Oshkosh Truck Corp. last week named Craig Paylor president of JLG Industries, effective immediately. The move had been widely anticipated in the aerial industry since the company was acquired by Oshkosh Truck Corp. last year, given Paylor’s strong stewardship of the aerial manufacturer’s sales efforts over a long period of time.
Most recently Paylor served as senior vice president of marketing for JLG with global responsibility for business development, sales, marketing, customer service and aftermarket. Since joining JLG in 1978 as a district manager, Paylor has held increasingly responsible, customer-focused roles primarily in the areas of sales, marketing and business development. In 1996, Paylor became an officer of JLG. He was appointed senior vice president of sales and market development in 1999. During his nearly 30 years with JLG, the company has grown from annual revenues of $40 million to $2.3 billion in fiscal 2006.
“Craig brings exceptionally strong leadership skills, broad business acumen, international business management capabilities and an acutely perceptive understanding of JLG’s customers and markets to this role,” said Robert Bohn, chairman, president and CEO of Oshkosh Truck Corp. “He has led many of the developments in the access equipment industry during his career, including JLG’s most recent ServicePlus initiative, which offers improved life-cycle management to rental and end user customers.”
Paylor succeeds Charlie Szews, Oshkosh’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, in the position. Szews served as acting president since Oshkosh’s acquisition of JLG in December 2006 and now returns full time to his corporate responsibilities.
Paylor holds a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and a master’s degree from Harvard Business School.
JLG is based in McConnellsburg, Pa.