SPRINGVILLE, AL —  Fontaine Heavy-Haul has added two key people to its operations to support its continued growth in the lowbed and extendable trailer markets.

J. Cliff Denson was named to the newly created position of vice president of operations. He is responsible for all aspects of the manufacturing, purchasing and engineering departments and will report directly to John Krier, president of the company. Denson joined Fontaine as vice president of research and development in 2013.

Denson began his transportation career at General Motors where he developed software and calibrations for powertrain management systems. Five years later he he was recruited to the Brunswick Boat Group and for more than nine years he held positions of increasing responsibility from various manufacturing and program management positions to the director of engineering.

He holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Iowa State University and a master of science degree in technology management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Fontaine Heavy-Haul also announced it has hired John R. Smith as a project engineer and will report to Greg Benson, director of engineering.

Smith joined the Fontaine team as part of the research and development group in January 2014. He holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the Milwaukee School of Engineering and a PhD in materials science from the University of Alabama at Birmingham