Leading sideloader manufacturer, Baumann, has appointed Mark Bann as UK managing director. Mark steps up from general manager and will take on the role with immediate effect, as Jason Reynolds becomes Group Managing Director.
In addition to overseeing the existing Baumann business in the UK and Ireland, Mark will be responsible for working with the network of dealers across the country. Jason will focus on developing the burgeoning North American market as president of Baumann Canada.
Said Mark: “It’s an exciting period in Baumann’s history and a great time to be taking on this responsibility. We began as a newly established UK company in August 2015. Today we have the relationships and infrastructure in place, significant stockholding and a fantastic dealer network.”
Despite operating in a relatively niche market, the value of sideloaders as a safe and productive method of handling long loads remains high. It’s led to significant success in the UK timber, steel and plastics sectors where innovations, particularly in the electric range, have proven very popular.
Adds Mark: “Our expectations at the outset were based on the confidence we had in the product as well as the modest success in the UK to date. It’s fair to say that we have smashed those expectations, as we’ve experience record year-on-year growth and firmly establish ourselves as the market’s leading sideloader brand.”
In 2016, Baumann was awarded the FLTA Award for Innovation for its patented Archimedes outreach system, the most important innovation in sideloader design in 40 years. Further accolades were received in 2017 and 2019, and the parent factory in Cavaion, Italy, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with the production of the world’s largest sideloader, a 50 tonnes capacity model for container handling.
Working in materials handling for over 15 years, Mark has a wealth of knowledge and significant industry experience, often managing the relationship between operators and manufacturers of industrial equipment.
“Mark is the absolute best person to take on this role,” said Jason Reynolds. “He’s done an excellent job working with the dealer network and it was always the intention that he would step up to the top job. It’s a measure of our success, hard work and the opportunities afforded to us by amazing backing from the factory that we are able to make this move as quickly as we have.”
Based in Cavaion on the shores of Lake Garda, Baumann is a family-owned company that has led the sector for over 40 years, and now sells its products worldwide through 106 dealers in 76 countries.
