Veteran paper industry and field service leader Randy Hand has joined us as Director of Field Services. Randy will lead our growing field service organization, expanding our ability to provide the onsite services our clients are increasing asking for: gearbox inspections, installation supervision, maintenance support, troubleshooting, outage assistance and emergency field service including field machining.
Randy brings more than 25 years of maintenance, reliability and field service leadership experience, with a career focused on helping paper mills and industrial manufacturers improve equipment reliability, reduce downtime and maximize production.
“Randy’s experience is an outstanding fit for Atlanta Gear Works and the customers we serve, who increasingly rely on us for their ongoing maintenance,” said CEO Jack Conway.
“He’s spent his career solving reliability challenges in demanding industrial environments, leading field service organizations and helping manufacturers improve equipment performance. Just as important, he understands what unplanned downtime costs our customers and how to respond when every hour matters.”
Before joining Atlanta Gear Works, Randy served as Maintenance & Reliability Director for Graphic Packaging International, where he led maintenance and reliability strategies across multiple paper mills.
He previously directed nationwide onsite service operations for Voith Paper, a leading supplier to the paper industry, overseeing more than 100 field service professionals supporting paper and chemical manufacturing customers throughout the United States. While at Voith, he was credited with achieving a 49% increase in revenue and 60% improvement in margins.
Earlier in his career, he held a series of maintenance leadership positions with Georgia-Pacific, where he led major outage planning, maintenance operations and reliability initiatives for large paper manufacturing facilities. Throughout his career, Randy has developed a reputation for improving equipment reliability, strengthening maintenance programs and building long-term customer relationships through responsive, hands-on field support.
His experience includes leading complex maintenance projects, managing major mill outages, implementing predictive maintenance programs and directing multidisciplinary teams of engineers, superintendents and skilled craftsmen serving industrial facilities across the country.
“I’m excited to join Atlanta Gear Works and help expand their already respected field service capabilities,” he said. “In addition to growing from within, we’ll also be relying on the national network of trusted industrial maintenance professionals I’ve built throughout my career.”
“Field service is an increasingly large part of our business. Bringing Randy on board further strengthens our commitment to providing responsive field support and technical expertise wherever our customers need it,” said VP- Sales Craig Massa. “In addition, he’s experienced at building the kind of long-term customer relationships on which we’ve built our business.”