13.01.2025

New president for Nobleift N. America

Noblelift North America has recruited a new president - Bill Pedriana, he will replace Loren Swakow who is retiring at the end of the month after more than eight years at the helm.

Pedriana joins the company following a year working as a consultant advising manufacturers on the utilisation of Artificial Intelligence in material handling equipment, with companies such as Rockwell Automation’s Otto division which provides autonomous material handling equipment for mission critical manufacturing facilities and warehouses. In June last year he founded a new business - Bluedojo.ai - as a ‘supply chain focused technology accelerator that assists organisations with their transformative initiatives.’

Pedriana began his career in 1994 as a regional sales manager for Chicago based Long Reach which made the Brudi ‘push-pull’ forklift carriage. Three years later he was appointed as engineered systems manager at SLT (Scott Lift Truck) Material Handling, leaving in 2002 for Lift Products where he became vice president sales & marketing for material handling equipment including lift tables, lift carts, stackers, pallet trucks and skid lifters. In mid-2009 he moved to Big Lift which makes Big Joe forklift trucks and material handling equipment, where he was chief marketing manager, remaining with the company for more than 14 years when he left to try his hand in the emerging AI market.

A statement from Noblelift said: “Pedriana’s track record of aligning business strategies with customer needs has consistently delivered exceptional results throughout his career. Drawing from his wealth of experience, he now brings his expertise to Noblelift to continue building on the strong foundation established by his predecessor, Loren Swakow. Under Swakow’s leadership over the past eight years, Noblelift North America experienced unparalleled growth and built a reputation for providing innovative and high performance material handling solutions.”

Pedriana added: “I became attracted to Noblelift over the past few years due to their exceptional manufacturing quality, progressive equipment design theory, and their sophistication when it came to deploying intelligent material handling systems. As the incoming president of Noblelift North America, I aim to continue the strong growth the organisation experienced under Loren Swakow over the past eight years by utilising my sales and product development expertise to enhance the value of Noblelift for its distributors and OEM partners. In 2025, we will be introducing a number of new products and programs and expanding our team and capabilities to support our growth.”

Speaking of his retirement Swakow said: “It takes a great team to do what we did in eight years, and that’s what we have—A Great Team! I have always believed in fostering open communication, creating a culture of trust, empowering individuals, leveraging diverse perspectives, and prioritising collaboration. We have all worked very hard, and I am proud of them all.”

Noblelift North America distribute a wide range of material handling equipment, including electric pallet trucks, industrial and Rough Terrain forklifts, telehandlers, order pickers and pallet trucks, as well as scissor lift and automated guided vehicles.