Engineering group’s finance director steps down

Engineering group Redhall has announced that its group finance director is stepping down from the role following the completion of the company’s turnaround strategy.

Chris Kelly, who has been with the group since 2014, will be succeeded by Simon Comer, who will be appointed to the board in July.

Redhall said Comer’s appointment follows the completion of the group’s turnaround and its shift in strategic focus to the investment, improvement and growth of its manufacturing businesses.

The Wakefield-based group announced last month that it expects profits to be hit by delays on major nuclear and infrastructure projects but hailed the strength of a robust forward order book.

“The board would like to thank Chris for his tremendous contribution to the group over the past four years,” the company said.

Comer’s most recent role was CFO of Applied Composites Group, a private equity backed manufacturer of engineered polymer products for the aerospace and transport industries.  Prior to that, he was CFO of RLC Engineering Group, a privately owned provider of manufacturing solutions, for eight years.

Redhall also announced the appointment of Joe Oatley as a non-executive director.

Oatley was chief executive of Cape from 2012 until early 2018 and, prior to that, CEO of Hamworthy and MD of Strachan & Henshaw, part of Weir Group.  He is currently a non-executive director of Wates Group.

Phillip Hilling, who joined the board in October 2011, will step down as a non-executive director in June.

Redhall’s chairman, Martyn Everett, said: “I am delighted to announce the addition of Simon and Joe to the board. They bring a broad range of skills to strengthen and support our businesses as we deliver our growth plans.  The growth stage of Redhall’s strategy is well underway with targeted investment in our engineering and manufacturing capability positioning us to deliver a pipeline of major projects.”