HELLER Appoints Customer Services Manager

JOHN DINEEN, who started working for Heller Machine Tools in 1992 as an apprentice mechanical engineer, has been promoted to the position of Customer Services Manager.

After completing his five-year apprenticeship at the firm, John became a mechanical fitter in the manufacturing facility at Redditch, where he helped to build the company’s MCP-series 4-axis horizontal machining centres (HMCs).

In 1997 he was seconded for three months to the German parent company’s headquarters and main factory in Nuertingen, where he was instrumental in developing the MC16 4-axis HMC, whose production was brought to Redditch. Flow line manufacture of 5-axis machining centres is the latest addition to the plant, following a £2 million expansion.

In the late 90s, John played a supporting role in the manufacture of special Heller machines, notably those with automation, as well as their service and preventative maintenance. He became Project Manager in 2003, his first job being to deliver a 12-machine process to Toyota’s Deeside factory for manufacturing rear carriers. Latterly he led a team of four engineers.

The latest position of Customer Services Manager combines John’s project management expertise with the after-sales service department, which deploys a team of seven field engineers across the UK and Ireland supported by five office staff. He will have at his disposal a new customer area, where visitors are able to see machine demonstrations and which is also a centre for applications engineering to support Heller machine users.