Tim Whiteman, former CEO and managing director of IPAF, will join the Chinese aerial platform manufacturer Hunan Sinoboom Heavy Industry. Mr Whiteman has been appointed as CEO of Sinoboom BV – the group’s new subsidiary for European market - and senior vice president of the parent company with responsibility for the group’s safety strategies and branding.

Sinoboom BV will be based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in charge of all Sinoboom’s activities in Europe. This new subsidiary will import and manage the distribution and service of the growing range of Sinoboom MEWPs and continue to work with existing partners such as Liftstore in Poland.

“I’m thrilled to be in at the start of this new company – I’ve known the owners of Sinoboom for many years and have always been impressed with their vision and drive toward creating a global, world-class company with top quality products and systems” said Mr Whiteman. “We have a great group of highly motivated team members, are recruiting for experienced personnel in Europe and can provide rental companies with a truly reliable, modern product.”

“Tim’s network of contacts, experience of working across multiple cultures and leading a fast-growing international organisation make him the ideal person to launch this next stage of our growth” said Susan Xu, president of Hunan Sinoboom Heavy Industry. “We will become an integral, full service part of the European industry in order to give the best possible service to our customers” she added.

Priro to this, Mr Whiteman had served as CEO and MD of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) for 15 years. Before that, he was owner and publisher of the Vertikal Press.

Sinoboom was founded in February 2008, and is based in Changsha, China. The company specialises in the research, manufacture, sales and service of a wide range of access solutions for the global market.