Hydraulics & Pneumatics January/February 2022

Ranger Lifting has appointed Liam Mccaffrey in response to growing demand for its products and services in Queensland. Ranger, a Sydney-headquartered lifting, rigging, and height safety equipment supplier, already serves the state from New South Wales, and positioning a widely respected professional closer to the point of use was a natural next step. The company also has a facility in Melbourne. Mccaffrey, who will be business development manager, was previously a national infrastructure manager for a large generalist safety company, where his specialist field was lifting and rigging. He will immediately become the Queensland point of contact on national projects, before working mid-term to grow a team and establish a physical presence in the region. The company’s comprehensive inventory in Sydney will provide necessary stock in the meantime. Ashley Thacker, general manager, says: “Southeast Queensland has been on our radar for at least two years now but like all new areas, it wholly relies on having great people. We have competed against Liam on a great number of large projects all along the east coast, so we know the level of contacts and relationships that he will bring along with him. The first two years will be the hardest, so we required a partner who can hit the ground running. Liam has the drive, hard work ethic, knowledge and, most importantly, fits our culture.” Brisbane-based Mccaffrey says: “I respect Ranger for their focus on compliance. They walk the walk and invest in training and up-skilling. The timing is perfect to execute a 10- year growth strategy and business plan of this type. Of course, this is a competitive environment, but with the right people in the right positions, supported by a comprehensive service model, success will follow.” Myles Mander has recently joined Mid-Tech Air Products as sales & marketing manager. Mander has 9 years’ experience in the industry specialising in the Elmo Rietschle vacuum pump and blower range. Mid-Tech Air Products is a compressed air and vacuum aftermarket and service specialist based in the West Midlands. The company supplies air compressors, air dryers, filters, vacuum pumps and blowers with genuine aftermarket spare parts and service. Mid-Tech Air Products is a genuine parts supplier for all legacy Gardner Denver industrial brands, including CompAir, Hydrovane, Elmo Rietschle, Reavell and Champion. Engineering firm adi Group has made a key appointment to its senior management team to lead its sustained growth plan. Paul Smith, whose near-30-year career includes delivering world-scale projects across the globe, joins the Birmingham-based multidisciplinary organisation from Wood PLC, where he led its Circular Economy, Green Mobility, FMCG and Life Sciences businesses in EMEA. In a wide-ranging brief as the new Chief Operating Officer, Paul will be focussed on driving the company’s continued growth through innovation and collaboration, as the engineering and construction sector prepares to build on last year’s significant recovery. Alan Lusty, CEO of adi Group, considers this hire as integral to further capitalising on what both Fitch Ratings and Deloitte report will be a year of broad industry upturn. “We are buoyed by both adi’s and industry in general’s solid performance in 2021, and very pleased that we significantly expanded the number of active projects we won and delivered last year,” he says. “As we continue our growth plans within our current 2025 business plan, Paul will ensure we are prepared for sustained high-quality delivery of our engineering services.” Smith describes the challenges presented in his new role as among the most exciting of his career: “This is a pivotal time in the engineering and manufacturing sector, and joining an ambitious, innovative firm in what will undoubtably be a rewarding new year is truly refreshing. “adi Group specialises in more than 30 different engineering disciplines, each of them highly skilled and continually evolving. The fact that we have been able to create a single engineering hub across these subdivisions, and continue our impressive growth, is emblematic of the outstanding company culture I am already starting to experience.” Ranger ramps up in Queensland 60 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS January/February 2022 www.hpmag.co.uk New sales & marketing manager for Mid-Tech Air Products NEW FACES adi Group continues its growth with chief operating officer hire