TRAILER, TRUCK, & BODY OEMs
Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) announced that Kelley Platt, president of Western Star Trucks, has been assigned additional responsibility to serve as DTNA’s chief diversity officer and member of the company’s Operating Committee. Her role as president of Western Star Trucks also has expanded to include executive oversight of the Western Star Truck Manufacturing Plant in Portland OR.
Great Dane has appointed Rob Ulsh vice-president–dealer and international sales, replacing Chris Hammond, who was recently named executive vice-president of sales. Ulsh previously served as a regional sales manager and as manager of branch truck body sales. Cyndi Rogers has joined Great Dane in the newly created position of director–marketing communications. She has more than 15 years of marketing communications experience, including management-level positions with Alcoa and Dinex Emission. David Grant has been appointed to the newly created role of director–customer experience management at Great Dane. He previously served as the firm’s marketing director since 2012.
CASECO Truck Body LLC (CTB) has named Steve Bowles as branch manager of its Kansas City MO facility. He spent the past 11 years working for Knapheide in Kansas City, responsible for all aspects of production and quality.
Derek Losh has joined Talbert Manufacturing as the new Great Lakes-area sales manager covering a six-state region including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. He previously worked as a senior applications engineer for EZ-Trac hydraulic all-wheel-drive products at TDS Drive Systems in Brookston IN.
COMPONENT MANUFACTURERS
has appointed Greg Jones as product manager, a newly created position for the company’s transportation and access product lines. Jones has more than 30 years of experience in operations, maintenance, strategic planning, and marketing in the transport refrigeration and trucking industries. He has held sales positions with both Carrier Transicold and Thermo King, most recently serving as sales manager for Carrier dealer Gateway Truck & Refrigeration.
Ancra International has promoted Larry Bethel to president and general manager of its Cargo Systems Division. Bethel, who joined Ancra in July 2012, most recently served as director of operations.
Mike Postma has been named president of Webb Wheel Products OEM Business after the promotion of Chad Plank to pursue targeted strategic growth opportunities for Marmon Highway Technologies. Postma, who joined MHT in 2006, most recently was president of Marmon-Herrington’s Aftermarket business unit.
O’Neill Consulting Group has named Edward Kopkowski as chief operating officer of Dexter Axle, the manufacturer of trailer axles and trailer brakes and a privately owned portfolio company of The Sterling Group, a private equity investment firm. Kopkowski’s career consists of senior leadership positions with companies including A123 Systems, Dana Corporation, Hayes Lemmerz International, and Pilkington.
Haldex has appointed Åke Bengtsson chief financial officer, and he will join the firm before year-end 2015. Bengtsson previously served as CFO for the Partnertech group. Lena Nordin has been promoted to senior vice-president–human resources at Haldex. She has worked for the company as vice-president of talent management since April 2014.
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION PROFILES
recently appointed Christopher Lyon as director of fleet relations. He will replace Bob Johnson, who officially retires October 9, 2015 after more than 11 years of service to the association. Most recently, Lyon was responsible for all vehicle and equipment purchasing for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Illinois. Johnson’s career includes more than 30 years of field experience in utility fleet and heavy equipment design.
