David Probert joins Seddons
27 June 2022
Known to many in the hire and construction industries, David Probert has joined Seddon (Plant & Engineers) as its new business development director. He will head up the Bolton-based company’s sales and marketing activities, exploring new opportunities.
Part of the family-owned Seddon Engineering Group, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, Seddon (Plant & Engineers) has developed diverse interests since it was established in 1951.
It is the largest Honda power equipment and Honda engine supplier in the UK, has the largest Stihl dealership in the country, and represents brands such as Belle Equipment, Camon, Hatz, Husqvarna, JCB, MBW, Pramac and Tsurumi, amongst others.
The business makes its own Taskman range of pressure washers, designed in-house by Seddons’ innovative manager Steve Lythgoe, and a sister company is the cement mixer manufacturer Winget, whose managing director is Phil Winnington, another well-known industry figure.
David brings a wealth of knowledge to his new role. After an engineering apprenticeship he worked with companies in the aviation and automotive industries before joining Hilti for 15 years during which time he held senior management positions in sales and product management in the UK, USA and at Hilti’s Liechtenstein headquarters. He later worked for various equipment manufacturers and, most recently, for the scaffolding and temporary access specialist HAKI.
“Seddons is a business that I have known of and admired for many years. It has a strong position in the marketplace, represents some great companies and is a brand that is a relied on and trusted by people working in hire, construction, landscaping and infrastructure development,” David told me.
“We’ll be looking at ways in which we can serve our customers even better.”
One area of focus for the company since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the successful development of its on-line presence, as reported previously on the blog, alongside its physical retail locations.
“We operate a ‘super hub’ here at our Bolton premises which holds considerable stocks of machines and parts for rapid supply. And we have developed our e-commerce platform significantly,” said David.
“Customers can log in, check their trading history, place orders and obtain data they need like engine serial numbers and parts identification. Many tell us that the current relentless pace of business means that, instead of phoning in several times a day, it’s much easier for them to keep adding to their online shopping basket throughout the day and then click the order button late in the afternoon to obtain everything they need.”
Another area of focus will be further developing Seddons’ sustainability initiatives to help customers meet wider ESG (environmental, social and government) issues. For some years the company has offered products such as spill kits and absorbent materials to contain and remove contaminants like oil, and this is an area that can only grow in importance.
Photo: Alan Guthrie
