Process People & Skills: April 2013

Siemens Industry UK has appointed Jeremy Wilkinson to the position of business manager for hybrid drives for commercial vehicles in the UK and Ireland. Wilkinson has 21 years’ experience in the variable speed drives industry, working for a number of major manufacturers. He has specialised in advising on energy efficiency, harmonics and EMC best practice. He also has experience of applying variable speed drives and motors in varied applications and is a representative on the Gambica industry technical committee. The appointment follows the retirement of Mick Jones at the end of 2012.

York-based YorLab, a supplier of lab equipment, chemicals and maker of scientific and bespoke glassware, has appointed Jane Harrison as general manager. Harrison (pictured with Alex Davis, MD of YorLab) previously founded Sciantec Analytical Services, an independent contract laboratory business, offering a specialised testing service to the animal feed, animal health and pharmaceutical sectors. She developed the company from a start-up in 1991 into a £1.25m-turnover business before selling it in 2006.

Yokogawa Electric Corp. has appointed Herman van den Berg as president of Yokogawa Europe BV - succeeding Harry Hauptmeijer, who has held the role since 2002. Van den Berg started his engineering career in a uranium enrichment facility before moving to an offshore platform and refinery engineering team with a project company. He became involved in global projects and eventually became the global electrical, control and instrumentation manager for the company. He joined Yokogawa in 2005 as MD for Yokogawa South Africa, and moved in 2011 to the group’s European HQ in Amersfoort, The Netherlands, as vice president for delivery and service with the Industrial automation division.

Grimley Smith Associates (GSA) has appointed Janet Skinner as operations manager for its new regional office in Liverpool. Skinner joins GSA from Jacobs Consultancy after heading up their process safety & environment department for the last eight years. A fellow of the IChemE and an active member of the safety and loss prevention group, she is highly experienced in the fields of risk management and regulatory compliance. Skinner will continue to support IChemE’s activities as well as develop new business for GSA across the North West region. Starting her career at BNFL as a safety assessor, she moved on to various senior roles at consultancy firms ABS, Mott MacDonald and Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Chris Hardacre, head of chemistry and chemical engineering at Queen’s University Belfast, UK has been awarded the inaugural IChemE Andrew Medal in recognition of his contribution to the field of heterogeneous catalysis. Hardacre’s research is recognised as world-leading and brings together chemical engineers and chemists. Examples of the application of the research include new catalysts for low temperature hydrogenation of acids and amides, increased efficiency of liquid phase dehydrogenations and higher activity emission control systems.

ABB has appointed John Edwards as general manager high voltage products UK. He joins ABB from Schneider Electric (formerly AREVA T&D), where he was unit managing director for primary distribution switchgear business. Edwards’ career started with an apprenticeship as an electrical technician, before working his way up the ladder and joining AREVA as a tendering engineer at the same time as studying for his degree in electrical and electronic engineering.

Electronic instrumentation company, Mantracourt has expanded its workforce with the recent additions of Jonathan Purdue, technical sales; Louise Stubbs, marketing co-ordinator; and Andrew Edkins, production co-ordinator. Prior to moving to Mantracourt, Jonathan worked in analogue and digital radio and web based vehicle tracking. Stubbs had previously spent 16 years working within the marketing department of a worldwide geophysical company serving the oil & gas industry. Edkins’ background is in manufacturing, with previous experience in areas such as electrical wiring harnesses, surgical tools and industrial climate control.

AIC, which manufactures and services plant has appointed Neil Murray as its new quality, environmental and health & safety manager. He has worked in similar roles for large facilities management companies in the Far East and Australasia, and is a qualified lead auditor and NEBOSH-qualified. Another new recruit Peter Jones is an experienced site calibration engineer and a UKAS technical signatory, who has performed calibrations for many large aerospace and motorsport companies. Justin Rowlands, AIC’s new combustion engineer, is qualified in gas engineering and gas safety and has trained new engineers at a major combustion company. He is also a UKAS technical signatory and an experienced controls and electrical engineer.

John Hynes has joined Redhall Manufacturing as managing director. Hynes has over 30 years’ experience in the construction infrastructure and services, medical, automotive, aerospace and telecommunications industries. He has held senior positions at major manufacturers, including Symmetry Medical Inc, Rolls-Royce plc, Land Rover, Ford and BMW Group. Prior to joining Redhall, Hynes worked for Harsco Infrastructure where his roles included UK operations director, European operations director and latterly, managing director UK and the Channel Islands.

Emerson Process Management has appointed Roel Van Doren as president, Europe - replacing Bob Sharp, who is moving to a new position at Emerson’s St. Louis base in the US. Van Doren will continue to be based at Emerson’s European HQ in Baar, Switzerland, where he previously held the position of vice president, northern Europe. Van Doren has been with Emerson for 22 years. After ten years with the Belgian organisation, he moved to the UK and became the general manager operations for the UK and Ireland. Subsequently he became vice president of the company’s US refining and chemical industry centre.

Pneumatic products and process systems distributor Thorite has appointed Gary Vann as its national contracts manager. He joins with previous experience with Beko Technologies and eight years spent with AE Industrial.

Changes in legislation, the rising level of automation and demanding technologies all need intelligent safety strategies that can be implemented internationally - supported by relevant personnel equipped to make informed decisions on machinery safety. In response, Pilz, together with TÜV NORD, will be offering a certified machinery safety expert training programme, from February 2013. The course is primarily aimed at design engineers, project engineers, safety engineers and development engineers from the field of automation technology as well as maintenance engineers and industrial engineers.

Katie Atkinson a PhD student at the University of Cambridge has received a chemical engineering fellowship, in memory of Ashok Kumar the former UK Labour MP and a chemical engineer. She will spend three months with the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) working on a special project to produce a short briefing paper and contribute to a longer report or assist in a select committee dealing with a current inquiry relevant to chemical engineering or process industries. The Ashok Kumar Fellowship is jointly funded by the IChemE and NEPIC. Kumar was a fellow of IChemE and at the time of his death the only chemical engineer in parliament.

