Leavesley joins after five and a half years with sister company Antifriction, where, as fluid power sales director, he grew the fluid power and pneumatics division’s turnover from £600,000 to £2.2 million.

Ehrco is a UK stockist and distributor of hydraulic hose and fittings operating from 30,000 sq ft premises in Dudley. It is a UK distributor for the Vitillo Group, Oleo Tecnica flanges and PI.EFFE.CI clamps. Leavesley will oversee the development of the product portfolio, partnerships and sales, and manage a 15-strong team.

Among the first of the new initiatives Leavesley will be making is a service to Ehrco’s 600-strong client base for a laser-etching service that permanently marks components; making it easier to identify and replace parts as well as protecting the equipment from theft. It also helps to protect Ehrco’s customer aftermarket business from its competitors.

Ehrco is part of Milan headquartered Gruppo Bianchi. The Italian industrial distributor took a 50% share in Ehrco in 2016.

The investment in Ehrco complemented Antifriction’s inventory of over 200,000 line items; including bearings, power transmission, gearboxes, electric motors, lubrication and sealing products from premium industry brands. It supplies products across heavy industries including food and beverage, metal processing, recycling, paper, construction and original equipment manufacturers.

Leavesley said of his new appointment: “Ehrco is a fantastic operator delivering premium products, excellent customer service and an unrivalled knowledge of its sectors from a team that has helped the business prosper over many years. I’m looking to see where we can improve even further, but keep everything that has served Ehrco and its clients so well over the past 25 years.”