Linde Material Handling has strengthened its team with the appointment of two new senior members of staff at its Severnside and Basingstoke offices to drive forward the company’s plans to supply products to new markets
Martin Lumsden has been appointed as the new MD at Linde Severnside and will be responsible for sales, rentals and general distribution of the Linde fork lift trucks in the Southwest UK. Gary Bartram joins as the company’s new Automation Sales Manager, based at Linde’s head office in Basingstoke and will be responsible for Linde’s automation product sales. Linde’s move into automation picked up pace following Linde’s strategic partnership with French robotics specialist, Balyo and KION Groups acquisition of Egemin Automation.
Both Martin, 46, from Penarth, and Gary, 54, from Bromsgrove, join Linde with more than 20 years of experience each in management, sales, and the construction and automotive industries.
Martin is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Edinburgh University, and started his career with the Wimpey Group in their construction and mining sector.
In addition, Gary studied Industrial Electronics at the Matthew Boulton Technology College in Birmingham, and began his career at Linde as a Field Service Engineer, climbing the ladder to become a Technical Manager for Linde Creighton in 2002.
Both also have experience of working for international companies in various management positions. Martin worked at the multinational construction infrastructure company, Balfour Beatty, where he took on various management positions and lived in Hong Kong for four years, before taking on senior and general management positions in the UK at Amey & Finning UK and Babcock International Group as Head of UK Operations. Gary worked as a Sales Account Manager for the German battery company, Hoppecke, in 2009, where he supplied industrial batteries to high-profile companies such as BMW.
Martin said: “My career so far has helped me gain experience of working closely with businesses to help them expand and grow their sales. I’m looking forward to being part of the Severnside team and joining such an innovative and forward-thinking company like Linde.
“I hope to bring my international experience and engineering background to this new role and work with the team to provide the best possible service.”
Gary said: “I’m really looking forward to taking on this role at Linde as it’s not only a new role for me, but also a completely new position within the company. This makes it all the more exciting as I really feel I will be a part of the change and development of automation, an innovative advancement for Linde.
“I’ve always been interested in the manufacturing industry, and at 16 years old I was working as a fork lift truck engineer apprentice for Harvey Plant Hire company in Wrexham. My roles in different manufacturing businesses have given me a good understanding of the industry, and I hope I can bring this to my new position. I look forward to working with the team to help drive the company forward.”
Director of Commercial Operations for Linde UK, Andrew Daly, is pleased to see the new additions to the Linde offices.
“We’re really pleased to have both Martin and Gary joining us and I have no doubt that they will both bring a fresh outlook to the business. I’m sure they will make their mark in their new roles, working to ensure Linde delivers an excellent service. Both Martin and Gary have a wealth of experience in the engineering and manufacturing sectors, and I wish them all the best in their new roles.”
