Boost for international sales

Press reports Self-adhesive Materials

13. October 2010

André Herzog steps into the new post of key account manager to provide the best possible cross-border support to multinational corporations.
PaperMind, fronted by leading market expert Jan-Ole Hegedahl, is the new exclusive distribution partner for Denmark.

In the self-adhesive material segment, HERMA has been growing much faster than the European market as a whole for several years. Alongside innovative products, the company's determined international focus has played a major part in this success. Against this background, the German company with headquarters near Stuttgart has now further reinforced its international sales organisation. With immediate effect, André Herzog, 32, takes charge of the new key account management department. He will serve as the primary point of contact for companies with multinational operations. At the same time, in Denmark, HERMA has recruited PaperMind to act as its new exclusive sales partner for adhesive material. The driving force behind PaperMind, which is registered in Charlottenlund near Copenhagen, is Jan-Ole Hegedahl, 57. Until recently, he was a board member of the Scandinavian subsidiary of one of the world's leading fine and specialty paper wholesalers.

Outstanding service across borders
According to HERMA’s managing director Dr. Thomas Baumgärtner, "For an innovative, agile and service-oriented company like HERMA, Europe still offers tremendous growth potential for adhesive material." He explained that HERMA is responding to two key developments. First, many of the company's customers have established facilities in several countries. Although the local HERMA sales partners are very familiar with the needs of the sites they oversee, explains Dr. Baumgärtner, "It is essential that we offer support for the activities of international corporations that reach across borders and groups as well. We also need to facilitate a good flow of information from and to HERMA." The managing director's comments serve to outline the new challenge facing André Herzog, who is very well qualified to respond accordingly. He has already accumulated many years of national and international sales experience with HERMA and has graduated with an MBA in general management last year.

Supremacy founded on expert knowledge
Second, continued Dr. Baumgärtner, not only the company's own employees, but also its international sales partners are required to dispose of specialist know-how to a growing extent. This applies all the more in markets such as Denmark, where HERMA is already well established but exposed to strong competitive pressures. "Specialist knowledge is key to leveraging the benefits of our innovative and service strengths long-term, and to sustaining our growth," insists Dr. Baumgärtner. "Jan-Ole Hegedahl and his team probably know the Danish market better than anyone else. In addition, PaperMind is highly focused on adhesive material, so that its expertise will be acknowledged and welcomed by our customers."