Meet the faces behind our success.
Tom Cairns.
Managing Director.
Tom held senior sales and management positions with several national forklift companies. In 1993 he formed Ailsa Machinery and has overseen the growth of the business for more than 20 years. Tom sets great importance on customer service and continually drives Ailsa to meet and exceed expectations.
Dale McCormack.
Sales Director.
Following roles as National accounts manager and Scottish area manager for Kärcher, Dale joined Ailsa in 1996 in field sales, subsequently as Sales Manager and now Sales Director. Dale takes pride in building a strong relationship with our customers, to understand their business and make sure they get the right solution.
Lauren Pepper.
Administrator.
Lauren takes responsibility for many of the day to day necessities at Ailsa, from invoicing and payment collections to booking servicing and maintenance visits. Lauren joined the business in 2005 as a trainee, the skills and experience she has developed since then have made her an invaluable member of the team.
Paul MacPherson.
General Manager.
Paul joined Ailsa in 2002 and has undertaken a number of roles in the service team on his way to senior engineer; from preparing and refurbishing trucks to passing his HGV license in order to deliver using our own transport. As with all of our service team, Paul has trained to the LOLER Thorough Inspection standards for servicing and maintenance.
Ruth Doak.
Administrator.
Joining the team recently in 2021, Ruth keeps the admin side of the business running, from invoicing and accounts to booking in services and hires/sales. Ruth also takes care of ordering parts and service quotes. We can already see development in Ruth’s customer service and admin skills which has made her a very valuable member of the team.
Derek Love.
Service/Engineering Supervisor.
Since joining Ailsa in 1999 from the motor trade, Derek has combined his mechanical knowledge with a specialism in fork truck electrical systems. With technical training approved by manufacturers including BT, Jungheinrich and Komatsu, Derek is most likely to be found in the field working on servicing, maintenance and repairs.
Gus Gorman
Field Engineer.
Gus Gorman is our newest recruit, arriving in 2021 he has quickly become an integral part of our service department. Processing a wealth of experience and forklift knowledge as well as having worked previously in the maintenance of transport and aviation equipment. Field service and breakdown, along with workshop repairs are Gus’s daily routine. Excellent specialist repair and welding skills are an additional bonus for our service team.
Jordan Downie
Field/Workshop Engineer.
Jordan Downie served his time in the motor-trade before coming to Ailsa in 2020. A mobile engineer covering field and workshop service needs. He can also stand-in as our forklift transport driver. Always willing to learn new skills, since joining Jordan has passed his class 2 wagon driving test and the FLTA Thorough Examination course. With engineering staff like Jordan around the future of Ailsa is in safe hands.
Justin Ferrie.
Apprentice Forklift Engineer.
Justin Ferrie joined the company straight from school in 2021. He is being mentored by our 2 senior engineers.
Paired with them he is on the road attending breakdown and service visits most days.
He also attends, on block release, a bespoke Scottish forklift engineering apprenticeship course based in Glasgow.Justin is our first apprentice here for many a year and is already a great addition to our team.