Mono Pumps Ltd has appointed two new area sales managers for the German municipal wastewater market. Stefan Bannick will cover the south west of the country, while Michael Thumm will be responsible for the south east.

BEKO has appointed Andrew Stanley as regional sales manager for Ireland and the English east midlands. Stanley has a BSc from Brunel University and after a short career in retail, joined Ultrafilter, now Donaldson, and remained with them for nine years. With ex-colleagues he helped launch a new start-up compressed air business as strategic sales & marketing director. Andrew then joined Compressed Air Solutions in Leicestershire and remained there for over two years.

Graham Read has joined BEKO Technologies to replace Ian Woolley who has taken up a position as resort manager in Lake Como. Graham joins BEKO from A&B Air Systems of Wrexham. He has already many years of experience starting out at Motherwell Bridge Air Systems as a store man, became a service engineer and then moved to Redhouse Engineering as service manager. Read then joined A&B as operations manager at its Runcorn operation and in 2004 moved into the sales department. He already has expertise in managing compressed air and condensate.

The IChemE and Imperial College London have jointly organised a new research event for UK chemical engineers. It will take place in Imperial College’s chemical engineering department, on 25-26 March. Called ChemEngDayUK 2013, the event aims to bring together researchers, engineers and scientists to explore technological advances and research developments in the UK’s academic chemical engineering community.

Neil Crockett has been appointed to lead the Connected Digital Economy Catapult centre of applied technology based in London. The centre aims tol help UK industry to develop new digital and internet-enabled products and services that will underpin many parts of the UK’s future economy. Crockett joins the Catapult from Cisco, where he held a number of roles including managing director.

BP has appointed Lamar McKay, currently chairman and president of BP America, as chief executive, upstream, with effect from 1 Jan, 2013. In his new role, McKay will lead BP’s combined Upstream business, comprising the exploration, developments and production divisions together with the Upstream strategy and integration team. (Read more)

Finning Power Systems has strengthened its power solutions team with two new appointments of Clint Noble and Nigel Thompson. Noble, who has joined as sales manager for data centre power solutions, has extensive experience in specifying diesel & UPS power generation turnkey installations and joins the company from Emerson Network Power (formally Chloride). He has considerable knowledge of power infrastructures and the provision of UPS and standby gensets. With over 19 years of experience in the industry, Thompson takes up the role of sales manager for gas power solutions. He has expertise in specifying gas and cogeneration products.

Cyberhawk Innovations has appointed Craig Roberts as its new chief executive officer to lead the expansion of the company and the further commercialisation of its aerial inspection and surveying services for the oil & gas and utilities markets including renewables. Roberts was formerly CEO of Mechanical Integrity Inc., a proponent of advanced NDT for the oil and gas industry, headquartered in Houston, Texas. He led the development and sale of Mechanical Integrity to PetroChem Inspection Services Inc, a subsidiary of technical service organisation TÜV SÜD

Engineering design and project management firm Lorien Engineering Solutions has appointed a new process engineering manager to its ranks in Burton. Ian Murfin joins the company from Briggs of Burton, where he was a senior process design engineer working on projects in the brewing and food sectors around the world. These include a brewery for Coors in Virginia, a large yeast facility in China, producing baker’s yeast and yeast extracts and a new CIP and water system for a Diageo spirit bottling facility in Scotland.

Davide Bocciardo from the University of Edinburgh has won Honeywell’s annual student competition for design and innovation in the process industry. The winning entry focused on the use of Honeywell’s UniSim-based simulation to model membrane separation applied to the post-combustion capture of carbon dioxide, as an alternative to the conventional method of solvent-based capture.

Professor Martin Tangney has been named Innovator of the Year by the IChemE in recognition of his work in converting whisky waste into biofuel. The founder and president of Celtic Renewables was recognised for his work in developing the technology to produce biobutanol from the by-products of whisky production. (Read more)

Liam Condon has been appointed chairman of Bayer CropScience, succeeding Sandra Peterson, who is leaving the company. Condon has been MD of Bayer Vital GmbH, and head of Bayer Pharma’s business in Germany since January 2010. He holds a BA degree in international marketing & languages from Dublin City University and an MBA from the Japan Management Association. From 2007-10 he was MD of Bayer HealthCare China and Bayer Pharma General Manager for China. Condon served as MD of Schering China starting in 2005. Before that he was regional marketing and medical director for Schering’s Asia-Pacific/Middle East region, based in Berlin. He also served for five years as head of a business unit in Japan, based in Osaka.

Dr John Edwards, senior research scientist based at the company’s global business centre at Wynyard,Teesside in the UK, has been short-listed in the ‘Innovator of the Year’ category of the IChemE Awards. This award recognizes the individual who best demonstrates his/her achievements and tangible application of chemical, biochemical and/or process engineering skills to address important economic, environmental or social issues. The awards will be presented at the IChemE 2012 Awards Dinner in November 2012.

Theo Paphitis, star of Dragons’ Den, has been announced as skills patron of The Skills Show, which will take place at NEC Birmingham between 15 to 17 November 2012. The Skills Show is the UK’s biggest skills and careers event, providing young people with the chance to find out about a career in a range of industries, including the Manufacturing industry. The event will bring to life the best of the UK’s colleges, apprenticeships and training providers with live performances, interactive demonstrations and exhibitions by groups of students from across the UK.

Emerson Process Management has appointed Stuart Brown as general manager, UK and Ireland. Brown takes over from Paul Smith who, after three years at the helm, has been appointed as Emerson vice president Middle East and Africa. Since joining Emerson in 1995 as business unit manager for Daniel Measurement & Control, Brown has held multiple roles within the company. Most recently he was business leader for the remote automation solutions organisation in Europe. Brown has over 20 years’ experience in the process industry, starting his career at AMEC.

