Pat Collins has been appointed as group panel products manager at Covers Timber & Builders Merchants.

The new role, which is based at the company’s head office in Chichester, was created to cater for the growing customer demand for panel products and specialist advice across all of the company’s 13 branches.

Mr Collins will be responsible for the group’s panel product operations, providing information and expertise to both the trade and the public, increasing the product range on offer, training staff in providing quality advice and building on the company’s existing customer portfolio.

Joining Covers with 30 years’ experience in the industry, Mr Collins has worked with a range of materials from commodity products such as MDF, chipboard, plywood and OSB, to an extensive range of specialist products including high performance birch plywood, decorative panels and problem solving solutions.