Blue Group appoint new CEO

Adrian Murphy appointed as group chief executive officer to bring increased co-ordination across the Group

BLUE Group have announced the appointment of Adrian Murphy as the Group’s first-ever chief executive officer.

Working closely with the company’s four owner directors, Mr Murphy will initially look to bring increased co-ordination across the various businesses within the Group, as well as develop a strong growth strategy.

Blue say last year was another record year for the Group in terms of sales, with a combined turnover in excess of £100 million, putting the business in a strong position for continued expansion.

Mr Murphy (pictured) has previously worked in a number of senior leadership positions in the capital equipment market, most recently as chief executive officer of Hewden, but also as chief operating officer of Speedy and managing director of Hilti for the UK and Ireland.

He also has service and manufacturing experience both domestically and internationally.

Mr Murphy, who has been in his new role since 1 September 2017, commented: ‘The first few weeks have been a sharp learning curve, but what has been clear from the beginning is the customer-focused ethos of the business.

‘For example, we have recently implemented new service software that will help make our engineers and service departments more efficient through improved information transfer.

‘We are also rolling out the SAP business system across the various Group offices, again to ensure more co-ordination to ultimately help us support our customers better.’

Blue Group supply leading equipment brands such as Powerscreen, Doppstadt and Terex Fuchs across the UK and Ireland. The business has eight strategically located offices throughout the territory, supplying capital equipment as well as spare parts via its dedicated facility in Warrington, Cheshire.

Mr Murphy will assume responsibilities across all offices, strategically developing the company’s product portfolio and service package in order to further support Blue’s customer base.

Commenting on the appointment, group chairman and co-owner Pat McGeary said: ‘This is a really exciting time for Blue Group as we look to the next stage in our development. The appointment of Adrian is a signal of our ambition to grow and develop the business to another level, and we would like to welcome him to our board.’