Allett Welcome Shaun Etherington as New Product Design Engineer

We would like to introduce Shaun Etherington as our new Product Design Engineer. This is a brand new exciting role that reflects our increasing growth as a company and our need to manufacture innovative and exciting products. Shaun will be working under John Gittins our Innovation & Engineering Manager and they have some super exciting projects in the pipeline! John Gittins stated, "I am delighted to welcome Shaun to Allett. Shaun will take the position as Product Design Engineer and will boost the engineering team to four members. Shaun is a critical appointment for Allett's new and innovative product strategy and I'm really looking to collaborating with him on the exciting projects we have coming up. Shaun was a real find with his existing lawnmower product knowledge and will make a good contribution to our strong team with his design skills"

Can you give us a little bit of background about your previous career?

My previous role was a senior product design engineer in a small design consultancy. During this role I worked with many different customers in several industries, but I was primarily responsible for the design and development of new product from Bosch Lawn and Garden. Prior to this role, having graduated with a degree in product design and engineering, I have also worked in the defence, gas turbine and automotive industries.

Can you give us a bit of a background on your life?

I live with my family in a small village near Ashbourne. I have always enjoyed the outdoors and I feel very lucky to have grown up in the Peak District. I play cricket for a small club in the Derbyshire Cricket League and enjoy an occasional round of golf with friends. I also enjoy music and play trumpet with several local groups and orchestras.

What’s the proudest moment of your working career so far?

Working in a design consultancy, I regularly worked on multiple projects, but the first NPD project I managed for Bosch was the Rotak 32 Lithium-ion powered rotary lawnmower. This was a small, domestic machine, targeted at users with urban gardens. I was heavily involved in all aspects of development on this project and was responsible for the design, validation and production of most components. I learned a great deal in all areas of new product introduction on this project and it felt fantastic to bring it to market and finally see it on sale in major DIY stores across the county.

What are you most excited about working at Allett?

I have clearly joined the company at a very exciting time. Allett have already made major developments in battery powered professional lawnmowers and I’m looking forward to working hard with the team here to continue to drive the innovative growth of the brand, whilst respecting its heritage and key values. I believe that there is a huge opportunity for the company to establish itself as the market leader in this new sector, and I feel very lucky and excited to be involved.

What will your job involve/what are you responsible for? Can you describe the various responsibilities and roles of a product design engineer?

I will be responsible for new and current product design. Working within the excellent Engineering team here, we will be focussing primarily on the design and development of the future generation of Allett products, whilst managing machine upgrades and the re-modelling of existing products. I will be interpreting user requirements and using latest technology to hopefully deliver innovative and cost-effective solutions which meet Allet’s high quality functional and appearance requirements.