JON Stanton has steered Weir Group through all manner of major events over recent years.

He led its response to the pandemic and a costly cyber-attack and oversaw the engineering giant’s withdrawal from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

He could be forgiven, therefore, for feeling a sense of satisfaction with how Weir is shaping up at the start of what is sure to be another tumultuous year on the geopolitical front.

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Mr Stanton, who presided over Weir’s transition into a “pure-play” mining technology firm, presented a robust set of financial results for 2023 this morning. Revenue and profits increased as customers around the world drove their mines hard to take advantage of supportive commodity prices. And the trend has continued into 2024, with prices remaining strong.

But the fortunes of Weir are not tied solely to the fluctuations of global commodity prices. As Mr Stanton pointed out, the technology provided by Weir is handily placed for the drive to net zero, as its mining customers excavate the kind of metals which are in high demand amid the increasing electrification of the world economy. Weir’s equipment, he noted, is also helping miners use less energy and water, an important factor as concern grows over climate change.

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The company meanwhile is busy with a major efficient drive of its own, which it forecasts will support margin expansion and the doubling of its cost saving target to £60 million by 2026.

Mr Stanton has been around long enough to know that the next crisis is never far away. But whatever comes along next, he is confident Weir will have the resilience to withstand it.

“What we have continued to do at Weir is to really build our resilience, our ability and agility to be able to respond to whatever comes down the track,” he told The Herald. “We have got a very clear track record now of being able to do that.”