The successful operation of BEL Valves, a division of British Engines, is overseen by a Senior Management Team whose brief career biographies and photos are provided below:
• Neil Kirkbride, Chief Executive Officer and BEL Group Managing Director
• Richard Dodd, Chief Technical & Commercial Officer and BEL Group Director
• Ivan Todd, Financial Controller
• Chris Williamson, Director of Product Development
• Brendan Hogg, Director of Projects
• Paul Smith, Director of Operations
• Mark Roddy, Chief Operations Officer
• Ed Wallis, Director of Engineering
• Harry Clark, Head of Product Standards
• Michael Wright, Head of Business Improvement
• Keith Wood, Quality Manager
•
Michael Ridley, Sales ad Marketing Director
Neil Kirkbride, Chief Executive Officer and BEL Group Managing Director
Neil Kirkbride joined BEL Valves in 1991 as General Manager. He was promoted to Managing Director in 1994, and since 2004 has simultaneously held the positions of Chief Executive Officer for BEL Valves and Group Managing Director for British Engines.
His career prior to BEL Valves began after graduating in Mechanical Engineering from Sheffield University. From 1981 to 1988 he worked for the wellhead equipment company McEvoy. After an initial training period at their manufacturing plant he moved to Aberdeen installing and servicing equipment offshore before becoming a Project Sales Engineer for Subsea Production Systems.
In 1988, he joined the Flow Control Division of Cooper Industries, as Sales Manager (Eastern Hemisphere). Cooper acquired Cameron in 1990, and following this acquisition Neil took up the position of Market Development Manager (Eastern Hemisphere) for the Oil Tool division of Cooper Industries, until he joined BEL Valves in 1991.
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Richard Dodd, Chief Technical & Commercial Officer and BEL Group Director
Richard Dodd joined BEL Valves in 1992 as a Project Engineer having graduated from Birmingham University with a First Class Honours degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacture and Management. He was sponsored by British Engines whilst undertaking his academic training, undertaking a number of duties within various departments at BEL Valves. He also completed NVQ level shop floor training with British Engines before starting his degree course.
Richard was promoted to Product Development Manager in 1998, and then in 2000 to Business Resource Manager reporting directly to the Managing Director in support of Operations Management and Sales & Marketing.
Subsequently Richard was promoted to General Manager in 2001, Managing Director in 2004, and since 2006 has simultaneously held the positions of Chief Technical & Commercial Officer for BEL Valves and Director for British Engines.
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Ivan Todd, Financial Controller
Ivan Todd joined BEL Valves as Financial Controller in December 2007.
Having qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1991, Ivan joined the Vaux Group in 1992, progressing to the position of Group Financial Controller when the company was acquired by Whitbread.
Ivan then spent a number of years at Sir John Fitzgerald Ltd as Group Financial Controller, before joining PII in 2001. PII was the market leader in providing pipeline inspection for the Oil and Gas Industry and the company was acquired by General Electric in 2002. At PII Ivan held a variety of roles and was latterly the Finance Manager of the Europe, Africa and Middle East divisions before joining BEL Valves in 2007.
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Chris Williamson, Director of Product Development
Chris Williamson joined British Engines in 1997 as a Senior Project Engineer before being promoted the following year to Technical Manager. In 2001 he was promoted again, to Technical & Product Development Manager, and in 2008 to Director of Product Development to focus on introducing new products into BEL Valves.
His career prior to BEL Valves started as a Technical Apprentice in 1983 with the Mining & Offshore equipment manufacturer Victor Products. From I988 to 1991 he studied for a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Newcastle Polytechnic where he graduated with First Class Honours. After graduating he returned to Victor Products where he worked as a Design Engineer designing hydraulic and pneumatic equipment used in the Mining industry. In 1994 he was promoted to the position of Senior Design Engineer engaged in the design of explosion proof electrical equipment used in the Offshore Industry. In 1996 he was promoted to Design Manager responsible for all Mining products.
Chris is a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, and holds a Masters degree in Subsea Engineering from Cranfield University. He is a member of the Society for Underwater Technologies (SUT) and a member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE).
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Brendan Hogg, Director of Projects
Brendan Hogg joined BEL Valves in 1990 as a Quality/Welding Engineer, and was subsequently promoted to Senior Quality Engineer. In 1998 Brendan was promoted again, to Senior Project Manager, and then to Commercial/Project Director in 2005 and most recently Director of Projects in 2007.
His career prior to BEL Valves began after completing an Engineering Apprenticeship and HNC in Fabrication and Welding Processes in 1983. From 1983 to 1990 he worked as an Inspection/Construction Engineer for NEI Nuclear Systems situated at both Gateshead and Heysham Nuclear Power Station. NEI Nuclear Systems designed and manufactured boilers and heat exchangers for advanced gas cooled nuclear power stations.
In 1986 Brendan moved to Whessoe Heavy Engineering, as a Quality Engineer, where he worked for four years before joining BEL Valves in 1990. Whessoe designed and manufactured pressure vessels for the petrochemical, oil and gas and nuclear industries.
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Paul Smith, Director of Operations
Paul Smith joined British Engines in 1976 as a CNC machine tool setter operator having served a Mechanical Engineering Apprenticeship with C.A. Parsons in their turbine manufacturing facilities in Newcastle. In 1983 he re-trained as a Production Engineer and spent nine years in this role. In 1992 he was promoted to Assembly Shop Manager and after spending seven years managing various operational areas he was promoted to Operations Manager responsible for one of BEL Valves production sites.
In 2005 he was promoted to General Operations Manager overseeing all operational activities across BEL Valves, and in 2007 he was promoted again, to Director of Operations.
Paul has a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Northumbria University.
