Sims to fly the flag for MAS

The Cooney operations director who also shows his commitment for the industry he works in by chairing the regional committee for the British Marine Federation said: “This is a golden opportunity to promote the benefits of the Service to other manufacturers. There are over 500 marine firms based in the Midlands and as vice-chair of the Midlands Marine Alliance too, I’m perfectly placed to encourage more of these companies to open their eyes and ears to what MAS can potentially do for them.

“I’ve seen first hand the role MAS experts can play as sounding boards as well as the impact they’ve had on improving processes and changing attitudes within a business. They help you get where you want to go more quickly by avoiding the pitfalls and are very results driven as an organisation.”

Andy Sims joined Cooney Marine in 1999 as a general manager when his job was dealing with the company’s internal workings and processes. He then moved over to operations with wider responsibility for all aspects of the business.

Before that, and after a mechanical engineering apprenticeship, Andy had spent 15 years in various engineering roles – from production management to quality control – working for companies that produced everything from printing presses and food equipment to architectural steel and general subcontracting engineering.

He’s also a keen biker and successfully completed a major charity bike ride across Africa to raise money for the Daventry-based charity Riders for Heath which supports health workers in Africa. At the end of the rally, he presented the bike he rode to the local community so they could feel the benefit of having their own transport. Andy plans to do more charity bike rides at this year’s Southampton Boat Show.