KOMATSU, at Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, has appointed STUART REID, from Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, as director of finance and IT.

Mr Reid has worked at the company for more than nine years.

The 38-year-old will oversee the delivery of IT systems.

His duties will also include the business planning and forecasting of the company. As a result, he will be accountable for monitoring the monthly performance of Komatsu UK.

As director, he will work with Komatsu's European head office in Brussels to ensure that local management's strategy is in line with the corporate objectives.

He said: "I'm particularly looking forward to the challenge of helping the board at Komatsu UK consolidate its strong manufacturing presence in the North-East.

"A major change for me will be to try and understand even more the factors influencing Komatsu's performance and therefore assess how we can improve its financial results."