Richard Stratford has been appointed as President of Penn-Elcom Inc. in the USA and will head up all the company's North American operations.
He will lead the sales and operational elements of the flightcase and loudspeaker solutions specialist's busy US businesses, including its four distribution hubs, assuming full responsibility for their day-to-day running.
Stratford started his Penn career 28 years ago in 1983 on the production line of their anodising company, quickly moving up into a management role. He relocated to New Jersey in 1988 to become the General Manager of that particular venture, before being appointed Vice President of Sales in 2003 .... and now President.
As a great communicator, and with his extensive intercompany experience and familiarity with Penn-Elcom's history, culture, philosophy and core values, Stratford is ideally suited to keep moving the organization forward. His fully 'rounded' work experiences are a great asset to understanding how the company needs to work on all levels.
As President, he will ensure that the Penn-Elcom penchant for invention and originality continues and streamline the excellent customer service and support for which Penn is renowned, all of which will further boost sales.
He is based in Pompton Plains in New Jersey and will co-ordinate, implement and oversee activities across all Penn-Elcom Inc's North American network, which include its HQ in Garden Grove, California and offices/extensive warehouses facilities in New Jersey, Houston, Texas and Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Says Stratford, "It is a great honor to be appointed President of North America. The US market is one of our most competitive and constantly changing in the world, and I look forward to helping produce many positive results".
With all markets being additionally challenged by economic conditions over the last 3 years - and still volatile - one of Stratford's immediate focuses will be to galvanize Penn-Elcom Inc's operations and ensure that the company remains a market leader.
"The Penn-Elcom model ideally suits the American market," he explains, with its commitment to innovation and ongoing improvement to a dynamic, high quality product range. With the four distribution locations, all products are quickly and easily accessible to the whole US customer base, and the pricing is highly competitive.
Penn Elcom Inc's CEO Phil Stratford comments, "We are very proud of Richard's achievements and growth throughout his 28 year career with us. It is great to have another 'home grown' executive who has successfully moved from the production floor right through to heading up our largest business unit for sales revenues".
Says Roger Willems, Chairman of Penn-Elcom, "Richard is a natural salesman who understands exactly what our industry needs as well as having great organizational skills. It will be a huge benefit to our North American operation - which is the most competitive market in the world".
For more press information on Penn Elcom, please contact Louise Stickland on +44 (0)1865 202679 or +44 (0)7831 329888 or Email me :[email protected]. To contact Penn Elcom direct, check : www.penn-elcom.com or call +44 (0)191 416 1717.