Posts in category: People

American Emergency Vehicles (AEV), one of the nation’s top selling brands of ambulances, announces Barry DeRousse as the new Vice President/General Manager.

Prior to joining AEV, DeRousse served as Vice President of Operations at Doonan Specialised Trailers, LLC, as well as Vice President of Operations for Manac Trailers, USA. Barry has over 25 years of operations experience in various industries with a focus on Lean Manufacturing both in high volume/low mix and low volume/high mix product lines.

“The team at AEV is renowned for delivering emergency vehicles with the highest quality American craftsmanship and for providing its dealer network and customers with an exceptional experience,” said Anoop Prakash, President, REV Ambulance Group. “I am excited to have Barry join the organisation to lead the company’s next chapter, and build on its strong history, culture and performance.”

DeRousse steps into the role following Randy Hanson’s retirement. During Hanson’s tenure, AEV grew to the #1 Ambulance brand in the U.S. and has repeatedly led the industry in improving safety standards and testing protocols to make Ambulances safer for both EMTs and patients. Hanson will continue to serve in a consulting role, ensuring a seamless leadership transition.

AEV recently consolidated its operations into a new integrated campus, spread over 35 acres in West Jefferson, NC. The investment brings together AEV’s comprehensive manufacturing capabilities, including: five lines of production, an in-house paint shop, complete chassis modifications, remount services, and parts and service centers into one integrated 300,000 square foot campus.

For more information, visit https://www.aev.com.

Based on data from 2021 from the Ambulance Manufacturers Division (AMD) of the Association of the Work Truck Industry (NTEA) data and 2019 data from https://www.specialtyresearch.net/.

Specialist industrial door installation and maintenance firm, Rhino Site Systems, has appointed Jonathan Pullar as Business Development Manager as part of its 2022 growth strategy. 

The service division of Rhino Engineering Group, established in 2021, is led by Managing Director, Paul Andrews, and provides professional door installation and maintenance services to clients across multiple sectors, including transport, defence and national infrastructure. 

Previously, the firm’s installation and maintenance services were housed within its parent company, Rhino Engineering Group; the creation of Rhino Site Systems as a separate organisation is part of a plan to scale up its bespoke service provisions for clients. 

Pullar possesses a wealth of business development experience, having worked with national companies including Arrow Industrial Group, Tchibo International and Nestlé Waters. 

His focus for the first quarter of 2022 will be to work with both past and present clients of Rhino Engineering Group, raising both customer awareness and the overall profile of Rhino Site Systems across the UK. 

“We’re very pleased to have Jonathan on board to continue steering Rhino Site Systems in a positive direction throughout 2022” said Paul Andrews, the company’s Managing Director. 

“Jonathan brings with him strong experience in this area, and we’re looking forward to expanding our client list, as well as branching out into new sectors.” 

Jonathan Pullar added: “I’m delighted to have joined the Rhino Site Systems team as Business Development Manager at such an exciting time. 

“With recent growth within the wider Rhino Engineering Group, the company holds so much potential to go from strength to strength in the coming months, and I’m pleased to be a part of it.” 

Rhino Site Systems is in the process of developing a nationwide task force which will see mobile engineers situated across the UK, offering world-class operational and customer service to clients. 

To find out more about Rhino Site Systems and its range of services, please visit www.rhino-site.com or email info@rhino-site.com 

Fire Safe Europe has confirmed announce that its Board of Directors has appointed Eugenio Quintieri to be the new Managing Director. Eugenio succeeds Juliette Albiac.

Eugenio Quintieri has a master’s degree in European Interdisciplinary Studies from the College of Europe and speaks Italian, English, French and Spanish. He has ten years of experience in European Affairs and since 2017, Eugenio has been an active political leader within the European construction sector, successfully representing construction SMEs and craftsmen in Europe.

Eugenio Quintieri commented: “It is a pleasure and an honour to be the new Managing Director of Fire Safe Europe and give my contribution to make Europe fire safe. Providing an adequate level of fire protection for European citizens is crucial to ensure the sustainability of the European built environment.  To achieve this goal, my focus will be to place fire safety high on the list of political priorities of the European Union by creating key alliances with industry stakeholders, European institutions as well as national actors.”

On behalf of the whole FSEU Board, President Paul Langford stated: “We are pleased to have Eugenio and his political expertise at the service of fire safety in buildings. Many exciting challenges await Eugenio, but the Board and I are confident that he is the right person to represent Fire Safe Europe at the EU political level whilst leading an outstanding team. I also want to pay tribute to the crucial work Juliette Albiac has done over the last eight years to improve fire safety in buildings for both people and society”

Leading technical insulation and passive fire protection (PFP) specialist, AIS Technical, which is part of the IPCOM Group, is strengthening its team with three key UK appointments to support continued growth.

