People on the move: April 2017

Australia-based Quickstep Holdings Ltd. announced that Mark Burgess has been appointed as managing director and CEO following David Marino’s decision to step down from the role for personal and family reasons. Burgess will commence his official duties in the role from mid-May 2017, and will be appointed as a director at the first board meeting after his commencement.

Burgess is currently vice president of Honeywell Aerospace Asia-Pacific responsible for driving sustained profitable growth during his four years in that role across a defense, space and commercial helicopter portfolio. Previously, Burgess had a successful career with BAE Systems in the UK, Middle East and South East Asia in sales, contracts, project and general management roles.

Tony Quick, chairman of Quickstep, welcomed Mark Burgess to the company: “We are very pleased to attract someone of Mark’s caliber and international experience to take on the leadership of the company at this exciting stage in the company’s development.”

In accepting his decision, the board paid tribute to David Marino for his significant work and achievement as he has established the company as a reliable supplier on the C-130J and JSF programs and has completed the investment which will enable Quickstep to cope with the JSF growth and exploit other opportunities in aerospace manufacturing. With respect to new technology, Marino has proven the technology and established a number of key contracts and further opportunities which will see significant progress in the near future.

“The board recognizes the importance of family issues and will continue to support David and wish him and his family the best for the future," Quick stated.

There will be a structured transition between Burgess and Marino, and Marino will continue to provide his full support to the business during that transition.

Burgess stated: “I pay tribute to the instrumental role David has played in building the foundations for the future success of the business. Quickstep has a highly capable executive team, supported by an internationally regarded board, and I am delighted to take over the leadership of Quickstep at this exciting point in its growth.”

Cygnet Texkimp

Composites technology company Cygnet Texkimp Ltd. has restructured its leadership team with the announcement of a series of promotions. The business, which manufactures specialist fiber processing and handling machinery for the international technical textile industry, says the promotions will simplify and strengthen its operations, which are headquartered in Cheshire, UK.

Pete Banham, who has spent 14 years in the business, has been promoted from chief commercial officer to joint-managing director alongside Luke Vardy, who has been promoted from his position as chief technical officer after 10 years at the company.

Meanwhile, former Product Director of Handling and Automation Lee Simcock becomes director of technology after eight years with Cygnet Texkimp, and Neil Anderton is promoted from vice president of sales, with a focus on the company’s wide web converting business, to director of sales.

Managing Director Pete Banham explained: “Luke and I have developed an extremely close partnership over the last decade. Becoming joint-MDs of the business is a natural step that allows us to combine our commercial and technical skills to steer the business to even greater success.

“Promoting Lee and Neil to their new director roles is also part of our commitment to continual investment as we work hard to build our reputation as the go-to partner of choice for fiber handling and processing technology in the niche textile markets.

“Our objective is to develop the Cygnet Texkimp name as a globally-recognized brand for all our products, from creels and pre-preg machinery, to slitting and spooling, coating, filament winding, fiber-placement, automation and handling technology.”

Roth Industries

Roth Industries, Inc. of North America (Syracuse, NY) is pleased to announce the North America launch of Roth Composite Machinery and newly hired national sales manager. Joe Brown, president and CEO of Roth Industries Inc. North America stated: “We are pleased to welcome Joe Jansen as national sales manager of RCM. Jansen has 32 years’ experience in the field of filament winding. He is well respected and known throughout the composite industry and brings a wealth of industry knowledge and experience to RCM. With Jansen on board, we are able to successfully enter the North America market and offer various services from standalone winders to full automated production lines.”


In addition to being an integral part in growing North America sales, Jansen will also be responsible for providing and assisting customers with training on operation, programming and repair and/or maintenance of their winding machines. Jansen will also consult customers in the correct methods of manufacturing their products as well as providing customers with referrals to other equipment, material, and vendors that can also assist them with their needs. Jansen stated: “Roth Composite Machinery is a global market leader with over 500 installed machines and over 30 years’ experience in automated production lines and I’m excited to continue to grow the business.”

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