Johannesburg, SA (May 4, 2021) – Celebrating 15 years of doing business, Eva-Last has announced the appointment of Craig Parker as Chief Operations Officer – heralding a new phase of growth for the building materials group.

Since its inception in South Africa, Eva-Last has grown at a rapid rate to become a global leader in the composite materials decking and cladding markets. Worldwide demand for the group’s products has seen Eva-Last embark on a growth strategy which will double the size of the organisation. Parker, who was previously Divisional CEO: Road Freight Management & Contract Logistics at Imperial Logistics South Africa, represents Eva-Last’s most senior appointment to date.

With a background of aligning supply chain operations with multibillion-rand corporate strategic visions and optimising cross-border logistics structures, Parker brings with him a wealth of experience to help take Eva-Last to the next level of international distribution and competitiveness.

Eva-Last co-founder Nathan Chapman says Eva-Last’s global success brought the company to the point where the complexity of servicing an international client base exceeded the capability of internal resources.

“We needed to bring in senior-level management to improve our strategic implementation. Having someone of Craig’s track record and understanding of international operations will be one of the most important appointments we could have made. It is a validation of what Eva-Last has done so far to get to this point, and of the opportunity which still lies ahead for the group,” says Chapman.

“A seasoned professional of Craig’s calibre has a broad choice of next career steps and we are proud to have him join Eva-Last – it means we have an exciting future ahead.” he adds.

“The passion of the leadership team was key, and in an environment in which most other businesses are looking at cost-cutting or retrenchments, Eva-Last’s can-do attitude in trying to achieve grand ambitions was a highly attractive proposition. Their dedication to continuous improvement in products, service and market distribution represents a different culture from many corporate environments and I’m pleased to be given this opportunity,” says Parker.

A culture fit was important for Eva-Last’s leadership team: “We need someone with such large-scale corporate experience, but we want to maintain our entrepreneurial approach and Craig is very much aligned with where we are going. He will lead the optimisation of our global logistics efficiency, consolidate the global movement of goods and improve our operational efficiency. Our clients will gain an immediate advantage from economies of scale in better managing the global flows of our products and our business will benefit simultaneously,” says Chapman.

Previously a board director for several companies including Imperial Logistics South Africa, Goldfields Logistics and the Road Freight Association amongst others, Parker is a highly respected strategic supply chain planning and restructuring professional who has a history of operational excellence and commercial solution management.

“Given the position Eva-Last has reached, the business now requires some new structures, processes and risk management strategies they would not have needed before, so my role is to put these in place to enable Eva-Last to grow even faster. Once these priorities are in place, we can roll out further plans to continue the growth trajectory,” says Parker.

“I am excited to be playing a supporting role in laying the platform for the next phase of Eva-Last’s global growth,” he adds.