The appointments include technical sales manager, Ian Fishpool, planning and performance manager, Gavin Clark and technical design specialist, Adam Donaldson.

Having spent a lifelong career in fire protection products with Darchem Engineering, Ian Fishpool brings considerable expertise to AIS Technical. His previous role involved generating business across the Middle East, Asia and the USA, as well as managing a network of sales agents.

At AIS Technical, Ian will be responsible for securing major international projects, primarily at construction phase, identifying new markets, developing new products and expanding the company’s existing network of sales agents globally.

New performance manager, Gavin Clark has a wealth of experience in planning and manufacturing processes having worked for the past 20 years in a wide range of sectors including food production, the automotive industry and oil and gas supply for companies such as Cumbria Seafoods, Nestle, IAC Group and NOV. 

With a master’s degree in computer science, Gavin’s expertise lies in the implementation of new systems such as barcodes, tracking and live data capture. He will be bringing this knowledge to AIS Technical to help improve efficiencies, reduce downtime and increase manufacturing output.

CAD system specialist, Adam Donaldson, will be responsible for the technical design of bespoke insulation systems. Having previously worked at AIS Technical between 2013-2019, Adam is re-joining the firm after a spell working offshore in the oil and gas sector.

In additional to these new appointments, AIS Technical will also be working with business development manager at Insulcon, Steve Moss. Based in the UK, Steve will be helping to establish and grow AIS Technical as the new UK manufacturing hub for Insulcon’s flexible “Wearflex” products. With this new UK manufacturing base, Insulcon will be able to service UK customers quickly and efficiently.

AIS Technical is also looking to fill a number of roles for machine operatives to help in the manufacturing of its removable insulation systems. These award-winning systems combat key industry issues such as corrosion, noise and extreme temperatures. Acquired by Belgium insulation group, IPCOM, two years ago, AIS Technical has started manufacturing products for Group company, Thermal Insulation Distributors Limited (TIDL). 

Managing Director at AIS Technical, Chris Evans, said: “Recent deals will see us producing more than five thousand additional insulation jackets and fabric expansion joint products annually at our North Tyneside site for the oil and gas, power generation and heavy industry markets.

“The unrivalled expertise of Ian, Gavin, Steve and Adam will help us to deliver this expansion, as well as enabling us to bring our products and services to new markets.  In addition to these new appointments, we are investing thousands of pounds in new machinery to accommodate our ambitious growth plans.

“Growing sectors such as energy from waste can benefit enormously from our knowledge and world-leading products, such as the world’s thinnest insulation jacket and passive fire protection which provides 180 life-saving minutes for escape. All of our products have been embraced on the international stage and we have a proven track record with some of the oil and gas sector’s biggest names. This reputation and our strengthened team will help us to make significant inroads into industries which require highly specified insulation products like ours.”

To find out more about AIS Technical please contact 0330 2020 498 or visit the newly revamped website at www.aistechnical.co.uk

IOSH have congratulated its members who were included in the New Year Honours List. Simon French CMIOSH was awarded an OBE, while Jeremy Wall GradIOSH and Affiliate member Alex Page were both awarded British Empire Medals (BEM) in the honours.

Simon is Chief Inspector of Rail Accidents at the Rail Accident Investigation Branch. A member of IOSH for more than 20 years, his OBE was awarded for services to railway safety.

He said: “I feel very proud and honoured to have been awarded an OBE in Her Majesty’s New Year Honours list. I fully appreciate that I could never have achieved this without the support of an amazing team. Over the last 17 years at the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, I have always been able to rely on people who care about the job, who work hard and have the courage to confront the most difficult of situations and issues. Most of all, I have benefited from working in an environment of effective team working, mutual respect and a genuine concern for one another’s well-being. It is for these reasons I consider that my award is shared by everybody at RAIB.”

Jeremy, who is Duty Operations Manager Engineering for London Underground, was awarded the BEM for services to transport and public safety.

He said: “I was hugely proud and absolutely delighted to receive this recognition, which was submitted and supported by my colleagues in policing and transport. That individuals were willing to make the effort to do so is very humbling. It was especially pleasing for the safety aspect to be mentioned in the citation, highlighting the importance of the role that safety practitioners play.”