ABB’s robotics business has signed Mike Wilson as its new gneral industry sales manager for the UK and Ireland. Wilson is a well-known figure in the world of automation and brings over 30 years of experience in industrial automation, encompassing robots and other types of automated machinery, both as a user and supplier.He continues to be involved with several of the UK bodies in industrial automation, with current roles including chairman of BARA (the British Automation and Robotics Association), vice-chairman of the Engineering and Machinery Alliance and a director of the Processing and Packaging Machinery Association.

Sandvik Materials Technology has appointed a new internal sales person, Anna Bogusz, who will be the first point of contact for customers in the North East and Scotland. Bogusz has worked in sales for over four years at Sandvik Poland, where she gained extensive product knowledge as well as manufacturing and stockholding expertise. She has undertaken training at the company’s HQ in Sandviken, Sweden, this included experience of mill production as well as distribution. Bogusz, who is currently studying English at the University of Warsaw, also speaks fluent Russian.

Hyder Consulting, a multinational advisory and design consultancy, has appointed nuclear and energy expert Paul Pearson to lead the development of its energy strategy and positioning in new markets. Pearson, who has held a range of engineering and business roles, joins Hyder Consulting from AMEC where he was business and project director. A chartered mechanical engineer with broad experience in the nuclear, power, transmissions, industrial, marine, petrochemical and commercial industries.

Metasphere has promoted Mark Davison, formerly engineering manager, to the position of engineering director. Davison has been with the company for six years and has been responsible for the engineering management function for most of that time. His new role will see him taking up further challenges in the management of the company building on the experience gained over the last four years on the company’s management group. He is the company’s elected vendor representative on the WITS Protocol Standards Association committee.

Honeywell Sensing and Control (S&C) has appointed Remi Volpe as vice president-general manager for its Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA). more than 20 years of Honeywell experience. Prior to joining S&C, he served as the EMEA marketing director-buildings and centraline business leader for Honeywell’s environmental & combustion controls business.

Royal Imtech NV is to appoint Gerard van de Aast as CEO as of April 2013. Van de Aast, who is currently CEO of VolkerWessels, will succeed René van der Bruggen who is retiring. The CEO elect will join the Imtech board on 1 Jan 2013.

UV disinfection company Hanovia has appointed Tim McDougle as its new sales and marketing director. McDougle has over 20 years’ experience in the water industry and joins Hanovia from Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies. At Veolia he held various senior sales and marketing positions in the industrial and municipal water/wastewater treatment sectors. Through extensive travel he identified new markets for the company in North America, Europe, Latin America and China. McDougle has a BSc (hons) degree in environmental science from the University of South West England.

Sir Ian Wood will be presented with a special lifetime achievement award at this year’s prestigious Oil & Gas UK Awards ceremony in Aberdeen on 8 Nov. Wood was long-time chairman of the Industry Leadership Team, which, prior to Oil & Gas UK’s establishment, represented the contracting community in engagement with the government, regulators and other organisations. He was a founder member of PILOT, the Government-industry forum which aims to secure the future of the UK oil and gas sector, and of Step Change in Safety. He also sits on the Scottish Government’s energy advisory board.

Joint integrity company Hydratight has announced a number of additions to its global team, including the appointment of Adriano Bersanelli as global procurement leader. Bersanelli, whose previous experience includes senior management positions in companies such as ASPEL Group, GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, FN Herstal and Thermo King, will co-operate with Hydratight’s sister companies - Cortland and Enerpac - to reduce costs, improve efficiency and enhance the group’s supplier base. (Read more)

Control Techniques has appointed Stewart Dowsett as UK business development manager - a new position created expanding UK sales. Dowsett has over 20 years of business experience in the industrial automation and motion control market sector. He began his career in an engineering environment and studied mechanical engineering at Brunel Technical College, Bristol. “My strategy will be to engage with UK manufacturing companies in order to develop their understanding of Control Techniques’ market-leading drives technology,” Dowsett commented.

COPA-DATA has appointed Martyn Williams as UK managing director with immediate effect. A qualified electronic engineer, Williams has over 10 years’ experience in sales, marketing and business management in the automation industry. He joins from Zenith Technologies where he was business development manager. Prior to that, he was sales manager at COPA-DATA. Previous MD Duncan Fletcher left the business in June and is pursuing other interests.

Hamamatsu Photonics UK Ltd has appointed Tim Stokes as its new managing director. Now in his 20th year with the company, Stokes started as a sales engineer and since 1998, held the position of general sales manager. Stokes gained a BSc (Hons.) Physics at Manchester University and has 25 years’ experience within the industry. He succeeds Atsushi Tsujimura, who has returned to Japan to take up a new appointment at Hamamatsu’s HQ.

powerPerfector Group Ltd has announced changes to its management team. Jamie Buchanan takes over as CEO having been with the company since 2010, whilst the founder of the company, Angus Robertson, becomes a special advisor. Subsidiary powerPerfector Ltd has appointed Suzanne Pattison, director of operations, Ben Martin, director of business strategy and market development, Michael Robertson-Lambert, director of engineering and Wayne Muncaster, director of sales.

Precision Technologies Group (PTG), a UK-based company specialising in high-precision machine tool and component design, build and supply, has appointed Neil Jones as group business development director. Previously a director of a privately owned business development, marketing and public relations company, with responsibility for a wide number of UK and international engineering technology customers, Jones offers more than 25 years’ expertise in building and developing both new and established businesses.

The High Value Manufacturing Catapult has recenty appointed Dick Elsy as its chief executive officer. He joins from his previous role as chief executive of Torotrak plc. Elsy has extensive experience in the process of innovation management and of the introduction of new technologies to market, and has led both small-scale and large organisations. Combining seven centres of excellence around the UK, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult bridges the gap between business, academia and other research organisations. It helps businesses develop and commercialise advanced technologies emerging from Britain’s world-class research base. Its long-term aim is to boost significantly the contribution of manufacturing to the UK economy.

