The chief executive of a historic Glasgow engineering company is standing down after 10 years at the helm.
Jon Stanton will bring his tenure at Weir Group to an end on August 1 when he will be succeeded by Andrew Neilson, a Scot who is currently president of the company’s minerals division, it was announced to the stock market this morning.
Mr Stanton, who has been with Weir for 16 years, was credited by the company for leading its transformation into a “global mining technology leader”. Under his leadership, Weir exited “cyclical businesses” – notably its oil and gas division that was sold to Caterpillar in a deal worth more than £300 million in 2020 and the disposal of its Flow Control business to US private equity group First Reserve for £275m in 2019 – while undertaking a number of significant acquisitions. Major deals overseen by Mr Stanton include last year's £650m acquisition of Micromine Software Holdings, a global mining software solutions company based in Perth, Australia, and its $1.3 billion purchase of ESCO, the Oregon-based tool supplier for the mining and construction sectors in 2019.
Mr Stanton said: “It has been an immense privilege to lead Weir but after 10 years and with the company in great shape it is the right time for a leadership transition. Over its long history, Weir has brought innovative engineering to solve the challenges of the time and I have loved every minute of the journey with my amazing colleagues to lead it to the forefront of the critical minerals challenge and create the multi-decade opportunity that lies ahead.
“Weir today is uniquely positioned for growth in the mining value chain with leading technology in equipment and software, unmatched customer intimacy and a strong operating platform. Throughout my tenure, Andrew has played a major role in Weir’s strategic transformation and has huge followership as a leader across the business. I look forward to supporting his seamless transition and to watching the Weir team go from strength to strength as I begin my next chapter.”
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Weir said Mr Neilson, who joined the company around the same time as Mr Stanton in 2010, has “significantly” expanded markets and “transformed” the operating platform of the minerals division, the company’s biggest to deliver growth and higher profitability. Before being appointed as leader of the minerals division, Mr Neilson served as president of ESCO and led its integration into Weir, and prior to that led the minerals business across Europe and North Africa.
Mr Neilson, who was brought up in Glasgow and graduated in engineering from the University of Strathclyde, will be paid a base salary of £825,000 per year as chief executive of Weir, which employs around 12,000 people in more than 50 countries.
The company announced Mr Stanton’s departure as it reported a 4% rise in orders in the first quarter, with large equipment projects “picking up pace” - despite “several challenges facing the mining industry”. It highlighted “exceptional order levels” at ESCO, which saw orders for original equipment surge by 49%, driven by demand in the core mining regions of North America, South America and Africa.
The opening quarter saw Weir complete the acquisition of ESEL, a Chile-based manufacturer of high-quality ground engaging tools which has strengthened its distribution and manufacturing capabilities in South America.
Mr Stanton said: “Against a backdrop of growing geopolitical tensions, our strong operational platform is delivering for our customers, with limited impact to our global supply chain.
“Looking ahead to the full year, we remain focused on disciplined execution despite several challenges facing the mining industry, not least rising uncertainty as to potential impacts from conflict in the Middle East. With supportive commodity prices driving demand for expansions and high underlying activity levels, we expect orders to develop very positively through the year and reiterate our full year guidance for growth in constant currency revenue and operating profit, together with achievement of our margin and cash conversion targets.”
Weir held its annual general meeting in Glasgow today, at which all resolutions were passed.
Shares closed the session down 4.27%, or 118p, at 2,646p.
