Caldwell Hires Berman, Schroeder Returns

Rockford, Illinois-based The Caldwell Group Inc. has made two significant appointments in Teddy Berman and Jay Schroeder.

Berman, regional sales manager, joins Caldwell as its first ever hire as a direct employee in a territory; until now, the company has worked via sales agents. Schroeder, western sales manager, returns to a business he left last March, with a focus on Caldwell’s RUD line of material handling and lifting devices.

Berman brings over 10 years of sales and business development experience from leading companies such as Konecranes America. He will work primarily from his home office in South Carolina with frequent travel to customers. He will be spread across Caldwell, J.C. Renfroe, and RUD brands.

Berman, who will cover the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee, said: “I came to Caldwell for the exciting opportunity to be a part of the organization’s growth, especially with their clear focus on the continuous improvement of the customer experience. The strong reputation of these three brands in the material handling industry is also something I look forward to representing and helping to build.

“I’ll work hard to support both our distributors and end users alike, depending on the specific case requirements and project complexity. The wide-ranging product lines represent endless opportunity for new applications and solutions to make our end users’ operations safer and more productive.”

Teddy Berman, regional sales manager.

Darrin Noe, director of sales and marketing, said: “Teddy is charismatic, bringing to the company a perfect blend of personality, energy, and technical ability. It is significant that he is our first hire as a direct Caldwell employee in a territory.”

Schroeder will be laser-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. Caldwell already partners with the RUD Group to unite their sales and marketing activities in North America for RUD material handling and lifting devices within a common organization. The RUD portfolio includes slings and lifting points for the most complex tasks for integration into almost any application.

Schroeder said: “The reason I came back is the culture at Caldwell and the ability to go back to selling RUD products. They are the best lifting points in the industry, and it allows me to help customers solve their lifting concerns. I think the biggest challenge is to let the distributors and end users know that Caldwell has made a significant investment in inventory, supported by our in-stock program.

“RUD is a high-quality, Germany-manufactured product, so it takes a certain type of company to be able to deliver it here in North America, keeping lead times short and stock levels high, close to the point of use. The timing is perfect to reintroduce RUD to the market with the emphasis on telling everyone we are here—and here to stay.”

Jay Schroeder, western sales manager.

Noe added: “High-level technical knowledge on the RUD product is something we sorely missed after Jay’s departure. He has immediately stepped back in and helped our organizational efforts, with a sharpened focus on the broad RUD catalog.”

Meanwhile, Caldwell has also recruited to a number of other sales-focused positions, as Noe enthused: “We are excited about plans for the year and ownership continues to invest in many facets of the organization.

“In 2024, we are upping the ante for every customer-facing interaction, making sure distributors and end users find it easier to do business with Caldwell than any other lifting manufacturer. Assembling the right team is a critical piece of that mission, and Teddy, Jay, and other recent internal sales team hires, fully support that mission.”