Managing director retires after more than 40 years with engineering firm

The end of an era has come for Peterlee’s GT Group after the retirement of long-standing managing director Keith Bendelow.
From left, Tim Jayes, Thorsten Seehars, member of the management board of Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems, and Keith Bendelow.From left, Tim Jayes, Thorsten Seehars, member of the management board of Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems, and Keith Bendelow.
From left, Tim Jayes, Thorsten Seehars, member of the management board of Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems, and Keith Bendelow.

Keith retires after more than 40 years with the technology specialist, having begun his career as a trainee before working his way up to the top job.

He said: “I am immensely proud of my time at GT Group and the achievements we have made.

From left, Tim Jayes, Thorsten Seehars, member of the management board of Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems, and Keith Bendelow.From left, Tim Jayes, Thorsten Seehars, member of the management board of Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems, and Keith Bendelow.
From left, Tim Jayes, Thorsten Seehars, member of the management board of Knorr-Bremse Commercial Vehicle Systems, and Keith Bendelow.
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“The ambition of the company’s founder, Geoff Turnbull, was to create a world-class manufacturing facility here in the North East and, subsequently, the integration into Knorr-Bremse has made my career at GT Group an unbelievable experience.

“I would like to thank all of my colleagues, past and present, both here and at Knorr-Bremse for their support and commitment.”

Tim Jayes will take over the post of managing director.

Tim has gained extensive experience from a career that has taken him around the world, where he has held various leadership positions in operations and manufacturing at Federal Mogul, Faurecia and IAC Automotive Systems in Argentina, UK, South Africa and Sweden.

He has been Plant Manager at ZF Steering Systems, in Sunderland, since 2012.

“GT Group has the pedigree to maintain and grow its prominence in the global market, building a presence in new territories and developing technologies,” he said.