Telford firm iconsys appoints new sales head as it targets consumer goods expansion

Alex Smith became the latest high-profile hire brought in by the Stafford Park based automation and control specialist as it eyes up a "multi-million-pound opportunity" to support companies operating in food and beverage, fast moving consumer goods, and the aerospace supply chains.

He brings with him fifteen years of global technical sales experience gained at Emerson, Cimlogic and Eyelit, with acute knowledge of IT and Operational Technology deployment across highly regulated sectors, including aerospace and defence, consumer goods, medical, and automotive.

“It’s all about solving problems and delivering value, and that really resonates when you are talking to the customer about automation solutions,” explained Alex Smith, who has a degree in chemistry from Leeds University.

“In essence, we can make consumer goods and aerospace companies digital ready. From our technology partner independence and ability to carry out site assessments and functional safety consultancy, through to system integration and full turnkey automation lines – it’s a tailored solution from start to finish.

“The approach is to partner with our customers over the entire lifecycle of their assets, from initial consultancy and automation project design, to delivery, implementation and ongoing maintenance.”

He continued: “iconsys has nearly 40 years’ experience of working in these sectors and, from my first few months in this role, you can tell there is an appetite from potential customers to see how we can help companies increase productivity, profitability and safety over the long term.

“Obsolescence is a big issue for the larger consumer goods companies. Lots of machinery is outdated, inefficient and not suitable for networking and real-time data collection. The challenge will be how we reverse this without the need for massive capital investment and how that solution can be replicated across multiple production sites.”

The company says its ability to work within highly regulated environments and deliver cyber-secure, safety-critical solutions is already proving key to unlocking long-term OEM partnerships.

“We provide our customer base with access to consultative services that cover sustainability, safety, digital transformation, cyber security and energy management," added Alex.

“This then leads on to lifecycle services, which include automation solution design, implementation, installation, commissioning and ongoing maintenance.”

iconsys, which is located at a state-of-the-art smart manufacturing facility in Telford, is increasing capacity to take advantage of multi-million pound opportunities around sustainability, energy management, safety, obsolescence, digitalisation and cyber security in its key target markets.

This is being achieved through a major recruitment drive in engineering expertise and the appointment of new ‘heads’ of sectors to help develop collaborations with existing and new customers, with the total number of staff expected to exceed 115 by April 2026.

Nick Darrall, Managing Director of iconsys, continued: “As a management team we’ve identified several key industries where our expertise, solutions, consultative and ‘lifecycle’ offers can be applied to deliver immediate and long-term benefits.

“Consumer goods and aerospace are both sectors that need a lot of support towards digitisation, and, in Alex Smith, we have the perfect lead to help support our expansion in this market.

“He is highly driven and is excellent at opening new doors, creating collaborations and partnerships that deliver true, tangible value. I’m delighted we’ve managed to attract him to our business.”