Hewden shakes-up management

Hewden Stuart has announced a shake-up of its senior management structure in a move to modernise the way the company is run.

Chief executive Paul Jarvis said the changes were designed to reflect the company's status as part of a larger group rather than a plc.

"The old board structure represented the needs of our days as a publicly quoted company. We're now trying to modernise our approach and bring in the people to help us do that," he said.

Jarvis added that the company was aware of the need to streamline its operations to meet customers' expectations. "We're trying to become more recognisable as one company. It can be a complex process for our customers to get the complete service from us - it can seem as though hiring cranes and tools are two separate things - but if you go forward 10 years people will want one service from one company."

Changing the name of the company's plant arm to general rental services was part of this process. "Plant sounds a bit downmarket and we want to reflect the service we are offering," said Jarvis.

Equally important, according to Jarvis, is the successful implementation of IT systems that will enable the company to offer its full service across its range of customers. "We're probably behind our competitors in this, but that's the result of having to consolidate the systems from the 80 companies we've purchased over the years. What's important now is not to be too clever but to take it step by step and get it right."

The executive board is superseded by a new executive team that has full responsibility for the strategic and operational management of the group. Former group executive director Roger Quenby has left the company, while Helen Sidaway joins the team as human resources director and David Shaw becomes business development director.