Hitachi Europe, based in Maidenhead, UK, has appointed Kiyoshi Yamamoto as its new managing director. Yamamoto, who currently serves as executive VP in Hitachi America, succeeds Akira Shimizu, who has been appointed general manager of international strategy division, Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi is responsible for some for the largest infrastructure projects in Europe, including the construction of the Visaginas nuclear power plant in Lithuania.

The Chemical Industries Association is showing its support for the Government’s Make it in Great Britain campaign by sponsoring a competition for school children as part of the campaign’s flagship exhibition. Through this competition the chemical industry is showing how it is an important supplier to manufacturing sectors across the world. The competition which focuses on exhibition information also invites suggestions for innovative manufacturing to meet current demands.

Following Mike Stansfield’s retirement at the end of June, Bridgnorth-based oil mist extractor manufacturer, Filtermist International has appoined his son James as its new MD. James Stansfield began his career at Filtermist 14 years ago, starting as sales co-ordinator in 1998 and working his way up through the organisation to become the sales and marketing manager in 2010. He has experience of all aspects of Filtermist and has played an integral role in developing the company’s international export strategy.

Elta Fans has two announced new appointments within its applied technology division. Neil Jolliffe has been promoted to sales manager, having worked with Elta for 27 years, while Philip Smaje and Catherine Murphy join as internal sales engineers. Smaje joins from ICS Cool energy where he was a marketing and telesales executive. Murphy’s most recent role was as a technical support/sales engineer within the ventilation industry and she has also worked as an engineer with the British Army. Meanwhile, Richard Bateman, who started as an apprentice in 2011, is to join the sales team at the end of a two-year NVQ course in performing engineering operations.

David Lockett has been appointed as the new MD of Bibby Turboflex and Huco, two global power transmission brands in the Altra Industrial Motion portfolio, both with manufacturing sites in the UK. Lockett, who has a mechanical engineering degree and an MBA, has been employed at Huco for 14 years.

Water-quality monitors company Intellitect Water has appointed two new staff members. Mark Duckworth has been appointed engineering manager and will work in product development. He has an MSc in cybernetics and seven years of experience in the design of low-power, high-precision instrumentation for use in harsh environments. Jo Cooper has joined the company as product/market specialist. She has 20 years of experience in the chemical industry.

Flextraction Ltd, a maker of local exhaust ventilation (LEV) products, has appointed John Horsey as product engineer with special responsibility for the design of new extract/filtration systems Horsey brings extensive experience and knowledge in the design of fume and dust extraction systems, having previously been design and applications manager and then head of engineering at Purex Int. Ltd in Rotherham.

Hima-Sella has completed a recruitment drive in order to meet an increasing demand for engineered solutions in sectors, including rail, oil & gas, chemicals and nuclear. New full-time appointments at Hima-Sella in recent weeks include: Richard Wagstaff and Jay Sampat have joined as project engineers to serve the company’s rail sector activities; Michael Marsh has been recruited as a project engineer (controls); Alan White has been appointed as sales application engineer process safety; and Richard Easton has come on board as trainee technician (technical support). This takes the company’s head count to 97.

John Kay, senior product specialist for Rockwell Automation, medium voltage business, based in Cambridge, Ontario, has been named an IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) fellow. He is being recognised for his contributions to arc-resistant MV control and protection technologies. Kay, who has a degree in electrical/electronic engineering technology, joined Rockwell in 1988 and has worked in many areas of the MV business. Currently, he focuses on new technologies and product inceptions, including electronic, electrical and mechanical designs. He has made significant contributions to arc-resistant control equipment designs and industry standards, said Rockwell.

Lee Oakley has been confirmed as the new sales manager for UK autoclave manufacturer Priorclave. Oakley joined the company as product manager seven years ago. His new appointment is in recognition of his sales skills, product knowledge and understanding of customer requirements, the company said.

Fraser Black, former global services solutions director with GE Life Sciences has been appointed as managing director of BioCity Scotland, the centre for life science businesses in Newhouse, Lanarkshire. He takes over from Ian Webster, acting MD since the organisation’s launch in January of this year. Black joined GE Life Sciences in 2005 having previously held VP positions with Amersham Bioscience in both bioscience services and sales andmarketing. As president of Hoefer Pharmacia Biotech, he re-engineered the company to achieve growth and profitability.

ANH Refractories Europe has appointed a new international manager to drive petrochemicals sales with a core focus on Middle East markets. Tom Gencarelli has been promoted to the North West UK operation from ANH’s Pittsburgh division in the US. As international market development manager, he will target the petrochemical market across the Gulf States. Gencarelli, who joined ANH as a graduate in 2006.

Scott Safety, a maker of of respiratory and other personal protective equipment, has announced the appointment of Mark Andrews as product manager, air purified. With a degree in chemistry and qualifications in business administration and process technology, Andrews joins Scott Safety with experience in the development and introduction of technical products. Most recently with 3M’s safety, security and protection division, he started his career as an analytical chemist with ICI in Lancashire. His achievements include delivering solutions across technology platforms, developing products in compliance with standards and bringing new products to the European and Latin American markets.

Vibration control company TMC, part of AMETEK Ultra Precision Technologies, has appointed Sven Frank as European sales manager, based in Waldbronn, Germany. Prior to joining TMC, Frank held positions in engineering, technical sales, and sales management within the optical measurement equipment industry. His background includes development of key accounts in Europe, providing technical assistance to new and existing distributors, developing new applications and expanding markets through new partnerships. Frank holds a degree in technical physics from Physikalische Technik and resides in Waldbronn, Germany.

