Simon Damp has been promoted to the role of managing director of Gorilla Glue Europe.
The promotion follows seven years in the role as European sales director, which Damp assumed when he single-handedly launched the brand into the UK market, says the company.

Having built the UK arm of the business from scratch, Mr Damp has emulated the success Gorilla Glue has already seen in the United States and is confident that he can take this further as the firm continues to expand on its ranges.

The appointment was made by Gorilla Glue Company chief operating officer Joe Ragland, who said: "In order to be successful, Simon needed to build a base of operations in the UK and this is something he has successfully carved out in such a short space of time. All facets of the business are represented here and with his strong team in place, Simon and the business are perfectly placed for tremendous growth both in the UK and across Europe."

Mr Damp added: "This was promotion was always a target for me and comes at what is a very exciting time for the company. As with any brand launching in the UK, you embark on a journey into the unknown but with the unwavering support from the team in the US, I am personally delighted at how far we have come in such a relatively short space of time. Without doubt we punch above our weight in a highly competitive market and we will continue to build on this to steer the brand and the business to our next goal.

"The brand has already seen numerous new products come to market over the past year with more to come in due course so the key for us now is to explore and develop new channels of distribution, as well as exploring further commercial opportunities."

In recent months Gorilla Glue has secured major listings in multiple retailers, including Wilko and B&Q. Its O'Keeffe's Working Hands cream has also landed on the shelves of major high street names, including Boots and Lakeland.