Welcome Rod – A True Gentleman

Having a presence in the US is not about having an office in one part of the country, well not when your philosophy is “ Big enough to deliver, local enough to care”.   With the West Coast of America reasonably covered and with the move to remote office working we had built a great base and now it was time to look to build some resources on the East Coast.

Opening offices is a relatively easy thing to do. Finding quality people with industry knowledge and skills to work in them, is another challenge.  Through the resources of the Jonas Group, we were put in contact with an individual who not only had the skills and knowledge but had considerable experience in the supply of ERP systems to the metal sector.  A gentleman who is truly a gentleman and always has a smile on his face, his success in bringing new accounts to the Jonas Metals Group has been tremendous and we look forward to furthering successes as he is joined by his new colleague Alex Brown a few years his junior (more to come).

In the short time Rodney has been with the group he has travelled to Buffalo to meet a client in November and he journeyed across the Atlantic in February to attend the annual Jonas Business Awards (where Metalogic took the top three prizes) and in the course mislaid his dinner jacket which resulted in John Padbury exercising his fashion skills to suit and boot Rodney for the presentation.  He also landed contracts with a number of significant players in the metals distribution industry.

Rodney hails out of Holland, Michigan and he’s worked in the metals industry since graduating from Michigan Tech. He started his career as controller of logistics in a company that warehoused and shipped steel coils in Detroit, and so has seen the tougher side of the industry as well as the technology side.

He helped build a software company that marketed and installed ERP systems and has been amazed by the leaps in technology that now drives solutions like iMetal and the advances made compared to those early days. 

He has been married to his wife Julie for 27 years and has two children Max and Rowan.  Max has just graduated from university and Rowan is in her final year. In winter he spends time in Florida  participating in watersports and also enjoys snow skiing with family and friends out west. Then heads north back to Michigan for the summer.

Rod heads up our team on the east coast of the USA and thoroughly enjoys working with the outstanding people of Jonas Metals Group who he has formed good relationships with and also made many new friends both in the US and the UK with his easy-going and warm charm.