Alan Prickett has been appointed managing director of Ipswich-based turf maintenance equipment manufacturer Ransomes Jacobsen.

It means a return to the town for Mr Pickett, where he was previously the company’s sales director, after three years based in Singapore as its managing director for the Asia Pacific region.

Mr Prickett has a total of 33 years’ experience in the retail and manufacturing sectors of the grounds care industry.

He joined the Jacobsen division of parent company Textron UK in early 1997 after a sales career with Ransomes distributors P ATurney Ltd and E T Breakwell Ltd.

Following the merger of Ransomes and Jacobsen in 1998, he was appointed UK branch manager and was subsequently promoted to the role of UK sales manager and then sales director in 2004.

David Withers, president of Jacobsen, and a former managing director of the company’s Ipswich operation, said: “Alan has done an excellent job for us out in Asia Pacific; in the past three years he and his team have significantly enhanced our distribution in the region and implemented our strategy of employing more customer-facing people, resulting in higher sales volumes and greater customer satisfaction.

“His appointment also reinforces Textron’s stated objective of identifying talent from within the business and providing long-term career opportunities. I’m absolutely delighted to see Alan return home and I have total confidence that he will take the business forward in the years to come.”