13.01.2013

Andrew Brown retires – Evans takes over

Andrew Brown UK sales manager at Kobelco Cranes Europe has retired, Mark Evans will take over his role.

Brown, who joined the company when it was formed in 2000, will remain available in a consultative capacity for a limited time.

Brown has spent his entire career in the crane industry, having started as a student engineering apprentice at Ransomes and Rapier in Ipswich in 1961, and then transferred to NCK-Rapier as a sales representative for the north of England. He became product manager, when the Ajax, Eiger, Orion and Olympus cranes were developed and then export manager. During his time in this role the company earned its first Queen’s Award for Export.

He also spent several years as project manager at Ruston-Bucyrus in Lincoln, initially with the specific responsibility for offshore pedestal mounted marine cranes.
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Andrew Brown

During his time at Kobelco Brown achieved a number of notable successes with many of the leading specialist crawler crane rental companies and contractors, including BPH, G H Johnson, Q-Plant and Weldex – selling more than 120 units. He achieved particular success with Kobelco’s largest crawler crane range, the 550 tonne SL6000.

Masayuki Kimura, managing director of Kobelco Cranes Europe said: “Andrew Brown is highly regarded and respected throughout the crane industry, both in the UK and many other parts of the world. His lifetime experience as a dedicated crawler crane specialist has been invaluable in the successful introduction of Kobelco crawler cranes, with their leading edge all-hydraulic technology. We wish him a happy and well-earned retirement.”

Reflecting on his 50 years in the industry Brown added: “It is fascinating to look back, not just at the technical advances and performance of crawler cranes, but also the changes amongst the manufacturers and their distribution networks. But for me personally, the most gratifying aspect has been the pleasure of dealing with the customers who are biggest-hearted individuals you could wish to meet - and I will miss all of that.”

Mark Evans, previously with Terex Cranes UK and Wolffkran in the Middle East, will operate from the UK branch of Kobelco Cranes Europe in East Grinstead, near London.