Marty Lakes and Eric Etchart have joined Jean-Yves Bouffault as executive vice presidents of the Manitowoc Crane Group.

The new senior management structure has been put in place by Manitowoc Crane Group’s new president Glen Tellock following the acquisition of Grove Worldwide, but – so far – there is no place for any of the Grove management at the top table.

The Grove acquisition completed on 8 August and the final purchase price was $271 million, funded by a combination of cash to be paid at a later date, a private offering of senior subordinated notes due 2012, and Manitowoc common stock.

Marty Lakes returned to Manitowoc on 19 August after two years as president of Uniloy Milacron Inc., based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is in charge of the Americas region for the Manitowoc Crane Group, which includes the Manitowoc, National, Grove and Potain brands.

Jean-Yves Bouffault, chief executive officer of Potain and previously the sole executive vice president, has had his area reduced to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Previously he was also responsible for activities in Asia. That role now goes to Eric Etchart in recognition of his achievements as managing director of Manitowoc Equipment Works Pte, based in Singapore.

‘These are three key positions in our new regionally-focused structure,’ said Tellock. ‘Each of these well-known leaders will be responsible for delivering our new mission, confirming Manitowoc as the leading producer of lifting equipment worldwide. Two years ago 90% of our crane sales were domestic. With the acquisition of Potain and Grove over the last 15 months, we expect that 45% of our sales will be outside the USA. This requires a structure that decisively supports the unique requirements of customers in each region of the world while taking advantage of the reduced cost structure made possible by operating as a single company.’

He added: ‘While these are the first three members of my new senior management team, they are critical to our mission. I am announcing these appointments now so that these individuals can begin working immediately with our joint transition team to design and staff their regional organisations.’

Further staffing announcements are expected in the next few weeks.