Obituary: Mike Studd
14 March 2012Mike Studd, former managing director of UK-headquartered Hewden Stewart Plant Hire and Select Tower Cranes, a well-known figure in the tower crane industry, died March 4th after a long battle with cancer. A memorial service will be held in West Yorkshire next month.
Studd was born 1941 in Yorkshire. Beginning work as a coal miner, he earned his electrician’s license and moved to South Africa to work for McAlpine as an erector and electrician.
He returned to the UK after nine years, and started as an erector at Hewden Stewart Plant Hire, working his way up to general manager, and taking the business on to become a distributor Wolff cranes, and the largest tower crane supplier in the UK.
Retired from Hewden Stewart Plant Hire after 20 years, he started helping Comedil, which was at the time a small Italian manufacturer.
He was recruited by Ray O’Rourke of Select Plant as general manager and proceeded to make Select Plant Hire a major supplier of tower cranes in the UK using Comedil machines. He also promoted Comedil worldwide with MPS, the Florida-based business he established with his son, Paul.
Paul Studd said, “He was friendly and charismatic, making a mark on people in and out of the industry and helping many careers along the way. He was a remarkable person who will never be forgotten.”
A Memorial Service is being held on 16 April at the Wentbridge Church at 11:30am followed by a reception at the Wentbridge House Hotel, West Yorkshire.
