Transdek UK, the double deck trailer manufacturer, has appointed Paul Avery to the new role of managing director, trailers, as the company continues to expand its innovative double deck trailer operations to meet increasing demand. Avery joins Transdek from semitrailer manufacturer Montracon, where he was also MD. Prior to this, he worked from 1999 to 2015 at Schmitz Cargobull, a German trailer and truck bodies manufacturer, progressing from engineering manager to MD. He will be responsible for increasing sales of Transdek double deck trailers and developing trailer manufacturing at the company’s Harworth site. This will involve driving output with a longer-term view of establishing a new facility dedicated to trailer production. Avery said: “I am very excited by the vision of Transdek founder Mark Adams, regarding changing the double deck and single deck markets offering a complete logistics solution. The company has also restructured its senior management team, with sales director Leon Butler promoted to the new position of MD of modular loading solutions and Mark Adams, FCLIT, becoming chief executive officer.
David MacDonald
SDC Trailers have announced the appointment of David MacDonald as sales director for the UK market. After graduating in 1986 as a mechanical engineer, MacDonald commenced employment in the transport and logistics industry, latterly at Schmitz Cargobull, where he worked for 17 years. Enda Cushnahan, CEO of SDC Trailers, said: “SDC is delighted to bring on board someone with David’s level of expertise in the industry and in particular the UK market. David’s knowledge of engineering of trailers coupled with his sales experience will ensure he brings the most premium level of service to this role.”
Left to right: Vicente, Journoux and Eldridge
UK-based emission reduction specialist Eminox is strengthening its team with three new directors. As the company heads into its 40th year, Eminox has promoted Rachel Eldridge and Carlos Vicente, and welcomed Cyril Journoux to the company. Eldridge is the first female to be promoted into a senior management role, taking on the position of operations director after two years with the business. In her new role, she will focus on driving efficiency and increasing capacity. Vicente has been promoted to retrofit sales director from international business development manager after nine years within the company. He will focus on delivering solutions for new ultra-low emission zones and clear air zones, as well as expanding into new markets. Finally, Journoux has been named original equipment (OE) sales director. He brings 12 years’ experience having previously worked for Parker Hannifin and Tata Technologies.
Grant Law
Asset Alliance Group has appointed Grant Law as marketing director to help steer its portfolio of businesses that includes commercial vehicle sales, contract hire, rental and leasing, and general asset finance. Following a recent and extended consultative role for Asset Alliance Group, which comprises Asset Alliance, ATE Truck & Trailer Sales, Forest Asset Finance and Total Reefer, Law has now joined the business full-time. Law has worked in senior marketing positions across a range of industries including brewing, leisure, health care, electronics, food manufacturing, IT and utilities.
Richard Waiton
Richard Waiton has been appointed as a director of the board at FleetCheck and will oversee the company’s new Northern regional office. He has been working with the fleet software company on a consultancy basis since 2015, specialising mainly in the commercial vehicle sector. The new FleetCheck regional office has opened in Doncaster due to the company’s user base of larger CVs becoming increasingly focused in the North of England. Waiton’s involvement in the CV sector dates back more than three decades, as Group transport manager for Polypipe PLC and transport operations manager for MSAS Global Logistics, as well as consultancy roles.
Heike van de Kerkhof
Castrol has appointed Heike van de Kerkhof as head of its Europe and Africa lubricants business, a position based in the UK. She joins Castrol from The Chemours Company (a new company created in 2015 from the DuPont Performance Chemicals Businesses) where she was vice president, global sales, Titanium Technologies and president, Chemours International Operations. Van de Kerkhof has had an international career since joining DuPont over 25 years ago in a variety of regional and global senior sales, marketing and venturing roles. Heike has also served as a non-executive director of Neste Oil.
Left to right: Wyton, Johnson, White and Morris
The Fortec Distribution Network is gearing up for growth in the pallet market with the appointment of a new team to drive the business forward. Fortec’s business unit director, Craig Johnson, joined Fortec with previous experience at Kuehne + Nagel, Eddie Stobart, FedEx and Culina. A key focus will be on improving efficiency, productivity, health & safety and operational excellence across the network. Joining him is newly-appointed general manager, operations, Graeme Morris, commercial general manager Steve Wyton and Watford Gap UK and international hub manager Stuart White. Together they have decades of experience in distribution which will enable them to build on Fortec’s stable and robust network to win more business in the growing market.
