Caldwell Hires Sochocki to RUD Sales

Rockford, Illinois-based The Caldwell Group Inc. has named another regional RUD sales manager — Brian Sochocki — who will oversee the eastern region.

Caldwell partners with the RUD Group to unite sales and marketing activities in North America for RUD material handling and lifting devices within a common organization. The RUD portfolio includes slings, hoist rings, and lifting points for the most complex tasks for integration into almost any application.

Sochocki will be primarily focused on the RUD line, further raising the U.S. profile of a range of rigging products that is already considered best-in-class in Europe and elsewhere in the world. However, the role also covers Caldwell and Renfroe products.

Darrin Noe, director of sales and marketing, said: “Brian brings to the company instant credibility because of all the relationships he has made through many years in the lifting and rigging community. He is likeable and knowledgeable and fits the culture. Having someone in the Eastern U.S. will give us more visibility for a product line that we intend to grow substantially in the coming year.”

Sochocki, of Indianapolis, Indiana, joins from Bishop Lifting, where he held a number of positions, most latterly outside sales for central Indiana. Prior to that, he spent over 12 years in lifting and rigging equipment manufacturing. With the exception of Wisconsin and Illinois, he will cover everywhere east of the Mississippi River, including Canada.

Sochocki said: “I am extremely versed on the physics of angular tension, the value of hoist rings in a rigging triangle, and direct dynamics associated with the proper instillation and use of hoist rings. Initial learning, therefore, has been more on the value proposition associated with RUD directly — and how this product line distinguishes itself in the market.

“Any type of routine lifting that requires a rigging triangle, can utilize the properties and value of hoist rings. Dies, for example, do not have natural pick points, and are typically large with sharp edges; the use of hoist rings radically increases not only the control and movement of the load, but the integrity and security of it during the lift.”

Brian Sochocki is regional sales manager, primarily for The Caldwell Group’s RUD catalog.

Sochocki joins a sales team increasingly being positioned close to the point of use. Teddy Berman was recently named the company’s first ever hire as a direct employee in a territory; until then, it had worked via sales agents. Jay Schroeder and Steve Mueller also represent the high-quality, Germany-manufactured RUD product line.

Noe said: “Our sales organization got to a point in its evolution where it’s more imperative that our outside sales team carries with them a specific array of skills and strengths.”

A history enthusiast, Sochocki has a busy family life with a wife and children; and enjoys fitness, sports, music, movies, and travel. He can be contacted at [email protected].