Malcolm Webb, chief executive of trade association Oil & Gas UK is to be given an honorary degree by Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University is in recognition of his services to the oil and gas industry. Webb graduated in law from Liverpool University and then qualified as a solicitor. He began his oil industry career with Burmah Oil in 1974, and subsequently worked in a series of senior roles for the British National Oil Corp., Charterhouse Petroleum and PetroFina. Prior to joining Oil & Gas UK in 2004, he spent three years as director general of the UK Petroleum Industry Association. Webb is a member of both PILOT and the Fiscal Forum government/industry bodies, and of the Scottish Government’s Energy Advisory Board. He is also a director of industry skills body OPITO.

Sir Frank Chapman, chief executive, BG Group, has been presented with the Energy Institute’s Cadman Award for outstanding services to the petroleum industry.Having spent 22 years with the Royal Dutch/Shell Group and BP, Chapman joined the British Gas Group in 1996 as MD, exploration and production, and was appointed to the BG plc Board following the demerger of Centrica in 1997. He became chief executive of BG Group in 2000 with responsibility for the overall management, strategy and day-to-day running of its upstream and downstream activities. In 2011. Chapman was awarded a knighthood in the 2011 for services to the oil and gas industries.

Honeywell has appointed Darius Adamczyk as president of Honeywell Process Solutions.He replaces Norm Gilsdorf who has moved on to becomepresident, ‘high growth regions’, Russia, Central Asia and Middle East, responsible for strategic planning, prioritizing business investment, and establishing the operational structure and processes to in these regions. Adamczyk, president of Honeywell Scanning & Mobility (HSM), was previously CEO of Metrologic, which Honeywell acquired in 2008. Before that, he held a number of global roles with Ingersoll Rand and Booz Allen Hamilton.

Rockwell Automation has appointed Martin Walder to lead its ‘industry focused’ teams in; oil & gas, water, process, automotive & energy.Walder, who previously worked for Rockwell from 1989-2001 in sales & business management roles, rejoins after seven years as managing director of ABB Robotics and a period of time in private equity. Having also previously worked for Honeywell, Walder brings with him a considerable knowledge and experience in these specialist sectors and in business management in general, said a Rockwell press statement. Walder has also been active on the CBI’s manufacturing council and is the current chairman of the engineering and manufacturing alliance (EAMA) - an umbrella trade association representing around 1700 companies in the mechanical engineering sector.

Babcock has appointed Tony Wratten as the new managing director at its subsidiary Research Sites Restoration Ltd (RSRL), which is responsible for the decommissioning and closure programme at Harwell and Winfrith. Former MD Alan Neal will now be undertaking another role within Babcock. Having qualified as a chemical engineer Wratten’s first role was as a commissioning engineer with Babcock. He subsequently worked at Aldermaston in various waste management related roles, followed by a civil service role. Wratten joined the UKAEA, before moving to Dounreay in the late 1990s, where he held a variety of positions, including managing the fuel cycle and fast reactor decommissionings, before becoming director of assurance for five years, and most recently deputy MD at Dounreay.

?St John Ambulance is seeking nominations as the charity launches its nationwide search for individuals, organisations and businesses that are leading the way in first aid. A wide range of manufacturing, logistics and transport organisations were nominated at last year’s inaugural event, including Arc Energy Resources, De La Rue, HJ Heinz Co, Jaguar Land Rover, and Nifco UK. However, it was Shoreham Port Authority which won the Workplace Award for Manufacturing, Logistics and Transport, for its commitment to encouraging a safe working culture.

Andrew Withers has been appointed technical director for Rotork Controls, the electric valve actuation division of the global Rotork flow control engineering group. He is taking over from Graham Ogden who will serve as Rotork Group R&D director. Withers joined Rotork in 2002 with a first class honours degree in electronic engineering at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. Promoted to senior engineer in 2009, he became electronics design manager in 2011.

Heinz Haller, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Dow, has been named executive vice president, president of Dow Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and chief commercial officer. (Read more)

IDEX Corp. has recently promoted Fenton Challgren to president of chemical, food & process (CFP) which includes three business units, Viking Pump, Wright Flow Technologies, located in Cedar Falls, Iowa and Richter Chemie, located in Kempen Germany. Challgren has been with IDEX Corporation for six years. His most recent role has been general manager of Viking Pump.

Hydro International has appointed Keith Hayward as national sales and marketing manager for its UK wastewater division. Hayward, a sales and marketing professional with more than 25 years’ experience in senior managerial roles, takes up the newly-created post with a brief to grow the UK Wastewater’s business in municipal and industrial markets.

McPhy Energy SA, a French-based leading supplier of solid state hydrogen storage has appointed Roland Kaeppner as CEO for McPhy Energy Deutschland GmbH. Kaeppner joins McPhy from his position as vice president and head of Siemens Hydrogen Solutions.

Industrial chain manufacturer and supplier FB Chain Ltd has appointed John Wilson to the position of product manager. Wilson has an HNC general engineeringqualification and has been working with mechanical products - in particular gear boxes and motors - for several years.

Paul de Waal has joined Litre Meter as global business development director. Previously MD of Sierra Instruments in The Netherlands, he has expertise in a range of flowmeter technologies including thermal mass flow.De Waal studied measurement and control and telecomms engineering before travelling and working in Israel, Australia and the US for several years. Returning to The Netherlands he completed his Dutch Army service before working in sales and distribution for a number of companies in the instrumentation sector including Autoclave Engineers, Danfoss Flow, Williams and Sierra.

AUMA has appointed Mark Foster as service sales manager and promoted Colin Borrows to a newly created role of service delivery manager. Foster has worked for 28 years in UK and international electric actuation sales. His roles have included business development including management and hands-on roles focussing on site-based service solutions. Borrows has a 16-year track record at AUMA: his previous role was after sales and service supervisor.

Kevin Simmonds has joined Carlo Gavazzi UK in the new role of business development manager, responsible for the company’s energy & controls product families. Simmonds joins Carlo Gavazzi from EMS Powerstar, where he held the position of sales engineer. Originally trained as an RAF engineer in instrumentation and communications, he brings many years’ experience in manufacturing, operations and engineering, plus commercial expertise, to the new role.

