Toolbank product director Wayne Flory has been promoted to chief executive of the tools and hardware distributor.
He takes over from Andrew Strong, who will now concentrate on his duties as chairman - a role he took on in the summer of this year when Toolbank co-founder John Twallin decided to stand down.

Mr Flory has worked for Toolbank for 21 years, and was appointed product director in 2008. His appointment as ceo completes a planned handover, in which the emphasis has been on continuity and stability.

"We have an excellent team that continually re-evaluates the products and services we provide, and we have many plans to continue to grow and develop these in the future," said Mr Flory. "Offering our customers the best service possible has always been Toolbank's philosophy, and this remains our main focus."

He stressed the importance placed on customer and supplier relationships: "This has given us the ability to identify many opportunities, and building on these relationships is key for the future."

Otherwise, the Toolbank board remains unchanged: Simon Bicknell (sales director), Tim Strong (business development director), Phil Corby (logistics director), Ian Glaze (financial director), Steve Clemson (HR director), Alan Rowe (operations director) and Richard Beales (international product director).

John Twallin remains closely involved with the business in a consultancy role. Although Toolbank has grown to become a national business with 12 branches, he has always been keen to maintain the small private company ethos throughout the group, stressing the individual features of the various branches and following the policy of 'national voice, local accents'.