Schaeffler appoints new country manager UK & Ireland as MD retires
Schaeffler has confirmed that Nigel Morgan, managing director of its automotive aftermarket division in the UK, has decided to retire after more than 40 years continual service with the company.
Mr Morgan will leave Schaeffler at the end of March, the company said.
He will be replaced by current sales director Mark Dolloway, who takes on the newly created position of country manager UK & Ireland.
Mr Dolloway joined Schaeffler from SKF in 2012 and will be replaced as sales director by Matt Selby – another Schaeffler veteran who originally joined the company back in 2007.
Nigel Morgan’s rise in the aftermarket began as a sales manager at Alan A Morgan, his family’s company based in the UK midlands, which became the sole importer of LuK clutches back in the 80s.
LuK eventually bought Alan A Morgan, which then went through several stages of evolution from LuK Aftermarket Service to the present day Schaeffler (UK) Ltd.
Schaeffler said Morgan presided over a “phenomenal period of prosperity for the company in the UK”, taking annual turnover from £3m to around £150m and successfully introducing the INA and FAG brands to join their LuK ‘big brother’.
Schaeffler puts its success in the UK and Ireland down to its philosophy of providing technicians with complete repair solutions, with everything in one box and all in genuine original equipment (OE) quality.
As a trusted technical partner and supplier of components and systems to the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers, independent technicians soon built up their own trust and loyalty to the LuK, INA and FAG brands.
“Providing them with free access to the Schaeffler REPXPERT workshop portal and loyalty programme is simply the icing on the cake for many mechanics.” the company said.
In 2013, at the height of the UK horsemeat scandal, Morgan decided that more also needed to be done to educate the aftermarket about vehicle parts quality, giving installers an informed choice about the differences between OE and non-OE components.
Initial adverts from OESAA, the association chaired by Morgan since its conception, featured horse and cow images and triggered a vociferous response from some quarters.
Seven years later and the organisation is still going strong, recently adding new members such as Brembo and Motul, and still educating technicians at major events.
Morgan will continue to be involved with OESAA, leading the campaign in a consultancy capacity after he leaves Schaeffler at the end of March.
He said: “I firmly believe that technicians can benefit most from using the parts and services offered by genuine OE suppliers, which offer the best quality and technical backup available to the aftermarket.
“OE suppliers are simply the best placed to keep technicians up-to-date with new products, systems and repair methods, as they are supplying these high-tech products and systems to vehicle manufacturers for original fitment.
“OE suppliers will also continue to be a key source of education and information, as hybridisation and electrification slowly take hold, so there is still an important role for the OESAA campaign to play over the coming years – one which I hope to remain very much a part of.”