Great Dane has appointed two new vice presidents of manufacturing, Axel Gros and Jim Stevenson. The positions are focused on accelerating Great Dane’s implementation of continual improvement and lean manufacturing initiatives.

Gros has been with Great Dane for five years, serving as director of manufacturing for five of the company’s trailer manufacturing facilities, which he will continue to oversee. Stevenson has previously worked with Great Dane in a consulting capacity and will now be responsible for overseeing the company’s other four trailer manufacturing facilities.

Gros has been in the transportation industry for 20 years and has experience in general management, business turnaround, and product management. Stephenson has over 30 years of experience in leadership, global lean transportation, production systems, quality management and operational management. In previous roles, he has been responsible for managing remanufacturing and fabrication facilities, leading production quality programs, and guiding lean transformations at more than 40 facilities in six countries.

“We continue to recruit leaders with proven track records of lean transformation to join our highly experienced executive team to accelerate our critical initiatives,” said Brian Sage, Great Dane’s executive vice president of manufacturing. “Creating sustainable improvements in safety, quality, on-time delivery and cost reduction are essential in establishing a competitive advantage in the future.”