Nilfisk Mission: ‘We enable sustainable cleaning worldwide to improve quality of life’
Initially planned as a two-day event, Nilfisk Australia and New Zealand’s inaugural Distributor Training Conference was quickly embraced by the company’s dealer network fraternity and expanded to a three-day ‘educational fest’. The attending 60-plus distributor executives were well rewarded as they came face-to-face with a re-invigorated marketing organisation.
The conference was held at Nilfisk’s Blacktown (NSW) head office facility from 5 to 7 March.
“Today’s Nilfisk Australia is a very different organisation to previous years,” Nilfisk Australia & New Zealand managing director Jim Athanas told distributor executives in his welcoming address.
“We have renewed our mission, vision, values and strategy so that they are very much geared to developing closer customer intimacy, stronger partnership relationships and improved customer service.”
Athanas emphasised the company’s quest to make doing business with it easier and for Nilfisk to significantly improve its marketing support.
“We want to have bigger, better but fewer dealers,” he revealed. That means both parties can have more efficient business dealings and individual distributors can benefit from greater Nilfisk support.
Hosting the conference was recently appointed professional equipment business unit manager Ritchie Bloomfield. An electrical engineer by profession, he is executive with a wealth of finance industry and equipment hire experience.
“This conference has allowed us to demonstrate Nilfisk’s inherent strengths. It is the number one cleaning equipment brand globally and it does deliver the most comprehensive, and innovative, range,” Bloomfield stated.
“We have a terrific team here and the appointment of our dedicated company trainer, Jason Sutton, underscores the investment we are making in the professional arena,” he added.
The conference comprised specific machine education; general company information; and social networking.
Day one focused on floorcare including the BR1100 ride-on scrubber/dryer and CS7000 hybrid sweeper/scrubber. Day two discussed the ‘Nilfisk University’ and ‘My Nilfisk’ while also covering floorcare including the BR850 ride-on scrubber; SM800 walk behind sweeper; and SR110 ride-on sweeper. Days one and two saw the heavy involvement of Italy-based group product managers Thomas Tykskov (sweepers) and Jean-Pierre Lebrun (ride-on scrubbers).
Day three was dedicated to commercial vacs and led by Denmark-based senior product manager Anthony Evans.
New machine introductions included the SW900 walk behind sweeper and SW4000 ride-on sweeper.
The wealth of support information available to distributors was highlighted in Jason Sutton’s presentations on Nilfisk University and My Nilfisk websites.
My Nilfisk – access requires permission – includes all range models and their descriptions; parts; manuals; service bulletins; and pricing.
Nilfisk University – access requires permission – offers numerous training modules, new products, a news room, use and care posters and other collateral.
Sutton also tantalised dealers with yet to be released in Australia machines that reflect Nilfisk’s ongoing technology investment.
“This was our first effort at a distributor conference and we have learned a great deal as a team. Certainly judged a success in terms of the amount of information we have delivered first hand to our distributor network, we can build on this event for a bigger and better 2015 conference,” concluded Athanas.