Alex is Head of Safety and Risk at English Heritage and receives his BEM for services to heritage safety during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said: “It was a big surprise and a nice end to the year to hear that I’d been nominated for the BEM for services to heritage safety during the pandemic. It’s a huge honour that I accept on behalf of my team and many other people in English Heritage. I’ve been so impressed with my colleagues who have worked tirelessly over the last two years to reduce the risk posed by the virus, while carrying on with essential project and conservation work and maintaining an excellent visitor experience. It’s been a tough couple of years for visitor and tourism-based businesses but the level of information and best practice sharing within the visitor attraction and heritage sectors has been second to none and I’m really proud to work in such a creative, vibrant, hard-working and pragmatic industry.”

Louise Hosking, President of IOSH, said: “On behalf of IOSH, I would like to congratulate our members who have been included in the New Year Honours. 

“These awards recognise the importance of good occupational safety and health. Each of the recipients have played a key role in developing crucial ways of protecting working people and the awards are richly deserved.”

Fire-Dex, a family-owned global manufacturer of PPE for first responders, announced the promotions of six key associates, indicating the company’s continued success after a year of rapid growth. 

Over the past year, Fire-Dex has experienced incredible year over year sales growth and has continued to grow their ISP business by adding two new locations in Las Vegas and Memphis. They have also onboarded over 100 new associates across all locations as the need for more talent arises amid the company’s tremendous growth. With all this expansion comes the opportunity to invest in Fire-Dex associates, which has prompted the promotions of six deserving individuals: Jenny Surovey, Jackie Dobro, Jordan Smitek, Tim Hall, Jeff Paul, and Josh Dancey.

Jenny Surovey has been named Vice President of Marketing, just one year after being promoted to Director of Marketing. In addition to overseeing the marketing team and their initiatives, she will play a bigger part in making company-wide decisions to help support the continued growth of the organisation. “Jenny has transformed our corporate marketing strategy and execution over the last few years,” states Fire-Dex CEO Steve Allison. “At the same time, she has been an exceptional leader in protecting and extending our corporate culture as we grow rapidly.” 

The Sales Operations team continues to grow with the newly created position of Director of Sales Operations, which has been awarded to Jackie Dobro, and the promotion of Jordan Smitek to Sales Operations Manager. “Jackie and Jordan have been key to our incredible growth over the past several years. Together, they have grown our lead-driven sales process, new business targets, and managed wear trials to unprecedented levels of success,” states Jeff Koledo, Vice President of Sales. “Their strong work ethic, organisational skills and attention to detail will surely set them up for success in their new roles.” 

Tim Hall, Jeff Paul, and Josh Dancey have all been promoted from Territory Sales Representatives to Regional Sales Managers, adding additional states to their territory coverage. “The three of these individuals have made tremendous growth for Fire-Dex over the past few years, despite the challenging times of the global pandemic,” said Jeff Koledo. “They have shown their commitment, hard work, and dedication and will continue to be valuable assets to our sales team as the company continues on its path of considerable growth.”  

In 2021, the company won several awards that recognise them for their culture and growth, such as Northeast Ohio’s 99 Best Workplaces and the Weatherhead 100 award. Fire-Dex is always looking to add more talent to their ever-growing team of associates. To view current openings, visit firedex.com/employment.  

Following a thorough recruitment drive, the BAFE Fire Safety Register are proud to announce the appointment of their new Managing Director, Dr Justin Maltby-Smith CEng FIET CMgr FCMI.

Since BAFE’s establishment in 1984, and subsequently going fully independent in 2009, the registration body continues to have a core role in establishing methods to evidence competency within the fire safety arena. With this comes its own significant responsibility of ensuring the BAFE portfolio of schemes available consistently represent the highest echelon of competency for specific fire safety works.

Justin joins the BAFE Fire Safety Register from his most recent roles as Technical Scheme Development Manager at NAPIT and before this a long tenure at Certsure/NICEIC leaving as Head of Schemes and Operations. On his appointment, Justin commented “This is a great time to be joining such a highly respected organisation. Stephen [Adams] has developed BAFE to become the quality standard within the fire safety industry which I plan to continue and expand its reach. I, alongside the quality BAFE team, will work on further development of quantifying competency. I am excited for the next chapter of BAFE’s growth, knowing we already have robust and longstanding foundations to build upon.”

BAFE Chair, Douglas Barnett, stated: “Justin will be a great addition to the BAFE team. The Board and I trust he will lead the organisation in the right directions required. His knowledge and experience within both UKAS accredited third-party certification and electrotechnical sectors brings a level of expertise that will be extremely valuable to the development and management of both new and existing competency schemes for the fire safety sector.”

Douglas added: “We must also give our huge thanks to Lewis Ramsay (BAFE Board Member) who has been a crucial player in managing the business during this interim period. Lewis has been central to the delivery of services and schemes to our customers during the challenges of the pandemic.”

Justin will begin his role as Managing Director of BAFE on 20th January 2022.

