08.06.2015

New COO for Essex

US based crane company Essex Cranes Rental has appointed Marc Dowdell as chief operating officer effective last week.

Dowdell joins Essex from construction equipment manufacturer LiuGong North America, where he has been president for the past three years. Prior to joining LiuGong he was a vice president at Cat dealer Dean Machinery. Before that he was involved with a Volvo Rents franchise as an partner and co-owner.
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Marc Dowdell

Chief executive Nick Matthews- (COO until March 2014) – said: "We are very pleased to add an executive with Marc's level of experience to our senior management team. In the role of chief operating officer, Marc will be primarily focused on refining our existing performance metrics to enhance our profitability, monitoring fleet data to optimize our asset utilization and growing revenues across all lines of business."

Dowdell added: “Driving execution of operational and target market strategies measured by key performance indicators and dashboard metrics will be a priority in improving the company’s operating performance. I look forward to continuing the development of a more customer-centric culture and meeting with Essex’s customers and other stakeholders over the coming months.”

Vertikal Comment

This appointment comes at a sensitive time for loss making Essex, in April it appointed RBC Capital Markets to evaluate strategic alternatives for Essex Crane Rental and is currently fighting a battle with shareholder Casey Capital regarding the make-up of the board. See Essex challenged
The company has struggled for many years and has racked up a massive debt pile, with no sign of a turn around on the immediate horizon. Interesting times to move into the senior management team.