Aggreko chief dies after collision with Amtrak train at blackspot

Aggreko, the heating and ventilating equipment supplier, announced yesterday that its chief executive had died in a car crash involving a passenger train in the United States.

Philip Harrower, a 45-year-old Scot, had been chief executive of the company for a year and had been working in the US since 1986. The accident happened in New Iberia, Louisiana, where Aggreko has its American headquarters.

Mr Harrower was travelling west on the Louisiana 182 highway when he turned his BMW to cross the railway at an intersection. An Amtrak train hit the car and Mr Harrower was pronounced dead at the scene. He is survived by a wife and two teenage sons. It is thought the area has been an accident blackspot with other incidents in the recent past. New Iberia is about 80 miles southwest of the state capital, Baton Rouge.

Aggreko announced that Philip Rogerson, the group's chairman, would take over as temporary replacement.

"Phil Harrower was an outstanding leader and we are all shocked by his untimely death," Aggreko said. "He built up our highly successful North American business and was the natural choice to take Aggreko's business forward as chief executive."

Mr Harrower joined Aggreko in 1983 as Scottish retail manager but moved to the US a few years later. He was promoted to the board in 1998 and appointed managing director two years ago. He was named chief executive in January.

He led the group's expansion in North America where it supplied power equipment for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and the World Cup. Aggreko also designs and rents power generators, heaters and coolers for movie sets and major industries.

Aggreko has had a difficult year with profits this year expected to fall 9 per cent to £52m. The shares fell 5.5p yesterday to 147.5p and have now lost 60 per cent of their value in the past 12 months.