Eddie Stobart has added two people to its operations team, as it continues in its commitment to improve the services delivered to customers. Antony Leighton has been appointed as sector director for manufacturing, industrial and bulk (MIB) and Nick Winder as sector director for retail. Both have about 20 years’ experience in the sector. Both MIB and retail are important areas for Eddie Stobart. For MIB, Eddie Stobart has diversified its fleet to support customers with different equipment such as powder tankers and cement mixers. For retail, Eddie Stobart offers retail customers real time access to stock, using barcode tracking and state of the art warehouse management systems, in addition to comprehensive and versatile multimodal transport solutions.
Karen Preston
Ryder has appointed Karen Preston as UK head of marketing. She brings to the role more than 20 years of experience in business-to-business marketing and communications. Prior to joining Ryder, she was communications and marketing manager at Schaeffler UK, the global automotive and industrial supplier. Also, the company has promoted Nick Allera, national customer operations manager, to be head of area sales, leading Ryder’s area sales management team covering the UK. Both employees will now report to John Murray, Ryder’s sales and marketing director.
Andrew Beach
Test World, provider of tyre and vehicle winter test services, has appointed Andrew Beach as its new business development director, to be responsible for all sales activities at Test World, and play a key role in continuing to accelerate its growth. Beach has spent his career working in automotive test and development. He joined Millbrook in 2000 and has been working closely with Test World since its acquisition by Millbrook. Test World became part of Millbrook in September 2015. Janne Seurujärvi, managing director of Test World, commented: “I welcome Andrew to our team. At Test World, we are leading the world in winter tyre testing, both outdoors and indoors. We are also expanding our vehicle test offering. Andrew’s wide experience in the automotive industry is very important in supporting our ambitious growth plans.”
Tim Stacey, managing director of Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle dealer group Rygor, is celebrating 25 years at the company this year and 10 years as MD. He joined team members in February at The Manor Hotel in Castle Combe for the company’s annual long service recognition lunch, which throws the spotlight on Rygor employees who have been with the company more than 10 years. In total, 15 Rygor team members joined the Rygor board of directors.
Nick Andrews has been appointed as commercial vehicles director at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK. In his new role, Andrews will oversee the sales and operations of financial services for Mercedes-Benz Truck, Mercedes-Benz Van and EvoBus customers, maximising retention to directly support the ambitions of the brands to keep their customers moving. He was previously fleet and remarketing director at Mercedes-Benz Cars UK.
Harry Hustler
Harsh has appointed Harry Hustler, 29, as southeast England business development manager, responsible for its tipping cylinders, sheeting systems, hookloaders and skiploaders product lines. Starting his career as a graduate management trainee with Hargreaves Services plc, Hustler has five years of experience at the ‘sharp end’ of the bulk haulage transport sector, his activities including customer liaison, contract management and running a fleet of subcontractors.
Jacobs Vehicle Systems, the US manufacturer of diesel and natural gas engine retarding systems and valve actuation mechanisms, has appointed Sam Fabian as the vice president of global operations. He originally joined Jacobs Vehicle Systems in 2008 as an operations manager in the Bloomfield, Connecticut, facility, but left after a few years to spend seven years at Gems Sensors, most recently as vice president of global operations where he was responsible for Gems Sensors’ facilities located in Connecticut and the United Kingdom.
Steering and driveline firm Nexteer Automotive has appointed Rüdiger Hiemenz as executive director engineering - Europe and South America division. He joins the company with over 20 years of experience in global project and R&D management at OEMs and suppliers including Opel, Mando, GKN and multiple others. He will be responsible for engineering across all product lines in Nexteer Europe and Brazil, at facilities including the newly-created European Technical Centre in Poland, as well as the European and Brazilian customer service centres. His activities will encompass all engineering phases, spanning R&D, new business pursuit, application, and production support at Nexteer.
