MOTION NAMES VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS INTEGRATION

Media Contact: 

Brenda Miller – Motion (205) 956-1122 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

November 16, 2021

MOTION NAMES VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS INTEGRATION 

Birmingham, Ala. – Motion Industries, Inc., a leading distributor of maintenance, repair, and operation replacement parts, and a premier provider of industrial technology solutions, is pleased to announce the promotion of John Watwood to Vice President of Operations Integration, effective immediately. 

Mr. Watwood moves to this position from Vice President/Group Executive for the Southeast, to which he was promoted in 2019. In his new and expanded role, he will be responsible for Motion’s Distribution/Fulfillment network, Branch Operations Support and Enterprise Excellence. He will report to Joe Limbaugh, Executive Vice President of Supply Chain, Operations Support, Marketing, and Enterprise Excellence. 

“John’s experience, aptitude and tenure make him uniquely qualified to lead in these important areas, and we are excited to have him on board,” said Mr. Limbaugh. “The transition process will begin immediately and will be complete by January 1. We look forward to seeing the impact of John’s influence.” 

Mr. Watwood has over 20 years of experience in various sales and operations roles in both manufacturing and distribution—including his employment with Motion Industries, which began in 2008. In addition, he played an integral role in the development and deployment of Motion’s Project Challenge, a pilot which transformed a traditional branch structure into a territory-based sales area supported by a local fulfillment center. 

A graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (BS Industrial Distribution and Marketing), Mr. Watwood also earned an MBA at the University of North Alabama. 

About Motion 

With annual sales of over $5.5 billion, Motion is a leading industrial distributor of bearings; mechanical power transmission products; electrical and industrial automation components; hose, belting, and gaskets; hydraulic and pneumatic components; process pumps; industrial and safety products; seals and accessories; and material handling products and solutions. To increase customers’ productivity, the Company offers many valued-added services, including engineering, fabrication, repair, and Industry 4.0 solutions across these product groups. In addition, Mi Automation Solutions and Mi Conveyance Solutions were formed to offer a wide range of specialized, related products and innovative solutions for many applications. 

Motion has over 500 locations, including 16 distribution centers in North America, and Mi Asia Pacific has nearly 200 locations, including eight distribution centers in Australasia. Motion serves more than 170,000 customers from the food and beverage, pulp and paper, iron and steel, chemical, mining and aggregate, petrochemical, automotive, semiconductor, wood and lumber, medical and pharmaceutical industries. 

Motion is a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC). Visit our website at Motion.com. Contact us toll-free at (800) 526-9328.