Asset Alliance has appointed Steve Stanton, 58, as head of sales for its new Total Traffic Management division, with responsibility for what is claimed to be one of the most comprehensive traffic management vehicle fleets in the country. Stanton brings a wealth of experience within the commercial vehicle contract hire and leasing sector to the new role, joining Asset Alliance after nine years at Alltruck – including the last two years as sales director. In his new role, Stanton will be based at the company’s head office in Wolverhampton and responsible for directing all sales and business development activities for the division, reporting to David Potter, commercial development director. Total Traffic Management was launched by Asset Alliance in June 2017 following a £3m investment to acquire more than 170 specialist vehicles leased to customers by Hull-based bodybuilder Martin Williams. The new division gives operators access to a modern fleet of predominantly 3.5, 7.5, 18 and 26-tonne vehicles, equipped for all aspects of traffic management including cone laying and collection, workforce protection and vehicle signposting. Stanton says: “This is a really exciting new venture for Asset Alliance, and it’s fantastic to be involved in the operation from day one.”
Tiger Trailers has welcomed the fourth generation of the Cartwright family into the industry, with Jack Cartwright, son of joint managing director Steven, joining as graduate sales engineer. Jack, 20, who graduated from Warwick University with a degree in history in July, admits that his decision to join Tiger Trailers was initially not a straightforward one: “Like many students, when I started university I wasn’t sure exactly what career path I was going to take. I had purposely been ignoring the obvious choice as I wanted to explore my options, but having observed Tiger’s development over the last three years the opportunity to become involved after my graduation became impossible to overlook. I wanted to be involved in a role that allowed me to work face-to-face with people, so sales seemed the perfect fit.” Having grown up in a family synonymous with the industry – his great grandfather Stanley established S. Cartwright & Sons – Jack understands that his family name has added a little extra pressure and holds no illusions that he has a lot to learn about the industry. Starting on the first rung of the ladder, he will immerse himself in every aspect of the business before settling into the sales team.
Scania dealer TruckEast has appointed a new general manager, Matthew Lee, to head up one of its largest branches in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. Joining with 10 years in commercial, and close to 30 years’ experience in automotive in total, Lee’s most recent position was running the Wellingborough-based workshop for competitor Volvo Truck & Bus. In his new role, Matthew is responsible for over 70 employees, heading up its service, parts and bodyshop divisions and running the branch’s 24-hour, 14-bay workshop. The site boasts a full-size ATF lane, tacho centre, truck wash and comprehensive parts store selling both Scania and all-makes VRS parts. There is also an accident repair centre on site.
Boughton Engineering has announced the appointment of Stuart Wheatley as its new Area Sales Manager – South. Based in the Home Counties, Stuart will take over a territory which stretches from East Anglia, across the southern half of the country and down to the south west. Apart from his previous sales and business development experience in the sector, Stuart has worked also previously at the practical ‘hands-on’ end of the industry, operating vehicles, including on waste and recycling. On leaving school, he joined the family’s car, van and truck sales business before becoming an owner operator of his own transport business. He holds both Class 1 and 2 HGV licences and a driver CPC.
Marshall Fleet Solutions has appointed Ian Gilbert to the new and updated role of its fleet management division business stream manager. Commenting on Ian’s appointment, Jason Broderick, FMS head of business stream, said: “Ian has 10 staff reporting to him directly and has responsibility for operational management of the Marshall Fleet Management locations in East Anglia, London and the south east areas. He will also be responsible for efficient P&L and operational control of the business stream.” Prior to joining Marshall Fleet Solutions, Gilbert worked for many years within the commercial vehicle industry in service and after sales roles, including 11 years at Pullman Fleet Services and most recently at Citywest Commercials.
Allison Transmissions president and chief financial officer David Graziosi will succeed chief executive officer Lawrence Dewey upon his retirement in June 2018. Thomas Rabaut, lead director of the board, said: “Larry is an exceptional leader who has successfully guided Allison through several periods of significant change while positioning it well for the future. Since joining Allison in 2007, Dave has demonstrated excellent leadership skills, a clear understanding of Allison and the ability to expand his role.” Graziosi, 51, joined Allison as executive vice president, CFO and treasurer in November 2007 shortly after the sale of Allison Transmission by General Motors to The Carlyle Group and Onex Corporation, ultimately leading to an IPO in March 2012. Graziosi was named president in January 2016. Graziosi began his career inaccounting and has extensive experience in multinational manufacturing businesses.
Refrigerated van specialist CoolKit has received Investors In People accreditation according to the 2015 IiP standard. It underwent a rigorous assessment, with reviewers looking at the company’s procedures, conducting workplace observations and carrying out interviews with employees. Rupert Gatty, Managing Director at CoolKit, said: “Since the last review, there have been significant improvements both in performance and approach. We believe in creating transparency and trust among the staff, with a clear purpose, vision and strategy in place.”
Hella Gutmann Solutions has recruited a new business development manager for the north/M1 corridor region and brings a wealth of experience, having spent 25 years within the automotive repair industry. His previous role was as a mobile support automotive engineer for European Tyre Enterprises in which he specialised in driving diagnostics and advanced repairs.
Schaeffler has announced the appointments of Tony Yates and Lucie Campbell to its digital marketing team. Both have been tasked with helping to develop its Repxpert free online workshop portal that provides access to information about LuK, FAG, INA and Ruville products, tools and technology. Such is the demand for the service that Yates and Campbell have been recruited to increase the number of videos and step-by-step technical guides, and to improve the overall look and feel of the product, tools and training information. Yates joins Schaeffler as digital media & marketing executive, bringing considerable experience to the role following stints in motoring journalism, marketing and social research. He will be responsible for all digital channels in the UK.He will be assisted by Campbell, fresh from earning an English degree at Manchester University, who will be tasked with managing the social media calendar. According to marketing manager Jeff Earl, the addition of personnel to the marketing department was crucial to the development of Repxpert in the short and long-term future. He said: “Repxpert contains three key working areas: ‘Work’, ‘Learn’ and ‘Inform’, which combined gives access to almost everything that a mechanic needs to know to help run a modern workshop. We need to work on informing workshops of just how powerful a tool Repxpert is and to learn from them, so that we can continue to improve the offer. The addition of two specialists, in Tony and Lucie, to the REPXPERT team will help us to achieve these aims.”