Tony has over 20 years experience of developing new businesses; he spent 8 years at Ricoh Co Ltd at the leading copier company as it went through the revolution caused by digital and networking technologies, overseeing a variety of sales, marketing and training roles at European level. He has lately worked 8 years in the industrial sector which has also gone through a significant change with the adoption of Ethernet and TCP/IP technologies, the Web and wireless communications.
This new role at Advantech will oversee the growth of business in Advantech's major customers and channels in the Power and Energy sector, and drive the marketing and product roadmap for this sector. Tony will use his background in developing computing and communication businesses in Europe and globally to support a strong focus on the market.
As Europe is leading the world when it comes to new technologies and their implementation in the power and energy sector, it was a natural choice for Advantech to base this role in Europe.
From the wind turbine industry, created in Denmark, developed in Spain and Germany and now exported to the traditional offshore markets of the UK and Holland, Europe has led the world. In the solar photovoltaic industry, even if the wafers and many of the panels are now built in Asia, the biggest installations are in Europe - with Germany and the Mediterranean countries the hotspots. Offshore technologies such as tide and wave, and the automotive industry's developments of electric vehicles and their recharging needs, are also concentrated in Europe.
The global players in grid technologies, have bought their way into markets like renewable energy, eCar charging and smart metering. They face not only their own competition, but also that from the emerging markets. Cost and supply chain risks need to be managed actively and globally. They are looking for truly global service, and need global companies like Advantech to support them.
"As leader in its market for 20 years, Advantech is synonymous with industrial computing, display and communications. With a global footprint and low-cost country of manufacture, Advantech is well-suited to take advantage of the changes in the market." Said Tony Milne from Advantech's World Partner Conference in Taipei, headquarters of Taiwan's No 1 industrial computing firm.