Having experienced a period of rapid growth, Automotive Insulations has appointed a new managing director to lead the company’s expansion and day-to-day production.
Automotive Insulations, part of the Autins Group, has promoted Paul Walker from his position of operations director to manage the Group’s UK headquarters.
The post was previously held by Jim Griffin who is now CEO of the Autins Group following the company’s expansion from one UK site in 2011 to seven sites across Europe in 2016.
Automotive Insulations (AI) develop and manufacture acoustic and thermal materials for a range of industries including automotive, marine and aerospace.
As UK MD, Walker will now be responsible for managing manufacturing; material planning and logistics; purchasing; process engineering; material technology and acoustics, and new product development and implementation.
Walker, who has also worked for Jaguar Land Rover – one of Autins’ largest customers, moved to AI 2014, explained: “The Autins Group is undergoing a sea change of unprecedented growth and technology development, and it’s a wonderful career opportunity to be helping drive this transformation.”
With an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters degree in Automotive Acoustics, Walker has worked in the automotive industry for 40 years.
As operations director at AI he has played a part in the company’s expansion which has seen staff numbers almost triple and turnover rise by nearly 40% over the past two years.
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CEO of the Autins Group, Jim Griffin commented: “We’re really pleased that Paul has taken the role – we think he’s the perfect fit for the exciting challenges that being MD of AI offers.
“In the two years that he has worked for the company, he has been highly instrumental in our growth. We are always keen to find the best talent and reward those who make a difference.”
Established in 1966 and based in Rugby in Warwickshire, AI is celebrating 50 years of production in 2016. The company relocated to a 65,000 sqft site in 2014, around the same time as Walker’s arrival.
The move involved a £6m investment in premises and machinery. AI make parts for many large UK automotive manufacturers, including JLR, the VW Group, and Bentley.
