METSO distributor McHale Plant Sales has opened a new depot in Edinburgh.
The move is in line with the firm’s undertaking to ‘provide a permanent and dedicated parts service closer to their Metso customers in Scotland’, as enunciated by business development director Darragh O’Driscoll when interviewed by Project Plant earlier this year.
The Edinburgh site is located at 13 West Telferton Industrial Estate and will operate as a stand-alone addition to McHale’s main UK headquarters on the Lichfield Road Industrial Estate in Tamworth.
Initially, it will operate as a parts supply centre and as a fully functioning UK-wide customer contact and communications centre. Looking ahead, McHale revealed its intention is to locate a machinery sales presence and an additional technical support unit at the Edinburgh location.
Managing the operation in Edinburgh will be Scottish-born Louise Hunter. Well known to Metso customers throughout the UK, McHale said Louise brings to her role an ‘extensive knowledge’ of Metso products and of the on-going requirements of owners and operators, coupled with experience of having dealt with the Metso organisation at various levels.
The announcement of the new Scottish premises comes just over six months since McHale’s appointment as Metso distributor in the UK took effect.
In the intervening period, the company is reporting ‘steady progress’. On the sales front, the company has placed a number of Lokotrack mobile jaw, impact and cone crusher units with customers in locations as widely spread as London, Cornwall, north Wales and Yorkshire.
On the personnel side, appointments have been made in sales, parts, technical and other customer-facing roles, including the appointment of Andrew Stones as area sales manager, in which capacity he brings his knowledge of the technical and operational aspects of Metso equipment gained in-house at Metso and in overseas markets. Other appointments include mobile electrical and mechanical field service engineers, with further appointments planned, and a full-time parts store manager headquartered in Tamworth.
Business development director Darragh O’Driscoll said, “Pleased as we are with our progress from a standing-start, we will move forward aware of the challenges ahead in building our team in Edinburgh and Tamworth, primarily through appointments in technical and customer support roles, and by intensifying our contacts with Metso owners throughout England, Scotland and Wales.”
