Conveyors & Sortation leadership recruitment in York
Confidential search for conveyor and sortation sales leadership, including Heads of Sales, Sales Directors and Commercial Directors. We run these appointments discreetly given the visibility of senior leaders in this engineering-led market. On the ground in York and across the wider Yorkshire conveyors & sortation cluster.
York's industrial profile is smaller than Leeds or Sheffield but spans rail engineering, food and confectionery manufacturing, and a distribution base served by the A64 and A1(M). The manufacturing and food-production sites around the city sustain demand for in-factory handling, cold-store racking and conveyors, while the surrounding North Yorkshire distribution network supports lift truck and storage sales. The University of York provides a steady flow of analytical and commercial graduates, and the city's central position makes it a useful base for field roles covering a wide rural territory.
Yorkshire's large distribution and parcel operations along the M62 and M1 are core customers for conveyor and sortation systems. The logistics clusters around Leeds, Wakefield, Doncaster and Sheffield host high-throughput sites that invest in automated material flow, which supports demand for project-led commercial talent across the region.
Vanderlande
Conveyors and sortation
Provider of conveyor, sortation and automation systems for warehousing, parcel and airports.
BEUMER Group
Conveying and sortation
Manufacturer of conveying, loading and sortation systems.
Interroll
Conveyor components and systems
Manufacturer of conveyor rollers, drives, modules and sortation technology.
Dematic
Conveyors and sortation
Provider of conveyor, sortation and automation systems, part of the KION Group.
Honeywell
Conveyors and sortation
Provider of conveyor and sortation systems through its intelligrated and automation business.
Daifuku
Conveying and sortation
Global provider of conveying, sortation and automated material handling systems.
Fives Group
Sortation systems
Provider of sortation and intralogistics automation systems.
TGW Logistics
Warehouse automation
Provider of conveying, automation and integrated warehouse systems.
Conveyor and sortation commercial talent is specialist and engineering-led. Many of the strongest sellers and sales engineers have a technical background and move between systems manufacturers and integrators, carrying credibility on system design and throughput. The pool of people who can manage large, multi-stakeholder capital projects from specification through to award is limited, and they tend to be loyal to employers with a strong delivery reputation, so confidential approaches and a clear brief are key.
Pay in conveyors and sortation is driven by project size, system complexity and the length of the procurement cycle. Solution sellers and sales engineers who carry large, engineered capital projects are rewarded above transactional roles, often with incentives tied to project award and delivery. Reward rises with the technical content of the sale, the scale of the systems involved and the seniority of the stakeholders engaged across long buying processes.
York Station gives 25-minute services into Leeds and direct services to Edinburgh, Manchester and London. The A1(M) and A64 link the city to Harrogate, Selby and the wider region.
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
Business development and solution sales managers, sales engineers, pre-sales consultants, project sales managers, key account managers and sales leadership, for conveyor and sortation manufacturers and integrators.
These are engineered, project-led capital sales with long procurement cycles and multiple stakeholders. A specialist recruiter screens for the technical credibility and project commercial discipline that win this business.
Yes. Sales engineering and pre-sales credibility is central to winning conveyor and sortation projects, so we recruit across both the commercial and technical sides of the sale.
Yes. York's central position and rail and road links make it a practical base for field sales and account management covering North and East Yorkshire, even though the in-city industrial base is smaller than Leeds.
Food and confectionery manufacturing handling, cold chain, rail and engineering handling, and a distribution base along the A64 and A1(M), with the associated forklift, racking and conveyor vendors.
Email Rachel Lunn and the team. We will reply within one working day with a York-specific conveyors & sortation market read for the role you have in mind.
Email Rachel Lunn/leadership-recruitment/york/conveyors-sortation
Specialist commercial search for the intralogistics industry. We reply within one working day.
Email Rachel Lunn