18.01.2012

New CEO for Riwal

Netherlands based international rental company Riwal has appointed Norty Turner as chief executive, effective March 1st.

He joins Riwal after 17 years with Hertz Equipment Rental, where he has held a variety of increasingly senior sales and general management roles. He joined the US business in 1995 as a sales co-ordinator and since August 2008 has been vice president Europe, Middle East and Africa, based in France.
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Norty Turner

Turner will succeed Dick Schalekamp who joined the company, then managed by his father Dick senior, in 1986 - taking over the reins in the mid-1990s and leading Riwal through a period of strong overseas growth.

Schalekamp moves to a new role in which he will be responsible for initiating international business development, international sales, purchasing relationships, and mergers & acquisitions. He will also remain a member of the company’s supervisory board along with chairman Doron Livnat and Willem Ledeboer.
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Dick Schalekamp

Ledeboer said: “Dick Schalekamp has proven to be an outstanding entrepreneur, resulting in a prominent position for Riwal in numerous countries. He played an active role initiating the current company strategy. The next phase for the company allows for a new CEO to lead the roll out of Riwal’s defined corporate strategy”.

Schalekamp added: “As chief executive Norty will take on the overall leadership of Riwal to realize our ambition of becoming the leading aerial work platform rental specialist in Europe. With his depth of industry experience, his ability to develop highly motivated teams, his background of improving organisational efficiency and his results-driven management approach, he is the ideal leader to take over the role.”

Vertikal Comment

This announcement comes as something of a surprise, although the ownership of Riwal has changed in recent years the business has been managed by a Schalekamp since it became an independent company in 1986.

The company has managed to hold on to a very people orientated family culture throughout what has been continuous and mostly organic growth over many years, to the point where the company is now the second largest aerial lift rental company in Europe behind the Lavendon Group.
Maintaining this culture with 800 employees in 16 countries is something of an achievement.

Turner has spent his entire career with Hertz, one of the largest corporations active in the equipment rental market. His first challenge will be adapting to the unique Riwal culture.

He will have plenty of help and expertise to call on from within the business, not only at head office but from the number of successful entrepreneurs within the local companies.