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Mark Roddy, Chief Operations Officer
Mark Roddy joined BEL Valves as Manufacturing Manager in 2003, and was subsequently promoted to Supply Chain Manager in 2006, Director of Supply in 2007 and Chief Operations Officer in 2008.
Mark began his career at Harkers Engineering, specialists in precision sub-contract engineering and with a client portfolio which included G.E., Rolls Royce, Siemens, ABB, Camerons and Airbus.
After becoming certified within the machine shop environment at Harkers, Mark undertook a number of senior management roles within the company. Whilst undertaking these roles he qualified as a Six Sigma Greenbelt at General Electric in South Carolina, USA, and obtained a qualification from the Chartered Institute of Management. Mark held the position of Production Manager at Harkers before joining BEL Valves in October 2003.
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Ed Wallis, Director of Engineering
Ed Wallis joined BEL Valves in 1967 as an Apprentice, and after the first year in the Training School transferred into the Machine Shop.
In 1969 he transferred from the Machine Shop into the Jig & Tool design section within the Production Engineering Department, where he worked as a Jig and Tool Draughtsman designing special tools, Jigs and Fixtures used for the manufacture of a wide variety of components.
In 1971 Ed transferred from Jig & Tool design to the Technical Drawing Office as a Detail Draughtsman, and began preparing drawings for component parts of valves, and designing the equipment required to carry out the testing of the finished assemblies. Ed progressed rapidly in the Technical Drawing Office, being involved with the design and development of the existing and new products.
Ed was promoted to Technical Manager in 1986, to Technical Director in 1991, and then to Director of Engineering in 2007.
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Harry Clark, Head of Product Standards
Harry Clark joined BEL Valves in 1977 as a Production Engineer, having previously worked at Rose Forgrove, Team Valley as a Works Technician.
In 1979 Harry was promoted to Senior Production Engineer and in 1984 to Chief Production Engineer responsible for the running of the whole Production Engineer department. In 1997 Harry was promoted to Operations Manager and made a Director of BEL Valves in 1999, responsible for the management, planning, tooling and control of the entire manufacturing facility. In 2005 Harry was promoted to Production Engineering Director and then in 2007 to Director of Business Process responsible for the effective utilisation and standardisation of Technical and Production Engineering, including Continuous Improvement and Quality Assurance.
In late 2007 a new department was created with emphasis on getting standardisation into the business through design & manufacture, and Harry is now responsible for this department as Head of Product Standards.
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Michael Wright, Head of Business Improvement
Michael Wright joined BEL Valves in 1971 and completed a multi-disciplined ‘Tool-Maker’ apprenticeship. Soon after (1975), he was transferred to the Production Engineering Department, initially as a Jig & Tool Draughtsman and later (1978) as a Production Engineer.
In 1983, he became a Quality Engineer, initially responsible for defining new ‘BS5750’ quality procedures and later for the ‘Quality Planning’ of Customer Orders. Michael was promoted in 1998, to Work Study Manager responsible for the introduction of a new Incentive Scheme and Time & Attendance system as well as efficiency improvements.
He was further promoted to Manufacturing & Systems Manager in 1993, a ‘joint’ role in which he was responsible for Manufacturing throughput and business process improvement. It was during this period that Michael completed a Diploma in Business Administration (DBA) through Durham University. Michael then became Systems Manager in 1996, responsible for the introduction of ‘custom written’ computing systems across the company.
In 2000, he became Planning & Quality Manager responsible for QA/QC and Planning system development, before becoming Business Improvement Manager in 2003. Michael project-managed a Business Excellence program and the implementation of an ERP system throughout the company.
Michael became Head of Business Improvement in 2007.
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Keith Wood, Quality Manager
Keith Wood joined BEL Valves in 2006 as Quality Manager to further develop the current Quality Systems and introduce Continuous Improvement and Lean Manufacturing principles throughout the business.
Apprentice trained, Keith has worked in Quality Assurance roles for 32 years in various industries, more recently as Director of Quality at David Brown Engineering and Quality Manager at Electrolux. Keith has extensive experience of a variety of Quality Systems including ISO9001:2000, and he is also trained as a Champion in Lean Sigma techniques which are currently being introduced as part of the BEL Valves improvement programmes.
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Michael Ridley, Sales and Marketing Director
Michael Ridley first joined BEL Valves as an apprentice in 1984, and as a sign of things to come, he won the BEL Valves Apprentice of the Year Award in 1988. His career then took him through the BEL Valves Engineering Department, seeing him move from Apprentice Engineer to Design Engineer in 1988. In 1990 he moved into internal sales, taking up the post of Internal Sales Engineer.
Various sales posts followed, including an Internal Sales Manager role in 1992, before Michael was relocated to Aberdeen in 1993/94 for his first external sales post, increasing turnover in this key market from £700k to £7m. Finally, Michael was promoted to UK & Scandinavia Sales Manager before being promoted to Sales Director for BEL Valves.
In 2000, Michael left BEL Valves to start his own business – RB Valvetech Ltd – a valve trading company also based in the North-East of England. The lure of a return to the dynamic manufacturing environment, however, in particular with a subsea products and product development focus, was too much to resist.
Michael Ridley joined BEL Valves as Sales and Marketing Director on 5 January 2009, with a remit to expand BEL Valves’ global business, with an initial focus on BEL Valves’ activities in the Eastern Hemisphere and the Americas.
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(A Division of British Engines Ltd)
St Peters, Newcastle upon Tyne
UK, NE6 1BS
Tel: +44 (0) 191 265 9091
Fax: +44 (0) 191 276 3244
Email: enquiry@belvalves.com
Registered in England 167542
© BEL Valves 2009
