09.08.2010

Wheeler moves to China

Manitowoc has split its Asia Pacific territory into two separate regions with John Wheeler taking over in China, while Gilles Martin will head up the rest of Asia, including Australia and New Zealand.

Martin has been appointed as executive vice president of the Asia Pacific region - except for China, based in Singapore, he will report directly to Manitowoc Crane president Eric Etchart.

He was previously responsible for all of Asia Pacific. Announcing the change, which is intended to step up the company’s focus on the region, Etchart said: “We anticipate tremendous growth elsewhere in Asia, especially in India, Japan and Australia. Gilles’ leadership expertise and experience to capture these significant growth opportunities in this critical region, growing market share and meeting the needs of current and potential customers. He will ensure that we are following our strategic direction and roadmap in pursing both short- and long-term revenue growth and profitability.”
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Gilles Martin

In a surprise move Grove veteran John Wheeler switches from his role as executive vice president of operational excellence and planned retirement, to become executive vice president China. He will be based in Shanghai and also reports directly to Etchart who said: “Given our plans for the China market, John’s background in Grove and Manitowoc crawlers gives him a perfect profile for his new role. While our market presence in China is impressive, there are tremendous opportunities to grow from our market penetration in this country. John will spearhead these efforts, while ensuring that we continue to effectively manage the many current and planned initiatives in China. His in-depth experience with manufacturing will be very beneficial to our current tower crane facility in ZhangJiaGang and our mobile crane plant in Tai-An.”
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John Wheeler

The appointments are effective from the end of this month