22.12.2015

New head of manufacturing at Ace

US overhead crane company Ace world companies has promoted Kevin Beavers to vice president of crane manufacturing,

Currently vice president of the company’s facility in Knoxville, Tennessee, the move will initially see him continue to oversee production and delivery of the manufacturer’s largest ever order for 23 cranes for Big River Steel’s mill and recycling facility in Osceola, Arkansas.

The company has already delivered and installed the first half of the order on time, with the balance due by the end of March for the hot mill and May for the cold mill.

His expanded role will include management of crane manufacturing operations at the company’s 9,300 square metre headquarters facility in Fort Worth, Texas in addition to retaining his responsibility for the slightly smaller plant in Knoxville. Beavers joined the company in 2003 from Casey Equipment Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he was sales manager/facility manager for almost 10 years.
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An Ace overhead crane

Beavers said: “The opportunity for promotion came as a pleasant surprise to me but I am very excited about stepping into the new role. I think the success of the landmark Big River Steel job contributed to me being offered the new position. The project represented a perfect fit with our company, as proved by the fact that we have delivered half of the cranes already, on schedule.”

“The biggest challenge will be my time management between the two facilities and making sure that enough hours are spent at both sites. I will still be selling to the steel mills as well. I hope to continue to grow our crane manufacturing capacity as we constantly strive to get the most out of both facilities.”

Meanwhile, John Haley has joined the company as vice president of operations, while financial controller Neal Brown has been promoted to vice president of finance.

Ace was established in 1987 to build, install and service custom designed overhead and gantry cranes and other material handling solutions. It is based in Fort Worth