The appointments reflect a period of growth for WEG UK, following the successful extension of the company’s CFW500 variable speed drives (VSDs) and SSW900 series of soft starters.
Mark Chrimes joins WEG as business development manager for the company’s industrial control and automation division. Following 18 years in a similar role at Siemens, Chrimes is a time-served electro and mechanical engineering expert.
Boasting over 25 years’ experience in automation sales, Chrimes is seasoned in the realms of motors, gearboxes and drives. He will assist in the continuing growth of WEG’s expanding UK customer base, overseeing business development in central and northern England, Wales and Scotland.
Kevin Brazier also joins the automation team as a business development manager. Drawing on 20 years’ experience at Schneider and Routeco & Latterly R. Sthal, Kevin’s industry expertise allows him to deliver informative knowledge of WEG’s automation offering, through demonstrations and solution tendering. Managing business needs in original equipment manufacturer (OEM), end user, system integration, panel builder and distribution markets, Brazier will cover central and south of England and Wales.
To bolster the company’s engineering division, Dave Parkes also joins WEG. With over 35 years’ experience in the power transmission sector, Parkes has been appointed as an application engineer specialising in gearboxes. Previous roles include assembly and production, as well as key account management and technical sales for some of Europe’s leading gearbox and geared motor manufacturers.
Parkes’ appointment allows for further development of WEG’s impressive gearbox range. For instance, the WG20, the first geared motor range to be completely developed in-house, has recently been extended to include geared motors up to 18,000 (Nm)
Ensuring the company is at the forefront of engineering and design, WEG has also opened a new assembly workshop for the WG20. Based in Redditch, the centre will allow WEG to fulfil customer needs faster. The team, which now includes Parkes’ engineering expertise, has the capability to assemble gearboxes up to 1550 Nm, with motor frame sizes of 63-132, or 0.12-9.2 kilowatts (kW) at the new workshop.
“Not only will WEG’s new starters help to extend and improve our range of products, but their knowledge and experience will also help us to support customers in their digitalisation efforts” said Marek Lukaszczyk, European marketing manager at WEG. “WEG is experiencing growth in the UK and we attribute much of this expansion to the high level of technical knowledge of our regional team. With the arrival of several new technologies this year, including the launch of two extended versions of soft starters and VSDs, the expertise of our UK team puts WEG in an ideal position to offer customers superior and efficient solutions.”