THE founder of Tigercat has taken on the role of president of the Canadian firm. 

Ken MacDonald replaces long-serving Grant Somerville in the position after he stood down at the start of the month. The timing, Tigercat says, is related to Grant’s original intention to serve as president for a five-year term when he took on the job in 2017.

"I wish to thank Grant for all of the contributions that he has made to our company during his entire 30 years with us," said Ken. "I want to particularly recognise the leadership he provided during his presidency.

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"He very capably steered us through and oversaw record production and sales volumes in 2019.

"He then went on to lead our team through the incredibly trying last two and a half years during which we dealt with the COVID pandemic, as well as the effects on our business related to the war in Ukraine.

"Despite these challenges, he took everything in stride and saw to it that we still managed to complete two major plant expansions and launch several new product lines."

Grant will continue to serve the company as a director.