Rexroth appoints new MD and spins off pneumatics
Alastair Johnstone has been appointed managing director of Bosch Rexroth in the UK, following the promotion last year of Steve Cooke to a senior position in Germany.
Johnstone, who joined Bosch Rexroth in 1998, was most recently responsible for the company’s largest UK manufacturing site, in Glenrothes, Scotland, where it makes hydraulic motors for vehicles, primarily for export.
In his new role, Johnstone is responsible for all Rexroth’s UK locations, while retaining his responsibility for the manufacturing operation. He says that, in future, a key focus for the company will be the UK’s manufacturing sector.
Johnstone’s predecessor, Paul Cooke, is now based in Germany where he is Bosch Rexroth’s senior vice-president for sales, and manager of machinery applications and engineering in its industrial applications business.
• Bosch Rexroth has spun off its pneumatics business as a separate company. In the UK, the company will be called Bosch Rexroth Pneumatics and will be based in Cirencester, with its own management, IT and business support functions. It will continue to support Rexroth’s drives and controls customers, and will also be tasked with reaching customers in new markets, such as medical technology, and providing pneumatics support and consultancy. General manager Stuart Cheyne is confident that the stand-alone company “will be able to build upon an already strong position in the UK market.”
