A materials handling engineering and technology development company has strengthened its management team with one of the UK's leading industrialists joining its board.
Juergen Maier, managing director of Siemens Industry Sector in the UK and Ireland which is a leading global supplier of manufacturing automation and control technologies, is joining the board of Gateshead-based International Innovative Technologies Ltd (IIT).
IIT employs a team of engineers specialising in the design, precision engineering and manufacture of a range of high output mills, classifiers and cyclones from a state-of-the-art factory in Team Valley.
Jurgen Maier will be joining the company as a non-executive director to help with the international market development of IIT's groundbreaking range of products and new technologies.
In his role with Siemens Industry Sector, Juergen is responsible for a £600 million operation employing around 2,000 people. Prior to taking up his current position in October 2008, he held a number of senior European roles within Siemens in the UK and Germany, including director of Industrial Controls, two divisional managing director roles and manufacturing director of Siemens' award winning motion control factory in Congleton, Cheshire. Juergen Maier is also a board member of the sector skills council, SEMTA, and The Manufacturers' Organisation, the EEF.
Juergen Maier said of his appointment: "I am looking forward to working with the team at IIT to support driving this innovative business to the next level. With its focus on engineering product design‚ process development and low energy manufacturing systems, IIT is an ideal fit with my passion for the UK manufacturing sector''.
Tom Wilkinson of IIT said: "We are delighted to be able to welcome someone of the calibre of Jurgen Maier to our board. His unrivalled engineering sector experience in international markets will be a major asset to the company's continued development and product introduction programme.
"There has been substantial interest in our new products and the growing interest from overseas operators provides significant export potential. Juergen's expertise will be invaluable in helping us to maximise these opportunities and his decision to join the company is a considerable step forward for us."