Kaeser Compressors, Inc. has hired Ed Smiley as its new director of sales.

Based out of Kaeser’s U.S. headquarters in Fredericksburg, Va., Smiley will lead the sales teams for all Kaeser’s product divisions.

“We welcome Ed to the Kaeser family and look forward to making full use of his talents to serve our customers as well as our distribution network,” Frank Mueller, president of Kaeser Compressors, said in a written statement.

With more than 17 years of industrial sales and product management experience, Smiley is uniquely qualified to lead Kaeser’s sales efforts in the United States by combining his skills in strategic planning, territory management and sales management.

For the past nine and a half years, Smiley was employed by a European based pump company where he served in various sales and marketing management roles – most recently serving as the Market Development Manager for General Industry and Machine Tool markets.

“I am very excited to join such an enthusiastic and experienced team here at Kaeser,” Smiley said in a written press statement. “Together, we will continue providing the right solutions for our customers’ compressed air needs with the industry’s most efficient equipment and unmatched after sales service and support.”

Smiley received his undergraduate degree from Western Kentucky University and completed his MBA from The University of Kansas in March of 2010.