Attachments, Parts & Aftermarket leadership recruitment in Manchester
Confidential search for aftermarket and service sales leadership, including Heads of Aftermarket and Aftermarket Directors who own parts, service and contract revenue. We run these appointments discreetly given how visible aftermarket leaders are within the market. On the ground in Manchester and across the wider North West attachments, parts & aftermarket cluster.
Manchester sits at the centre of the North West's distribution economy, anchored by Trafford Park and a dense network of logistics parks along the M60, M62 and M6, plus significant air freight through Manchester Airport. That concentration of warehousing, fulfilment and manufacturing creates one of the deepest markets in the country for forklift dealers, racking and storage installers, conveyor and sortation suppliers, and warehouse automation integrators. The city's universities produce one of the largest engineering and commercial graduate pools in the UK, keeping commercial and technical supply strong.
The North West's manufacturing and distribution base, served by the M6 and M62 and the Port of Liverpool, supports a large fleet of equipment in daily use. Aftermarket and attachment specialists work across the distribution parks and industrial estates around Manchester, Warrington and Preston, where uptime and planned maintenance matter to high-throughput operations.
Cascade Corporation
Forklift attachments
Manufacturer of lift truck attachments, part of Toyota Industries.
Bolzoni
Forklift attachments
Manufacturer of forklift attachments and lift tables, part of Hyster-Yale.
Kaup
Forklift attachments
German manufacturer of forklift attachments.
B&B Attachments
Forklift attachments
UK supplier and integrator of forklift attachments.
TVH
Parts and aftermarket
Global supplier of replacement parts and accessories for material handling equipment.
Briggs Equipment
Service and aftermarket
UK provider of forklift fleet management, service and aftermarket support.
Toyota Material Handling
Service and aftermarket
OEM with a substantial UK parts, service and managed fleet aftermarket operation.
Jungheinrich
Service and aftermarket
OEM with UK parts, service and aftercare programmes alongside new equipment sales.
Aftermarket commercial talent is a smaller and more specialist pool than new equipment sales. Strong candidates often come up through internal parts sales, service coordination or field service before moving into contract and attachment sales, which gives them genuine technical credibility. Many are loyal to employers who reward recurring revenue growth, so they move for clearer commission on contract value, better product and service backing, or a step up in account size rather than for base alone.
Pay in attachments, parts and aftermarket is shaped by the recurring nature of the revenue and the technical complexity of the sale. Roles that grow service contract value and parts annuities, or that sell engineered attachments into specific applications, tend to be rewarded on retained and expanded contract value rather than one-off deals. Internal parts sales sits below field aftermarket and attachment specialists, and pay rises with account size, technical content and responsibility for contract renewals.
Manchester Piccadilly and Victoria provide direct national rail. The Metrolink tram network connects MediaCityUK, Spinningfields, the Northern Quarter and Trafford. Manchester Airport gives the city national and international reach unique among UK regions.
How we work
01
We start with the commercial mandate the leader must deliver: the growth plan, the team they inherit or build, the customers and channels, and the stakeholders they answer to. We design the seat before we search for the person.
02
We build a confidential map of the relevant leadership pool across competitors and adjacent intralogistics sub-sectors, protecting both the hiring business and the leaders we approach.
03
Senior people are approached with a sanitised, credible narrative. Named-employer messaging is held back until second-stage conversations, so a sensitive search stays sensitive.
04
Leadership assessment goes beyond track record to judgement, team building, change capability and the ability to operate at board level. We test the things that actually predict success in the seat.
05
A considered shortlist, then full support through offer, acceptance and a structured first-100-days plan agreed with the board. We are as comfortable advising on team design and succession as filling a single seat.
FAQs
Aftermarket and service contract sales managers, parts sales specialists, attachment business development and application engineers, key account managers for parts and service, and aftermarket leadership, for OEMs, attachment manufacturers, parts suppliers and dealers.
Aftermarket selling is recurring and contract-led, built on uptime, planned maintenance and parts annuities rather than one-off capital deals. The behaviours and incentives that drive it are different, so we screen for sellers who grow contract value over time.
Yes. Attachment sales often need application engineering credibility to match the right clamp, rotator or fork system to a customer process, so we recruit for both the commercial and technical sides of that sale.
Manchester is anchored by Trafford Park, one of the largest industrial estates in Europe, with dense logistics parks along the M60, M62 and M6 and significant air freight. That concentration of end users makes it one of the deepest markets in the country for handling, storage and automation.
A typical senior commercial search runs 8 to 12 weeks. The market is competitive, the best candidates are passive, and counter-offers are common, which lengthens the close phase.
Email Rachel Lunn and the team. We will reply within one working day with a Manchester-specific attachments, parts & aftermarket market read for the role you have in mind.
Email Rachel Lunn/leadership-recruitment/manchester/attachments-parts-aftermarket
Specialist commercial search for the intralogistics industry. We reply within one working day.
Email Rachel Lunn