Hans Fischer is to join Tata Steel’s European operations as chief technical officer from 1 July. Fischer brings a wealth of experience of European steelmaking to the company. After graduating in engineering from Eindhoven University he joined Hoogovens - now part of Tata Steel - in 1985. He has held very senior positions within German steelmakers Salzgitter and ThyssenKrupp, as well as at Hoogovens. In his new role he will be responsible for Tata Steel’s significant European capital expenditure programme, as well as for operational excellence, engineering, R&D, and environment.

Newburgh Engineering, a contract manufacturer of components and assemblies for the nuclear, defence, power generation, oil and gas, and aerospace sectors, has announced a new board of directors. (Read more)

Mike Bowyer has been recognised with a special award for his services to offshore safety. The award reflects his many years supporting Step Change in Safety - an organisation dedicated to making the UK the safest place to work in the worldwide oil and gas industry. Bowyer, who has spent five years as a member of the Step Change leadership team, led the personal responsibility for safety (PRfS) workgroup, helping to producing guidance and supporting materials on the benefits of PRfS with input from around 50 organisations. He then took the role of co-chair of Step Change’s workforce engagement steering group shortly after its inception, leading the development of the soon-to-be-launched workforce engagement practical guide and survey tool.

LL Fluid Power, a division of Thorite, has recruited Steven Tranter as sales administrator. His role includes assisting with stock control, sales follow up and general administration. Tranter joins a team of pneumatics experts at the company’s new sales & service centre.

Edinburgh Instruments Ltd, a manufacturer of scientific technology products for the photonics, spectroscopy and gas sensor markets, has appointed Dr Derek Shepherd as chairman. Shepherd spent over 25 years with Aggreko plc, rising to become executive director and overseeing expansion across Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. He holds an honorary doctorate in engineering from Heriot Watt University, is chairman and founder director of University of Edinburgh spin-out company NGenTec, which developed a permanent magnet generator for wind turbines.

The engineering sector registered another robust, job-creating performance after reaching its highest level in March 2012 since the index was set in December 2009, according to the latest Reed Job Index. Other employment sectors driving this growth include IT, construction, motoring and purchasing. Overall, vacancies in the UK labour market increased by 9% in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the same period last year, whilst there was a 6% increase between Q4 2011 and Q1 2012.

UK offshore oil and gas industry organisation Oil & Gas UK has announced new appointments to its board. James Edens, vice president and managing director at CNR International (UK) Ltd, and Gordon Ballard, chairman and country manager of Schlumberger UK Ltd, have been appointed the co-chairmen of the organisation, representing, respectively, the operator and contractor communities. The new vice co-chairmen are Trevor Garlick, regional president North Sea at BP, and John Pearson, managing director of AMEC Group. Robin Davies, vice president - HSEQ & business improvement at Subsea 7, has been appointed honorary treasurer. All were previously serving on the board, Davies and Ballard as contractor co-chairman and vice co-chairman respectively.

SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. has announced that Pierre Duhaime has stepped down from his position as chief executive officer and as a director and will retire from the company. A search for a new CEO, it said, would begin immediately under the direction of board chairman Gwyn Morgan. Both internal and external candidates will be considered. Ian Bourne is to assume the function of vice-chairman and interim CEO. The board has set up a ‘special transition committee’ composed of the chairman, interim CEO, and the chairmen of the Audit and HR committees to assist with transitional matters, including serving as a resource to the management team.

Meech International has appointed Donald Lewis as business development manager, responsible for the development and support of Meech in new market areas. Lewis has over 25 years’ experience in the label and converting industry. He previously spent three years at Erhardt + Leimer GmbH as international business development manager, print inspection.

JK Lasers has appointed a new sales manager for Germany. Michael Haase trained as a mechanical engineer and has ten years’ experience in the laser industry. After working for the R&D Institute at the Laser Zentrum, Hannover, he established his own laser company H2B Photonics. When the company was acquired by ROFIN-BAASEL Lasertech, Haase went on to work as its solar industry sales manager. He was led the development and commercialisation of new laser processing methods within these roles, and consequently has a broad knowledge of laser technology, including fiber and Nd:YAG.

Westley Engineering, a specialist in contract pressings, pressed tools and precision CNC bespoke components, has devised a ‘new take’ on the core apprenticeship scheme which sees them ‘loan’ out their young people to like-minded firms to gain a more rounded training package. Located in a state-of-the-art factory in Aston, the company has already joined forces with Reddich-based Peterson Springs and fellow Midlands Assembly Network (MAN) members Barkley Plastics and Brandauer to kick-start the project and is looking to invite more businesses to take part. The concept involves the apprentice - working towards the national qualification - being given the opportunity to spend time (usually a month) at one of the other manufacturers, thus providing greater experience in more disciplines of engineering and a more diverse understanding of how different companies andindustries work.

Pipe Center has appointed Patrick Reid to the position of account executive in its industrial sales team. Working out of Pipe Centre’s branch at Ashford, Kent, he is to develop sales with industrial customers across London and the South East, focussing on projects in the process, manufacturing, food and drink, water and power industries. Reid will provide technical support across Pipe Centre’s full range of industrial valves, fittings, boilers, pipe work and related accessories.

The number of temporary workers employed within manufacturing has risen for the second time this year according to data from de Poel, a UK procurer of temporary agency labour. The data shows that the number of hours worked by temporary staff has increased year-on-year by 35% in January and year-on-year by 48% in February as the manufacturing sector has increased its labour needs to support improved levels of output. Reports out by the Purchasing Managers’ Index showed levels of activity in manufacturing were at its highest for eight months in January 2012, reflecting new orders and increased production.

