Pipe Center has revealed plans to improve its technical support alongside announcing the appointment of long-serving employee Jim Merrills to the newly created role of national sales manager for pumps.

Mr Merrills brings 16 years of experience in the pumps arena to the role and has worked on both the manufacturer and distributor side of the industry with roles at Pipe Center and Wilo.

As a natural progression from national key account manager, he has been instrumental in carving out the new role, Pipe Center says, which is aligned with the business' strategy to be the leading distributor of heating, pipe and related components to mechanical building services and industrial markets.

One of Mr Merrills' key objectives is to enhance the level of technical training received by staff, in order to improve the customer experience from the initial enquiry through to delivery of the product. Staff from Pipe Center have already been spending time with Grundfos to increase product knowledge and processes behind technical selections.

Mr Merrills will also be looking to expand Pipe Center's product offering so that customers can benefit from an even broader selection of pumps and associated technologies.

"I have always had a passion for pumps and I'm excited to have been given the opportunity to channel it into Pipe Center's new business strategy. We have already seen considerable growth in this area which is why we need to build upon on our position as the go-to people for pumps," said Mr Merrills.

Chris Banner, trading director at Pipe Center, said: "Jim is clearly well positioned to drive the business forward in this market and his enthusiasm is inspiring for the rest of the team. He is dedicated to investigating new products and innovations, and demonstrates a level of proactivity that will really make a difference to our customers."