º£½ÇÊÓƵ

North Somerset off-grid renewable power and lighting firm Prolectric has appointed a new managing director. Rachel Preen has taken over from Chris Williams, who merged Forgen Renewables with Prolectric in 2014. He has stepped into the role of non-executive chair.

In 2021, Clevedon-based Prolectric was acquired by Hill & Smith Holdings, a FTSE-250 £1bn international infrastructure and transport solutions group. Ms Preen joined Prolectric the same year - as commercial director - following a six-year stint as head of marketing, business development and commercial partnerships at Wiltshire-based energy company Ecotricity.

She will have responsibility for the leadership and development of Prolectric’s off-grid solar power technology business.

She said: “I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to lead such a talented and ambitious team at Prolectric who are passionate about providing off-grid, solar technology to the construction, national house building, infrastructure and rail industries.

"Together, our mission is to provide solar hybrid power and lighting solutions in the most practical way, to enable businesses to move away from polluting fossil fuels to achieve their carbon-saving goals and deliver on their sustainability commitments.”

Mr Williams said Ms Preen had "become a key player" within Prolectric since joining the firm.

"Her robust experience in the green economy, high performance, team leadership and relationship building, enables me to leave the business in very capable hands to be expertly guided through its next successful phase of evolution," he said.

The announcement comes as Prolectric launches its new rental partner business, ProRehire, which the company said would support the rental industry to "respond to the increasing demand for solar products".