The University of Strathclyde’s multi-million pound Power Networks Demonstration Centre (PNDC) has moved a step closer to completion following the appointment of Dr Iliana Portugues as operations director. Dr Portugues attended a ‘topping out’ ceremony at the Cumbernauld site of the £12.5 million centre that will accelerate the adoption of new, ‘smart’ technologies, from advanced power grids to electric cars and intelligent household appliances. A leading figure in the energy industry, Dr Portugues previously worked as a senior project manager at the Electric Power Research Institute in California. She also founded a university spin-out company, Elimpus - which provides products and services for monitoring electricity sub-stations using radio frequency measurements.

Philip Burness has joined Rotork as director of site services, responsible for its worldwide after sales and engineering projects business. Based at Bath, UK, Rotork manufactures valve actuators, valve control systems and precision control instruments. Burness has over 30 years’ experience in process industry service and maintenance activities, most recently as the service director for an international manufacturer of instrumentation and control systems. His previous experience includes instrument and control design, implementation and maintenance responsibilities in the chemical, plastics and power generation industries. Burness replaces Grant Wood, who has been appointed MD of Rotork’s electric valve actuation division.

Siemens apprentice Adam France has won the ’Against All Odds’ award at the inaugural Leeds Apprenticeships Awards. The awards, organised by Leeds City Council in partnership with the National Apprenticeships Service, recognise apprentices across the city, plus employers and ambassadors who have been committed to getting young people into work. France, who is one of five apprentices at Siemens Mechanical Drives in Leeds, overcame an unsettled start to his apprenticeship, including a switch to a different course, to become a key talent and asset to the business, the company said.

Aberdeen-based subsea engineers Jee Ltd will increase the size of the workforce at its Aberdeen and Tonbridge offices to 100. MD Trevor Jee said: “We are looking for industry experts in installation, process and flow assurance, corrosion, and structural subsea engineering, as well as cables, and later on in the year, engineers with riser and flexible experience … We are also able to convert civil engineers into subsea specialists through our conversion programme. Jee currently has 66 employees: 19 based in Aberdeen, 33 in the London office (Tonbridge), the rest home-workers/tutors.

SNC-Lavalin has announced that Riadh Ben Aïssa, executive vice-president, and Stéphane Roy, vice-president are no longer with the company. A group statement indicated that the departures related to issues concerning business conduct. Charles Chebl has been appointed executive vice-president of the company’s infrastructure and construction business unit. Chebl has more than 25 years of experience with the company in the infrastructure and construction sector, and has led some of the its largest projects.

Dorita Weissfuss has joined Flexitallic’s applications team, supporting both the Flexitallic and Novus Sealing brands. Weissfuss has several years of experience of providing engineered solutions to a wide range of industries, including aerospace, packaging and power transmission technology. After working as a draftswoman in Germany, she moved to the UK in 2005, where she started studying for her degree in engineering. Weissfuss also holds a diploma for ’design and innovation’.

Penspen Group has appointed Ibrahim Washash as its new regional manager of integrity services in the Middle East. Penspen provides integrity services throughout UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Kazakhstan and Iraq from its principal Middle East office in Abu Dhabi. Washash joins Penspen from Wood Group’s facilities integrity management consultancy for both greenfield and brownfield projects. Having worked for a number of UAE-based operators, published papers and codes of practice, he has over 30 years’ experience in technical audits and evaluations, failure assessments, corrosion prevention, cathodic protection, intelligent pigging, risk assessment and integrity management systems. He is a chartered engineer, a professional member of the Institute of Corrosion, a member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, and a NACE-certified coating inspector

BP is increasing its annual UK graduate recruitment by 50%, to nearly 250 graduates, in 2012, the company announced 2 Feb. “BP is hiring more bright young minds than ever before and I’m sure the UK’s young science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) community will be pleased to hear we are ramping up our recruitment again this year,” said Emma Judge, head of UK graduate recruitment at BP.

Fluor Corp. has elected David Seaton as its new chairman. Seaton, who was named chief executive officer and company director in February 2011, will hold both the chairman and CEO positions. Alan Boeckmann has retired having served the last year as the non-executive board chairman and the previous nine years in the role as Fluor’s chairman and CEO. Seaton is a board member of The Mosaic Co. and the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative within the World Economic Forum. He is also a board member of the American Petroleum Institute and the U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council. Seaton serves as co-chair of the B20/G20 Task Force on Corruption and as co-chair of the World Economic Forum?s Global Agenda Council on Corruption.

Hi-line Industries Ltd, a manufacturer of compressed air treatment, conditioning and purification equipment, has appointed Mark Baily as a service & production co-ordinator. Baily has both UK and overseas experience of the co-ordination functions required following nearly 25 years working for a major filtration company. This experience included stock control and purchasing as well as overseeing contracts and planning for technical personnel operating within the customer servicing environment. He started his career having passed with distinctions and merits in BTEC - HNC business & finance as well as NEBOSH health and safety management.

Adrian Lee has left his position as UK and Europe managing director of air handling specialist Gast Group Ltd to start his own company - Absolute Air & Gas Ltd - specialising in compressed air and gas systems. Lee has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, having established JUN-AIR in the UK in 1995 to supply the dental, laboratory, industrial and automotive markets. Following JUN-AIR’s acquisition by Gast Manufacturing in 2007, he became MD for the European business of both Gast & JUN-AIR brands.

Ian Ritchie, managing director of Brammer, has been given an expanded remit to lead the recently acquired industrial tools, maintenance and health & safety product distributor Buck & Hickman. The £27.6m acquisition is intended to create a ’one-stop shop’ for industrial MRO supply, operating from around 120 locations across the UK. Ritchie has been MD of Brammer UK since December 2003.

CompAir/Gardner Denver has appointed Colin Mander to the newly-created post of aftermarket sales director across the whole of Europe, Middle East and Africa. This promotion follows Colin’s three years as managing director of CompAir in the UK.

Chris Hall has been appointed sales director of CompAir UK. Hall has worked in the compressed air industry since 1985 and was previously CompAir’s Sales and Service Manager - East, a position that he has held for the last four years.

