Machinery Imports’ Clive Carter Departs

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Machinery Imports’ Clive Carter Departs: Machinery Imports General Manager, Clive Carter, bid a fond farewell to his team this month, as he departed the business after 13 years.

Making a significant contribution to the business during his ‘bakers dozen’ tenure, Clive started with the Ferris and Wright brands whilst working at IPU Group, before transferring to the T H WHITE Group when the distribution of the brands was taken over in 2016.

Machinery Imports' Clive Carter Departs

Over the past 3 years as General Manager at Machinery Imports, Clive has steered the team through both the booming and more challenging seasons, sharing his extensive knowledge and experience of the industry, and offering a relentless wit that has kept the team laughing no matter what.

Head of Machinery Imports, Bill Johnston, commented “Clive will be missed by all of the Machinery Imports team, we wish him the very best of luck and are confident he will make a success of all his future endeavours.”

“In departing the business, Clive leaves it in a strong position, with a positive year behind us so far in 2019 and extensive plans for further growth over the coming months and years.”

Whilst Clive is no longer a member of the organisation, he remains a highly respected and well liked ‘unofficial team member’, with the team arranging a fitting send off for him last week. At the event Clive was presented with an engraved statuette of a Spitfire fighter aircraft amongst other gifts – a thoughtful souvenir relating to one of Clive’s many interests.

Bill concludes, “with an ever expanding and high-quality dealer network, a team of experienced and hard-working colleagues in Machinery Imports, and superior quality machinery brands, we continue to strive forward.”

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Ransomes Jacobsen’s New Apprentices

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Ransomes Jacobsen’s New Apprentices: Ransomes Jacobsen, has added 12 new engineering trainees to their successful apprenticeship scheme.

The programme is now into its seventh year with 27 local apprentices working through the craft, welding and technical areas of the manufacturing process. The machines the apprentices help build are shipped all over the world and are used at major sporting venues from Ipswich to Dubai.

Ransomes Jacobsen's New Apprentices

Passing on the knowledge of their current employees to a new generation is the core of the scheme. Nationwide, it is well known that there is a skills shortage in engineering due to a reduction in large scale manufacturing businesses, with only a small number remaining that use the same core skills as Ransomes.

Simon Rainger, operations director at Ransomes Jacobsen, views the scheme as a long-term commitment to manufacturing in Ipswich and wants it to continue benefitting young people in the area.

He said: “We’ve been manufacturing in Ipswich for 187 years and we’ve always employed local people, and we want to continue that with younger generations. We need to develop future experts by learning from our current staff, and that gives young people the chance to learn a valuable skill and build a career within Ransomes where they are highly valued team members.

“The apprentices are very well received in their work areas, and their rate of learning is a direct result of the one on one time they spend with trained staff. They are regarded as essential staff members, and there is no differentiation because they’re apprentices.

“To date, the scheme has been very successful, and we’re looking to attract a wider range of people with our 2020 apprenticeships. We currently have a particular focus on showing females the career opportunities available within a skilled factory setting because we want this opportunity to be for everyone.”

People who are interested in finding out more about the 2020 apprenticeship scheme can contact Jo Barber on 01473 276271 or e-mail jbarber@textron.com.

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John May Elected By Deere & Company

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John May Elected By Deere & Company: The Deere & Company board of directors has elected John C May as a member of the board, effective immediately, and to the position of chief executive officer, effective November 4, 2019. May has served as Deere’s president and chief operating officer since April 2019.

“John’s record of success and proven leadership skills make him highly qualified to lead Deere and guide its success in the years ahead,” said Samuel R Allen, chairman and chief executive officer. “His experience in precision agriculture, information technology and overseas operations will be instrumental in driving the company’s digitalisation journey and extending its success in agricultural and construction equipment.”

John May Elected By Deere & Company

Allen will continue as chairman of the board of directors after he steps down from the CEO position. May becomes the 10th chief executive in the company’s 182-year history.

The 50-year-old May joined Deere in 1997 and became part of the senior management team in 2012 as president, agricultural solutions and chief information officer. Last year he was named president, worldwide agriculture & turf division, with responsibility for the Americas and Australia, the global harvesting, turf & utility and crop care platforms, and the intelligent solutions group.

Earlier in his career, May headed the company’s China operations, served as factory manager at the Dubuque (Iowa) Works, and was vice-president of the turf and utility platform.

A native of Maine, May holds a bachelor’s degree in health information management from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maine.

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Luke Perry Joins The IOG

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Luke Perry Joins The IOG: The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) has appointed Luke Perry to the newly-created position of SALTEX & Events director, and he will be primarily responsible for the growth, development, management and delivery of the IOG’s annual SALTEX exhibition.

A batchelor in politics, Luke will be based at the IOG’s Milton Keynes HQ in a role that embraces full accountability for SALTEX sales, services, performance and profitability, as well as future strategy while maintaining a high level of client and team satisfaction.

Luke Perry Joins The IOG

Commenting on his new role, Luke – who has a wealth of experience gained through formulating sales strategies, creating partnerships, and determining and achieving business opportunities for a range of exhibition and media companies – says:

“I am excited to be joining the IOG with the aim of contributing to the ongoing success of such a flagship event. I look forward to utilising my experience of over 20 years in the exhibition industry, and to getting to know my colleagues at the IOG as well as IOG members and those throughout the groundscare industry.”

IOG chief executive, Geoff Webb, added: “Looking to build on the success of SALTEX, Luke’s appointment will considerably extend our in-house expertise – not only in delivering SALTEX but also with a view to providing a schedule of year-round events for members. His appointment also assists the development of other existing IOG products and services and will help us continue to deliver excellent benefits to our membership.”

Luke will report to Geoff Webb and will work alongside the IOG’s head of member services – communications & events, Karen Maxwell, who is a key conduit between the IOG and its existing contractors, Events For You and Fusion Media, which between them run SALTEX’s  sales, marketing and PR activities.

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Mark Richardson Associates Launched

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Mark Richardson Associates Launched: Industry veteran, Mark Richardson of Stewart Landscape Construction announces the formation of Mark Richardson Associates, a new consulting business that will offer the landscape industry a broad range of experience and expertise including project management, feasibility studies and sourcing of products and services.

Richardson, who has worked in the UK landscape sector for 33 years, 20 of which have been spent managing his multi award winning company, Stewart Landscape Construction Ltd says, “Through my time delivering many complex projects I have often felt that my clients would benefit from the services of an independent consultant who could provide a much needed project management role or indeed act as an intermediary between the clients and the landscaper. Often clients do not understand the complexities in delivering a landscape project on time and to budget and so having someone to help them through that process would be invaluable.”

Mark Richardson Associates Launched

Richardson, who has been planning his new consultancy business over the last year launches Mark Richardson Associates in August 2019. Commenting on the launch he says, “During the planning phase of this business I spoke to many industry movers and shakers who have expressed an interest in my services. Excitingly some of that interest has been from international clients so I have decided to offer my services to a global market.”

Richardson has used a business development advisor to help him create his new consultancy practice. Neville Stein, who is an expert in business diversification believes that Richardson can offer something new to the landscape industry and says, “Mark has a real passion is to help clients turn their ideas into a tangible reality, enabling them to achieve a landscape project that exceeds their expectations.” Stein, who has a real understand of the landscape market also says, “Often landscape clients need someone to ‘sense check’ their ideas to ensure that they are implementable and then to help them deliver the project to the right specification, within the financial budget and the required timescales and this is just what Mark is so good at doing.”

Richardson will continue to operate his landscape company in the medium term, and in particular will continue to build award winning show gardens at Chelsea.

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