REV Fire Group, which includes REV Group Inc. manufacturers of fire apparatus and related aftermarket parts and services consisting of E-ONE, KME, Ferrara, and Spartan Emergency Response, has confirmed Darin Moore has joined Ferrara as VP/GM and Bert McCutcheon has been appointed to a new role supporting REV Fire Group, VP of Product Management.

Moore joins Ferrara with more than 17 years of experience in manufacturing, including operations leadership roles within Pierce Manufacturing, Kewaunee Fabrications, Wheeled Coach Industries and Lennox International. Moore has MS in Management from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay and BS in Operational Leadership/Management from Maryville University.

“I’m thrilled for Darin to join our leadership team at REV Fire Group. Darin has extensive experience in the operations industry, excelling in lean six sigma and people first cultural strategies. This supports our continued expansion in Holden, increase in production on orders and focus on operational excellence,” stated Kent Tyler, President, REV Fire Group. Moore will report directly to Tyler and will be based at the Ferrara and KME manufacturing facility in Holden, Louisiana.

“Bert’s expertise will continue to deliver the highest standards of insight, service, and results as we continue platforming across all the REV Fire Group brands. This new role elevates our strategic portfolio plan and will drive the vision of REV Fire Group products to support company initiatives. I look forward to Bert’s success in this new role,” said Tyler.

Dahua Technology has appointed Mark Massie as Sales Director for UK and Ireland.

In his new role, Massie will lead the business development teams of the company, growing existing relationships with security integrators and creating valuable new opportunities, as the company continues to accelerate growth in its highly valuable UK and Ireland markets.

Massie previously held senior sales roles for security equipment manufacturing and distribution companies, including Head of International Sales for ADI Global Distribution and Senior Director of Sales for UK and Ireland at Avigilon.

James Wang, General Manager of Dahua UK and Ireland, said: “We are delighted to have Mark Massie on board as Sales Director. Mark’s valuable experience in senior sales management roles with leading manufacturer and distributor companies will stand him in good stead, as he takes on the role of leading our commercial teams in enhancing existing relationships with customers and creating new opportunities around the UK and Ireland.”

For more information, visit: www.dahuasecurity.com

Intersec, the world-leading emergency services, security, and safety event, have announced that Britain’s former Chief of Defence Staff, Sir Nick Carter will share insights from his extraordinary 44-year military career at the event.

In his previous role, Sir Nick was the professional head of the British Armed Forces and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the Secretary of State for Defence and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He joined the Army in 1977 and during his career he served in Germany during the Cold War, in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, in Cyprus with the UN and in command of a battalion on operations in Bosnia and Kosovo.

He was the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army since 2014, leading it through the most recent Security and Defence Review in 2015. He assumed the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff in 2018.

Speaking publicly for the first time since retiring from the military, Sir Nick will be speaking at Intersec which runs from16-18 January 2022 at Dubai World Trade Centre.

Commenting on his participation, Sir Nick said: “It is a pleasure to be invited to speak at Intersec, particularly during a time where our national interests and multilateral relations are challenged by an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. Having served in some of the region’s most challenging environments, I look forward to sharing valuable insights and experiences at what promises to be a fascinating forum at Intersec 2022.”

Having served in the Balkans, Sir Nick went on tours to Iraq as a brigade commander in 2003/4 and repeated tours to Afghanistan between 2002 and 2013. He was responsible, on his first tour, for the initial design of Provincial Reconstruction Teams and the Afghan National Army. He commanded 55,000 NATO troops in Regional Command South during the Afghan ‘surge’ and in his last tour led the transition process with the now former President Ghani as the NATO mission’s Deputy Commander.

Alex Nicholl, Messe Frankfurt Middle East’s Head of Intersec, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have Sir Nick Carter at Intersec 2022. Without question he brings a unique set of insights, not just from a security perspective but in terms of multilateral political relations, defence strategy and the challenges of leading through some of the most extraordinary geopolitical moments in recent history.”

The 23rd edition of the flagship event is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and will be staged under the theme of ‘Uniting the World’s leading industry specialists for the safety & security of future generations.’

The extensive development of the show will see the best minds in the industry participate in a world-class three-day conference, with six industry pillars: Global Security Leaders’ Summit, Protecting Future Connected Cities & Citizens Conference, Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure Conference, Agile First Responders Conference, Cyber Lab and with a dedicated KSA Focus Day.

Signifying Intersec’s strategic importance to the UAE, Official Supporters include Dubai Police, Dubai Civil Defence, Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA), Dubai Municipality and the UAE Cyber Security Council.

For more information please visit: www.intersecexpo.com.