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has signed a resource protocol for the recruitment of employees from Magnox Ltd to Jacobs’ UK operations. The deal gives Jacobs access to a skilled pool of talent to augment and develop its various teams of experts serving the industry. This protocol also increases the career choices available to Magnox staff who wish to continue to develop their careers in the nuclear industry. By providing future employment opportunities for its staff, Magnox can better retain essential skills at its sites. Don Nightingale, Magnox transition director said: “This type of agreement provides options for our employees who wish to remain in the UK nuclear industry, whether in nuclear decommissioning, nuclear power and electricity generation, or defense projects.”

Siemens Industry Automation and Drive Technologies has appointed two new recruits to its sensors and communication division to strengthen its support for the power and aggregates industries. Ian Elsby and Raj Kandasamy take on two newly created roles, covering the north and south respectively to provide dedicated expertise for this key area of industry. Elsby joins Siemens from Endress+Hauser, with over nine years process instrumentation expertise. Having been with Siemens for over four years, Kandasamy moves into the new role to apply his 15 years’ industry experience to enhance Siemens’ expertise and reach in the environmental power, mining, aggregates and cement industries.

Thorite has announced two appointments at LL Fluid Power, its recently opened West Midlands sales and service centre, based in Brierley Hill near Dudley: Stephen Lawrence becomes general manager of the new venture. He has spent over 36 years in the pneumatics business with companies including Air Systems, Nichols Hydramatic, Minett Fluid Power and LL Pneumatics. Joining Lawerence as key account manager is Kevin Slyde, who has extensive pneumatics industry experience.

Dhiresh Mistry has joined Leuze as an electronics salesman. He brings 22 years experience selling to a broad range of Midland’s industries from his time with RS Components. As the latest member of its ’sensor people’ team, Mistry joins Leuze as it celebrates its 150th anniversary, having started out as a textile company near Stuttgart, Germany.

Stephen Taylor hasjoined Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies as business development director for industrial outsourcing.Taylor has over 20 years’ experience in a number of markets including industrial, life sciences, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, energy, food/drink and chemicals. He joins Veolia from a large international engineering consultancy and service company where he led their sales and marketing functions. He also has relevant experience in process and project engineering.

Adept Technology Inc. has appointed John Boutsikaris senior vice president of sales and marketing. Boutsikaris brings over 30 years of experience in global sales, marketing and channel management in high technology and capital equipment markets. In his role with Adept Technology, he will be responsible for setting the company’s global sales, marketing and post-sales operational strategy.

PowerPerfector has appointed Mike Carr as a non-executive director. Carr has experience and expertise in technology and research management. He is currently a member of the UK government’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB), vice president, trustee and fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. From 2001 to 2008, he was chief science officer and director of research and venturing at BT.

BEKO Technologies Ltd has hired Michael Williams to take over the role of regional sales manager for the South of England. Michael has extensive experience in the compressed air industry in the UK and his native South Africa. He has worked for Ingersoll Rand and more recently MBAS, a large multi depot distributor of compressed air products. Williams is a millwright by original training, going on to take an Engineering Diploma then a business studies qualification.

Sanderson, a publicly-owned UK provider of manufacturing and supply chain IT solutions to the food and drink industry, has appointed sector specialist Mike Gallagher to head up new business development for its UnityF8 business. Gallagher joins Sanderson from Maxima plc. Prior to this he was sales manager at Solarsoft Process Manufacturing Systems / SSI. One of a select number of Microsoft-certified dynamics sales professionals in the UK, he has an MSc in IT for manufacturing from Warwick and a BSc (Hons) from Manchester University.

Advantech Europe BV has appointwd Tony Milne to head its power and energy market business dvelopment. Milne has over 20 years experience of developing new businesses: he spent eight years at Ricoh Co Ltd, the leading copier company, as it went through the revolution caused by digital and networking technologies, overseeing a variety of sales, marketing and training roles at European level. He has lately worked eight years in the industrial sector which has also gone through a significant change with the adoption of Ethernet and TCP/IP technologies, the Web and wireless communications.

Invensys plc has appointed Mike Caliel as president and CEO of Invensys Operations Management with effect from 1 Jan, 2012. Caliel was previously with Invensys from 1993 to 2006, latterly as chief executive of Invensys Process Systems, the largest of the predecessor companies that were brought together to form Invensys Operations Management in early 2009. He has over 25 years experience in the industry and was until recently CEO of Integrated Electrical Services, Inc. Caliel is taking over from Sudipta Bhattacharya who joined the group in 2007 as president of the Wonderware Software division and has been the leader of Invensys Operations Management since February 2009. Sudipta is taking up a new role outside Invensys.

Adrian Lee has left his position as UK and Europe managing director of air handling specialist Gast Group Ltd (formerly JUN-AIR and Gast Manufacturing) to start his own company - Absolute Air & Gas Ltd - specialising in compressed air and gas systems. Lee has more than 30 years’ experience in the industry, having established JUN-AIR in the UK in 1995. Following JUN-AIR’s acquisition by Gast Manufacturing in 2007, he became MD for the European business of both Gast & JUN-AIR brands.

Fluor Corp. has announced that Kirk Grimes will assume the role of group executive for operations overseeing the company’s construction, procurement, project risk management and sustainability functions, as well as project execution services, ’project excellence network’ and strategic planning. He is also to lead a business-change process across all five Fluor business groups. Grimes has served as president of Fluors Global Services Business Group since 2003.

Fluor Corp. has appointed Garry Flowers as group president for global services, which includes its operations & maintenance business, TRS temporary staffing and AMECO equipment rental business. Flowers previously served as senior vice president for health, safety & environmental; corporate security; and industrial relations. He will retain oversight of these functions. Flowers was previously president and CEO of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions - Fluor-led partnership that oversees the management, cleanup and operations at the US department of energy’s Savannah River Site.

Cogent SSC and the National Skills Academy for Nuclear are to hold their fourth collaborative Skills Awards evening for the industry. The event will be held in