Ariel Plastics has made a number of appointments in order to strengthen its sales and business development team as part of its ambitious growth plans.

The five-strong team have wasted no time cementing existing industry relationships; identifying new opportunities; and planning the launch of new products to the company’s core base of merchants, merchant buying groups, DIY customers and roofing industry customers.

The team consists of David McCandlish, covering Scotland and the North East; Victoria McLaughlin’s area is the North of England and North Wales; Craig Finch’s territory is Central England and Wales; and Ian St John is in London and the South East. Paul Goddard, who has been a well-known figure at Ariel Plastics for more than three decades, will be supporting the team in his role as Commercial Manager in the South as well as being responsible for the South West area.

The new appointments bring years of experience and contacts from right across the construction industry – McLaughlin, for example, is well versed in the timber and merchant industries, St John joins from Ariel Plastics’ merchant team at sister company Brett Martin, McCandlish has been involved in building materials for years, and Finch has plenty of construction industry experience, including sales of rainwater and roofline into builders merchants.

Bringing together a high performance team was the number one priority of Jennifer Brookes, the Sales Director of the invigorated company – which was founded in 1961, was bought by Brett Martin in 1994 and is based in Staveley, North Derbyshire.

Brookes said the team is already bringing a new energy and a sense of urgency to the business – as well as fresh ideas.

“The new team is getting on really well, and the feedback we’re getting is that they are a breath of fresh air for our business – which is making independent merchants, national merchants and buying groups sit up and take notice of Ariel Plastics,” said Brookes.

“We have a great blend of those who have decades of experience and an encyclopaedic knowledge of roofing materials and those who bring plenty of experience from other parts of the construction industry and provide an invaluable new perspective.”

Brookes added that the company is fully supportive of adopting new initiatives, including its tongue-in-cheek “Sheet Happens – We’ve Got You Covered” campaign.

“The Ariel Plastics team are fired up by the overall direction of travel for the business and the way we want to engage with customers to showcase the very best of roofing sheets, rooflights and accessories.

“We’ll also be championing our credentials as an integral part of a UK manufacturer at the forefront of sustainable practices, as the vast majority of our products are manufactured right here in the UK by Brett Martin, which keeps sustainability at the core of everything it does – recycling virtually all waste material from its manufacturing process and generating a significant proportion of the renewable energy it uses.”