North East property and energy firm the Banks Group has recruited an experienced mining industry professional as part of its drive to further improve the efficiency of its vehicle and machinery fleet.
Robbie Bentham has joined the Durham-headquartered firm as its new plant director and now has responsibility for developing enhanced ways of working across its different sites in Scotland and the North of England.
Robbie, who lives in Tudhoe, has moved to Banks Mining after a quarter of a century in regional and national roles with plant and equipment supplier Finning.
The Banks Group employs over 420 people in surface mining, renewable energy and property development, and its plant fleet ranges from Land Rovers through to HGVs and the latest 100 tonne Caterpillar 777G off-highway dump trucks.
Robbie Bentham says: “The substantial plant investments that companies like the Banks Group make have to be matched through the returns they make possible, both in commercial terms and in the better ways in which they enable the workforce to do their jobs.
“I’ve been aware of Banks for many years, and always felt that their focus on continuously improving the efficiency with which they operate closely match my own hands-on philosophy, and my experience so far is this theory is very much realised in practice.
“The company’s strategic direction comes from the very top and is embraced by the team at every level, and I’ll be working to build on the excellent progress we’re continuing to make on maximising the efficiency with which we all work.”
Gavin Styles, executive director at Banks Mining, adds: “Robbie’s vast industry knowledge and experience adds greatly to the expertise we can call on in managing our ever-growing plant resources, and he will play a central role in how our operations develop in the future.”