The former general manager of Becker Industrial Coatings has joined William Sinclair as its new manufacturing director, as the company is due to open its new £15m growing media production facility in Ellesmere Port.
Phil Welsh will manage an engineering and product management team at the new facility when it opens later in the year.

Those joining the team include engineering manager Mike Platt, production manager Steve Brown and Conway Powell.

Mr Welsh said: "I am delighted to be joining William Sinclair at an exciting and pivotal time in their 163-year history. The next 12 months will see a raft of groundbreaking new products flowing from our new flagship plant and I look forward to helping the company to achieve its growth objectives in 2015 and for many years to come."

Chief executive of William Sinclair, Peter Rush, said: "Phil Welsh and his team are playing a key role in the restructuring of William Sinclair to capitalise on the significant opportunities presented to the horticultural trade. We are gearing up for growth through innovation, production efficiency and marketing investment coupled with unprecedented service levels and Phil will be in the vanguard of that drive."

Earlier in the month Danny Adamson stepped down as managing director of the retail division of the company following an internal restructure.