Meet the team: Adrian Fitzpatrick

Our General Manager at Joseph Ash Bilston

We had the opportunity to chat with Adrian Fitzpatrick, our new General Manager at Joseph Ash Bilston, to find out a bit about him and his plans for the site.

Meet Adrian Fitzpatrick:

Role: General Manager

Branch: Joseph Ash Bilston

Started: 7th May 2024

Can you give us a brief overview of your role?

In my role as General Manager, I have overall responsibility in leading our Bilston site, setting the direction and laying out our future approach to meet our customer needs and aspirations.

I get involved in every aspect of the company, from looking at operational performance and improvements, administration operations, processes, Health & Safety, customer negotiations and price setting – the job has a huge breadth, so is very interesting.

Can you give us some history on your career?

I started my career at Land Rover/Rover Group, transitioning from a technical apprenticeship to a full-time sponsored graduate. I then became a Project Manager at an aluminium foundry group and led a greenfield joint venture foundry development in Mexico.

I then went on to become Senior Sales Manager at the world’s largest privately-owned iron foundry, managing key accounts with major automotive companies, driving sales growth and aligning product strategies with market trends.

Returning back to the automotive industry, I became Vehicle Programme Manager at Jaguar Land Rover, leading various whole vehicle programmes including the ground-breaking Jaguar C-X75 Hybrid Supercar, the Land Rover Discovery 5, Range Rover, and others. It was my role to oversee direction and business control to meet stringent cost, quality, and timing goals. I then became General Manager for a small vehicle brakes manufacturer, leading a cross-functional team to improve operational processes and drive performance.

Why did you want to join Joseph Ash?

I wanted a role which would allow me to share my experiences and build a high performing team again, and Joseph Ash looked like a great place to do that.

What are you looking forward to in the coming year?

I’m really excited to be working with the team at Bilston to improve our site’s performance, and working alongside my colleagues across other Joseph Ash sites.

What are your goals for the plant that you can talk about?

Improving output efficiencies, growing our customer base, and professionalising our offering to enable high quality hot dip galvanizing.

At Joseph Ash, we talk a lot about the circular economy and sustainability. What else is important to you?

The increasing use of visual and aesthetic applications of galvanized products requires us to continue to develop a high level of stable control in our operations.

Tell us something people might find surprising about you.

I have a great interest in classic cars – driving them and restoring them.  When I’m not spending time with my family or doing something with old cars, I’m often found listening to lots of music, everything from the latest tunes to some old classics.