Andrew Sloan is now head of engineering at Magtec, and has said his time in the Royal Navy is responsible for his successful civilian career.
Andrew joined the business; a designer, manufacturer and integrator of drive systems for electric and hybrid vehicles; in 2019 as its head of rail. In that position he led the company’s project to convert a diesel multiple unit to a low-emission electric hybrid drive, a first for the rail industry.
Magtec is at a time of substantial change, having commissioned a 65,000 sq ft facility in Rotherham, South Yorkshire to increase production for current and new customers in the commercial vehicle, rail, defence and logistics sectors. Orders include drive systems for electric refuse collection vehicles, autonomous and connected electric trucks and the conversion of rail diesel multiple units. Magtec is also supporting the British Army TD6 programme to assess the benefits that hybrid military vehicles can bring to the battlefield of the future.
Andrew started his career in the armed forces. He joined the Royal Navy submarine service as an electrical and electronic engineering apprentice in 2002 and rose up through the ranks to become chief petty officer. He served as senior engineer on various nuclear submarines and completed a secondment at global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin UK. After leaving the Royal Navy in 2014, Andrew held senior project management and business unit manager roles at railway engineering company Wabtec Rail and high-voltage cable manufacturer Pfisterer.
He said: “I am delighted to be taking on the head of engineering role as we scale up production. The leadership and management skills I developed in the Royal Navy submarine service have proved invaluable in my civilian career, enabling me to progress to this key role at Magtec. Our market-leading technology, which is designed and manufactured by highly skilled engineers here in South Yorkshire, can drive the decarbonisation of the global transportation sector.”
Andrew Gilligan, managing director, said: “Since joining Magtec, Andrew has demonstrated his dedication and commitment to our company but more importantly his professionalism, leadership and engineering capability. He will play a key role in the development of our engineering team as Magtec expands to meet growing demand for our market-leading drive systems. We congratulate Andrew on his well-deserved appointment at this exciting time for our company.”