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People
AWP Safety has named Craig Young as chief information officer( CIO), a move that underscores the company’ s focus on technology-driven
Young solutions for the
infrastructure and access industries in the U. S.
In his new role, Young will lead AWP Safety’ s digital strategy, unifying its enterprise systems, improving responsiveness and delivering seamless digital tools for customers. Young joins the company at a time when the industry faces labor constraints, stricter regulations and higher demands for operational transparency. His leadership is expected to enhance real-time data access and enable more efficient, safer operations in the field.
Before joining AWP Safety, Young held senior technology positions including chief technology officer at Tillman FiberCo, global CIO at SWIFT and leadership roles at Verizon and Verizon Wireless. He brings more than three decades of experience in enterprise technology and digital modernization.
Young is a U. S. Navy veteran and holds a bachelor’ s degree in information systems management from Bellevue University, along with executive training from IESE Business School.
Stellar Industries, known for its mechanic and service trucks, cranes and truck accessories, has promoted Tim
Worman Worman to director
of product management and inside sales.
Worman joined Stellar in 2019 as a Product Manager and advanced to director of product management in 2021. He now takes on additional responsibility, overseeing the inside sales team, supporting the company’ s distributor network and customer base.
With 37 years in the truck equipment industry, Worman’ s background combines engineering, product development and sales leadership. He aims to align sales support
with product innovation to enhance customer experience.
Eric Janssen, the current director of inside sales, will move into a project management role while remaining with the company. This leadership adjustment aligns with Stellar’ s focus on driving innovation and strengthening customer service within the material handling and service truck markets.
Fleet Cost & Care( FCC) has appointed Thinh Nguyen as chief technology officer to lead its technology vision, covering
Nguyen engineering,
cybersecurity and data infrastructure. FCC serves the lift, access and equipment rental sectors with software platforms that support daily operations from dispatching to invoicing.
Nguyen brings more than two decades of experience in digital product development and enterprise information technology leadership. He has held senior technology roles at Open Lending, Flagstar Bank and Mr. Cooper, where he helped implement platform modernization, cloud-based solutions and user experience enhancements.
Nguyen will focus on expanding FCC’ s use of automation and artificial intelligence to improve connectivity between field and office staff at lift and equipment rental companies.
He holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University and a bachelor’ s degree in information systems from the University of Texas at Arlington.
As part of its continued investment in North America, Franna has appointed Kevin Aabel to the role of business
Aabel development
manager. Aabel brings extensive industry experience, most recently serving at Manitowoc, where he managed multiple Midwest dealers and led direct sales efforts in Canada. His crane knowledge spans truck-mounted, rough terrain, crawler and all-terrain units, built through roles at Manitowoc, Oshkosh and Altec, Inc.
Manufacturers
Bronto Skylift will open a new service centre in Rhome, near Dallas, Texas, expanding its North American operations. The facility marks a key step in enhancing the company’ s service capabilities and support for customers throughout the equipment life cycle.
The new location will handle local mounting and maintenance operations, along with a full range of life-cycle services, including training, product support, overhauls and modernization.
Modifications to the premises have begun, with operations expected to start before the end of 2025. The current Orlando, Florida, facility will transfer its operations to Rhome in early 2026.
Franna, a global leader in pick and carry crane manufacturing, is expanding its presence in North America through a new service and parts support facility. The company will now offer parts and service coverage from the manager. newly opened Terex Louisville Parts facility.
The 134,000-square-foot Terex facility features an automated parts picking system and a newly added second shift to increase availability and reduce response time. The warehouse also houses a fully trained team of technicians experienced with Franna’ s product line, offering service support across North America.
Dealers
CLARK Material Handling Company has added Bacon Universal to its North American dealer network, expanding its reach throughout the state of Hawaii. Bacon Universal will represent CLARK’ s full line of forklift trucks and material handling equipment across five locations on Oahu, Maui, Hawai’ i and Kaua’ i.
Founded in 1947, Bacon Universal has nearly 80 years of experience serving Hawaii’ s agriculture, construction and material handling industries. The company offers equipment sales, rentals, parts, service and training.
Burwell Material Handling has acquired W. E. Johnson Equipment Company, a material handling equipment dealer with branches in Miami and Fort Myers, Florida. The move expands Burwell’ s presence to
Burwell Material Handling 20 locations nationwide and enhances its expands into Florida with service capabilities in the Southeast.
W. E. Johnson Acquisition
Customers in South Florida can expect uninterrupted service during the transition. In the months ahead,
they will gain access to Burwell’ s full offering of equipment from top manufacturers such as Bobcat, CLARK, JLG, Genie and Haulotte.
Rental
The International Powered Access Federation( IPAF) announced that Boels Group has joined as a Sustaining Member, consolidating the organization’ s commitment to powered access safety and best practices.
With the updated group membership agreement, all powered access companies within Boels Group— including Boels Rental, Riwal, Cramo and Manlift— are now officially part of IPAF’ s membership network.
Franna scales U. S. operations with parts facility and new business development
Boels Group joins IPAF as sustaining member.
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