl (Kip) Walk, Jeff Rasinski and Sheila Fortune will take on added duties in commodity procurement, risk management and customer advisory services.

Mr. Walk, director of cocoa, will be responsible for cocoa procurement strategy and execution. He has 25 years of experience in cocoa trading and procurement of which 20 have been spent at Blommer.

New duties for Mr. Rasinski, director of commodities, will include providing market research and analytical pricing support for cocoa, together with sugar, dairy, fats/oils, energy and currency. In his 20 years in procurement and commodity trading, Mr. Rasinski held positions at Mars Snack Foods and Nestle/Dreyers before joining Blommer in 2006.

Ms. Fortune, manager of commodity hedging, will expand duties in her role in hedging and in advising customers about cocoa markets. Ms. Fortune has more than 20 years of experience in cocoa trading and technical analysis. She joined Blommer in 2006.

Mr. McConnell is retiring effective June 30 after 13 years at Blommer.