County Durham-based Seaward Electronic Ltd. is setting its sights on further market growth with the appointment of a new chief executive.
North East born Chris Callan takes up the new role after building a successful career in the electronics industry working with businesses around the UK and in the USA.
Since graduating as an electronics and software engineer at Newcastle University, Chris has gained widespread experience in business development, product management and executive roles in the medical, automotive and telecoms markets, most recently as vice-president and general manager of an international components and test equipment manufacturer in the aviation sector.
At its head office in Peterlee, and with an operation in Tampa, Florida, Seaward employs around 160 people and is a market leading manufacturer of electronic test and measurement instruments used in a wide variety of electrical, medical, industrial and energy sector applications.
In taking up his new position, Chris believes there are considerable opportunities for the company to build on its successful market presence, both in the UK and overseas.
He said: “I am delighted to be joining Seaward and I am very excited about the future potential of the business. The company’s strong reputation and international market presence were major attractions for me and I am looking forward to working with everyone to continue to grow and take the business forward.
“In particular, the company’s commitment to technical innovation and development will remain a key priority as we look to expand the product range, develop new applications and secure a bigger market share.
“To help us achieve this ambition, we will be investing strongly in the company’s renowned engineering capabilities and by putting product integrity and new technology at the heart of everything we do.”
In 2015 Seaward became part of Metrawatt’s GMC Instrumentation Group, a collaboration of separate specialist test equipment manufacturing businesses based in Germany, Switzerland and the USA.
Dr Hans-Peter Opitz, of GMC-Instruments GmbH said:“We would like to welcome Chris to Seaward and very much looking forward to working with him.
“We believe the strengthening of the management team with this new appointment will provide the basis for the successful further development of both Seaward and the group for the benefit of our international customer base.”
By becoming CEO, Chris Callan takes over from interim managing director Tom Talbot who will stay with Seaward as chief operating officer.