Solidor Make A Second New Appointment In Mike Price

Just as I posted my thoughts on the 5 companies to watch in 2015, in comes Solidor, my first suggestion, with a second new appointment to the company, and the first of 2015. His name is Mike Price and his expertise lie in manufacturing. A rather key skill if Solidor are going to be acquiring some of the bigger names in the industry. This is the press release from Solidor:

Solidor have just brought in manufacturing expert, Mike Price, to head up their business operations with a remit to shape the composite door pioneer into a truly lean and world-class producer, as he begins his role as group operations director of DW3 Product Group.

Mike Price joins DW3 Group at a time when they are looking to clinch a number of key acquisitions in the first quarter of 2015 and he brings with him considerable expertise in lean operational excellence, along with a number of awards and is a former chief executive of Ultraframe.

The credentials of Mike Price are impressive as he’s a highly regarded expert in operational improvement and change management, while his appointment is a real coup for DW3 Product Group and the companies within in, including the immediate remit at Solidor. This reflects their lofty ambitions as a dynamic group, which is set to change the perception of the fenestration industries in the UK.

His past roles also include his own Operational Excellence business and as the managing director of The Manufacturing Institute, while accolades at Ultraframe include Best Engineering Plant 2007 and Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence Bronze Medallion in 2009, which was the first award of it’s kind at the time in Europe. More recently as managing director of Operational Excellence Ltd, he’s undertaken a number of consultancy projects and training and educational programmes in several industry sectors, including private equity pre-deal due diligence, post deal value creation and business integration strategies.

Mike Price, newly appointed group operations director of DW3 Product Group commented: ‘I’m delighted to be joining Gareth Mobley and fellow directors in the DW3 Product Group and it’s a sector I know well and enjoy. We’ve got bold ambitions as a group and I’m relishing the opportunity to play my part in implementing world-class operations across all of our investments, starting with Solidor.’

Joe Martoccia, managing director of Solidor comments: ‘The strategic appointment of Mike to the group will provide Solidor with true world-class operational expertise, which is imperative as we continue to experience strong growth. Having DW3 Product Group, behind us gives the security, resources and expertise for us to challenge for market leadership in the coming years.’

Judging by the timing of this appointment, it may not be too long before we start to hear exactly who Solidor is buying up. But if the group expands in the way Solidor intend it to, they are going to need people with the sorts of skills Mike Price has, to oversee operations at all the businesses in the new group.

A project like this highlights the need for the right people with the right skills. As a group grows, it needs the right people in the right places to help is grow safely and successfully. It can all go very wrong if not and a large group can quickly collapse on itself. I wish Mike good luck in his new role and look forward to more acquisition announcements from Solidor soon.