Mr Neilson succeeds Jon Owens who has chosen to retire from the role after 32 years of service.

Currently regional managing director of Europe, Russia, Central Asia and North Africa for the Weir Minerals division, Mr Neilson will take up his new role from 15 July 2020. He will join the group executive on 1 April 2020 and work with Mr Owens during a three-month transition period.

Mr Neilson, a graduate engineer, led the integration of ESCO into Weir and has held a number of senior posts in the group including director of strategy and corporate affairs and vice president of finance for Weir Minerals.

The 2018 acquisition of ESCO, for an enterprise value of US$1,285m, was the largest in Weir’s history. The division is the world’s leading provider of ground engaging tools for large mining machines.

Andrew Neilson is a graduate of the University of Strathclyde where he was awarded a masters in manufacturing sciences and engineering. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland. Before joining Weir in 2010 his experience included a number of strategy and finance roles with Bank of Scotland, ScottishPower plc, HSBC and KPMG.

Jon Stanton, Weir Group chief executive officer, said: “I’d like to pay tribute to Jon Owens for his enormous contribution to ESCO and Weir. He agreed to stay on with the business after Weir’s acquisition to ensure it was successfully integrated into the Group.

“With that mission now complete, and after more than three decades of service, he has decided to retire. On behalf of everyone at Weir I would like to thank him for his hard work and wish him a happy retirement.

“I am delighted that Jon will be succeeded by Andrew Neilson, who successfully led the ESCO integration team and brings a wealth of experience from across our business. I am certain he will make a big contribution to ESCO and the Group Executive.”