05.03.2012

Mike Studd 1941-2012

We have heard the sad news this evening that tower crane industry veteran Mike Studd passed away this weekend, following a battle with cancer.

Studd aged 61, had a long an illustrious career in the tower crane industry having been a director and general manager of Hewden Stuart Wolff for many years and then managing director of Select tower cranes, part of Laing O'Rourke group and the largest tower crane company in the UK.

He is survived by his wife Judith and son Paul

The following obituary has been supplied:

Studd was born 1941 in Yorkshire. Beginning work as a coal miner, he earned his electrician’s license and moved to South Africa to work for McAlpine as an erector and electrician.

He returned to the UK after nine years, and started as an erector at Hewden Stewart Plant Hire, working his way up to general manager, and taking the business on to become a distributor Wolff cranes, and the largest tower crane supplier in the UK.

Retired from Hewden Stewart Plant Hire after 20 years, he started helping Comedil, which at the time was just a small Italian manufacturer.

He was recruited by Ray O’Rourke of Select Plant as general manager and proceeded to make Select Plant Hire a major supplier of tower cranes in the UK using Comedil machines. He also promoted Comedil worldwide with MPS, the Florida-based business he established with son, Paul.