The OES aftermarket business of Webb Wheel Products on Thursday, Feb. 21, announced the addition of two industry veterans to the organization. Duane Ricketts has assumed the position of business unit president, and Ken Kelley will serve as vice president of sales, marketing and business development.
Ricketts began his career with Webb Wheel more than 30 years ago and has held senior manufacturing, quality and engineering positions with company. During his tenure at Webb, Ricketts led automation projects in manufacturing at the various business units totaling more than $20 million in improvements; completed building new facilities in Siloam Springs, Ark., and Cullman, Ala.; and led Webb Wheel to ISO 9001 certification of its Quality Management Systems. Webb is a Marmon Highway Technologies company, and Ricketts returned after serving as president of two other MHT companies — Detroit Steel Products of Morristown, Ind., and Marathon Suspension Systems of Monterrey, Mexico. He is a certified quality engineer and quality auditor.
Kelley is a 22-year veteran of the wheel-end industry, with experience in axles, brakes and wheel ends. In his new role, he will focus on increasing Webb’s market share of aftermarket products sold to domestic and international OEM service parts organizations, and expand the wheel-end product offering for Class 5-8 commercial vehicles. Kelley’s former employment includes manager of engineering for Dana Corp.’s Spicer trailer axle division; vice president of engineering and business development for Walther EMC; and, most recently, wheel-end product manager for Consolidated Metco.
“We are excited to have Ken back on the Webb team,” Ricketts says. “With Ken’s extensive and well-rounded background in all areas of the wheel-end business, we will be able to work with customers to provide real solutions in a timely fashion. Ken has demonstrated his ability time and time again to work with all levels of the channel and is ready to meet one-on-one and design a custom program to exceed our customer’s vision.”
Webb Wheel Products, headquartered in Cullman, is a Marmon Highway Technologies company that manufactures hubs, brake drums and rotors for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, trailers and buses.
