09.04.2008

Tanfield founder to chair BLNE

Roy Stanley chairman of the Tanfield Group is to replace Paul Callaghan as the chairman of Business Link North East, the business support organisation in North East England.
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Roy Stanley

Stanley who founded the Washington based Tanfield Group in 1996, has built the company into a leading manufacturer of commercial electric vehicles with the acquisition of Smith Electric Vehicles. SEV also took the company into the powered access business which led to the acquisitions of UpRight in 2006 and Snorkel in 2007.

Alastair MacColl, chief executive of BLNE, said: “Paul was always going to be a hard act to follow. However, we have found a new chairman who underlines the scale of our ambition. Roy possesses a formidable business pedigree along with the energy and vision required to make the North East the best place in Europe to start or grow a business. This is great news for Business Link North East and for the region.”
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Callaghan is also chairman of the Leighton Group, he has chaired BLNE since it was founded in 2006. He said: “I am delighted that Roy Stanley will be succeeding me at Business Link. His success with The Tanfield Group and his other ventures show he is a fantastic entrepreneur. As a role model for aspiring business people in this region Roy is second to none. I am sure that he will prove to be an exceptionally able and charismatic leader for the next phase of Business Link North East’s growth.”