‘Growth is the number one priority’ was the stand-out message delivered at Tennant Company’s sales conference held at Crown Plaza, Coogee on 12 March 2014, where the combined ANZ sales and service teams came together for the first time in eight years. A two-day event, the conference was an opportunity for staff to be hands-on with new products, take part in team building and be updated on company news, structure and strategic plans for the coming year.
National sales and marketing manager, Quintus Strydom, welcomed everyone including executive and international special guests: Heidi Wilson, senior vice president and general counsel; Mauro Compagnoni, vice president of APAC (Asia Pacific); Michael Hoff, senior counsel international; Ignatius Ng, marketing manager for APAC; Julie Hartz, global new product development manager from Michigan; Fiona Lin, product manager from APAC; Ashley Neich, relationship manager for Tennant Finance; and Wayne Timmons, service and technical support manager from Fallkirk.
Vice president of APAC, Mauro Compagnoni, addressed the room with a positive outlook on 2013 results admitting that while the first half of the year was “tough” in APAC, the second half resulted in significant market share gains and solid organic growth of 15 percent in the fourth quarter. From these results, this years’ strategic planning process is focused on the opportunity to expand Tennant’s reach in various core vertical segments.
“In terms of the market and industry landscape assessment, this year we particularly went in-depth with our verticals in a number of key countries. We did a lot of research and went in deep to understand the market size and really understand where our opportunities lie,” shared Compagnoni. “We found that in some vertical segments where we are particularly strong – retail, manufacturing, logistics, warehousing – while we already have good market share, there’s still pockets of opportunity to grow.”
Moving forward, Tennant’s vision is to be a global leader in sustainable cleaning innovation with an objective of becoming a US$1 billion company by 2017. “Our key driving objective now is all about growth,” Compagnoni stated, “but at the same time we don’t want to lose sight of our already established disciplines and want to also ensure we achieve operating profit margins above 12 percent”.
To achieve this growth, Compagnoni shared four key strategies – 1. Reach new customers and markets, 2. Continue delivering what works, such as innovative products and technologies, 3. Don’t lose sight of already established disciplines, and 4. Continue to create a strong culture and have fun doing it. “We want a strong culture in the organisation that challenges individuals, and encourages them to try new things and be rewarded for their hard work,” noted Compagnoni.
Tennant’s aggressive new approach to expansion sees the company well positioned to delivering strong results this year. Tennant’s business, particularly in ANZ and APAC, have experienced strong growth and market share gains in 2013 and this is expected to continue in 2014.
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