The board of directors of PACCAR, the corporate parent of the DAF Trucks brand, among other operations, has elected Harrie Schippers as president and chief financial officer (CFO). Schippers has worked at PACCAR for 31 years and was previously executive vice president and chief financial officer at its corporate offices in Bellevue, Washington, after serving as president of DAF Trucks in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, from 2010 to 2016.
FUNDRAISING AND CHARITY NEWS
Dartford-based recovery firm Dynes has arranged an inaugural charity fundraising event for the Recovery Industry Support Charity (RISC). Taking place on Saturday 28 April 2018 at the Brands Hatch Mercure Hotel, the gala dinner will be an opportunity to honour recovery drivers and the work they do while highlighting the risks these professionals accept every day while carrying out their duties. The event will include a live DJ, auction and raffle as well as a headline performance by West End’s Jersey Boys. All proceeds will go to RISC, an organisation working to provide immediate financial assistance to individuals working within the recovery industry who are impacted by a work-related accident. Adam Drury, group general manager of Dynes, said that the issue of hard shoulder safety was brought home to the company when one of its staff, Steve Godbold, was killed during a recovery call. He added: “We are therefore pleased to be able to support the industry through the work that RISC does to sustain families affected by these tragedies.”
Commercial vehicle fleet services specialist Fraikin is celebrating its 40th anniversary in the UK with a year-long charity campaign aiming to raise at least £40,000 for 13 nominated charities. Fraikin has planned more than 30 events to take place throughout the year, from simple cake sales and raffles, to a 24-hour Three Peaks Challenge and a cycle tour that aims to visit every Fraikin site across the UK, covering an impressive 750 miles in just six days. The money raised will be split between national charities like Cancer Research UK, Help for Heroes and Parkinson’s UK, as well as local causes in Coventry and the Midlands, including the Air Ambulance and Zoe’s Place Baby Hospice. Money will also go towards Team Brit, the competitive motor racing team comprised entirely of drivers with disabilities, of which Fraikin has been an official partner since 2017.
Transport operator FirstGroup has exceeded its three-year partnership goals with Prostate Cancer UK by more than £500,000, having donated more than £1.5 million in value to the charity. With two months of the partnership remaining, more than one million ‘Know Your Prostate’ pocket guides have been printed, some which have already helped people understand their risk of developing prostate cancer, and get the support they need. The employee-voted partnership began in April 2014 with an ambitious target of £1 million in value to be donated over the course of three years, in the form of cash, employee fundraising, and the commercial value of gifts in kind. More than £350,000 in cash has been raised by employees, company donations and through match-funding schemes. FirstGroup also donated advertising space on its buses and at railway stations to Prostate Cancer UK to help raise awareness of the disease and encourage the public to join the fight against prostate cancer. Throughout the partnership, thousands of employees have attended awareness talks delivered by the charity’s network of volunteers, during which they were encouraged to share the information with their family, friends and customers.
Mercedes-Benz vans and trucks dealership Rygor Commercials has raised more than £24,000 for its 2017 employee-nominated charities of the year, James Hopkins Trust, Dorothy House Hospice Care and Bath Cats & Dogs Home. The initiative was set up to enable the company’s team members to nominate and vote to support charities which benefit some of the local communities which the company calls home. Fundraising events included physical challenges, quiz nights, Christmas Tree collections, selection box donations, a masked ball, and some brave team members even did The Three Peaks Challenge.
Logistics provider Europa Worldwide Group has announced its commitment to fund a brand-new play area for sick children, close to its Dartford headquarters. The play area is for the children’s ward of Darent Valley Hospital, in Dartford. Children admitted to its Willow Ward were not able to play outside when the hospital’s old climbing frame was deemed unsafe and cordoned off last summer. Europa employee, credit manager Chris McGurk, first became aware of the damaged play area when visiting two friend’s children on the ward and wanted to see if the company was able to help. Together with a donation of £10,000 from Europa’s charity fund, kind-hearted staff from across the UK will be taking part in charitable challenges and activities in order to raise the remaining £6,000 needed to install the new equipment.