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ADAPTATION TO CHANGING MARKETS KEY TO SUCCESS SAY
TOP THREE SENNEBOGEN DISTRIBUTORS FOR 2007
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CHARLOTTE, NC – The Top Three SENNEBOGEN North American distributors for 2007 agree that being able to adapt proactively to a changing marketplace is an important ingredient of their success. Praise for the SENNEBOGEN company philosophy and best business practices and its commitment to Leading Through Innovation is also unanimous among the three distributors. Erich Sennebogen, Owner and Managing Director of SENNEBOGEN Maschinenfabrik GmbH, and Constantino Lannes, President of SENNEBOGEN America, recognized the Top Three SENNEBOGEN Distributors in North America for 2007 at the 2008 ISRI Show. Accepting the honor were Lee Gibson of Gibson Machinery, Bill Kretschmer of Binder Machinery and John Van Ruitenbeek (John Van) of Briggs Construction Equipment. “Quality distributors like Gibson, Binder and Briggs, along with the inspired leadership from Lee, Bill and John are one of the main reasons why SENNEBOGEN has enjoyed the type of success it has since coming on the North American market in 2000,” says Constantino Lannes. “Their knowledge of the product, dedication to excellence, and commitment to their customers are paramount to our success.” One of the foundations of the SENNEBOGEN philosophy is a constant broadening of the company’s horizons. It is a philosophy that Constantino Lannes instills in his North American distributors. Recent changes in the housing market necessitated some new sales initiatives according to John Van, Vice President and COO of Charlotte based Briggs Construction Equipment with multiple locations throughout the United States. The Briggs people broadened their horizons by moving outside of their traditional comfort zone and turning their attention to the scrap and waste industries, which were having a banner year. “SENNEBOGEN machines are tailor-made for the scrap and waste industries,” says John Van. “When one sales representative had success in this market with SENNEBOGEN, others followed suit and it just snowballed throughout our whole organization. Success breeds success.” “It’s about expanding your comfort zone by making the SENNEBOGEN product and its applications your comfort zone by training and knowing the market,” says John Van. “And the support we get from people like Constantino and our regional representative Len Lawrence has certainly helped us move forward in our pursuit of new applications and markets.” “SENNEBOGEN and Briggs – it’s a match made in heaven,” concludes John Van. “They have taken a complex machine and engineered it to be intuitive to operate and easy to service and maintain regardless of the application. Combine this with our strength and our corporate philosophies for service and customers, and you truly have a perfect match.” Bill Kretschmer, Vice President of Sales for New Jersey based Binder Machinery with its two branches, says that a dramatic increase in the global demand for scrap metal increased the amount of uptime and reliability demanded of their material handling equipment by scrap yards and feeder operations. “Our momentum really picked up after receiving orders for SENNEBOGEN machines from two of the largest scrap handlers in the United States. Once those companies blessed the machinery which they use typically 3000 to 4000 hours per year, other yards took the attitude that – if they’re good enough for them, then they’re good enough for us,” says Kretschmer. “Since then yards in our territory have been consuming our SENNEBOGEN machines as quickly as they arrive.” Kretschmer cannot say enough about the support provided by North American President Constantino Lannes. “Constantino’s enthusiasm, product knowledge and determination helped us to understand the scrap handling and processing business. He provided product training and coaching along with personal visits to customers where he listened to their needs and explained applications,” says Kretschmer. “Right now SENNEBOGEN machines are the talk of the town,” he says. “There are a lot of overhead highways in our area with scrap yards below. You can’t miss the green machines. We recently sold an SENNEBOGEN 835 M to a scrap yard not far from the George Washington Bridge and Interstate 95. The customer told us that he got about 15 phone calls in two days from people enquiring about the new green machine!” Kretschmer is proud to be recognized as one of the Top Three SENNEBOGEN Distributors for 2007 and he credits his team at Binder with the honor. “People like product specialist Jim Gill have brought us up a notch, and of course a lot of it has to do with company President Bob Binder’s commitment to product support and his ability to put together a team that customers respect,” says Kretschmer. “Binder and SENNEBOGEN have become synonymous in the Jersey area.” Lee Gibson, Owner and President of Cleveland based heavy equipment dealer Gibson Machinery is honored to once again be recognized as one of the Top Three SENNEBOGEN distributors in North America – an honor Gibson Machinery has enjoyed every year since the awards have been given out. Gibson says there is no real secret behind his firm’s success other than a great product and great service. “SENNEBOGEN is a family-owned business that listens to its customers’ needs and designs their machines to meet the desired application. As a new product, SENNEBOGEN has become more accepted in a shorter amount of time than any other I’ve ever been involved with,” says Gibson. “We’re also a family-owned operation that prides itself on providing the best service possible to our customers, no matter what it takes.” Like his counterparts at Briggs and Binder, Gibson acknowledges the booming scrap metal market as a factor in his firm’s impressive sales of purpose-built SENNEBOGEN material handlers. He is quick to point out, however, that Gibson Machinery remains a major “dirt house” and is actively and successfully pursuing other applications like construction and demolition and barge unloading operations. Service and parts accessibility are also important parts of Gibson’s success. “We pride ourselves on being equipment experts,” says Gibson. “If one of our customer’s machines requires our attention, our people all know that we stop what we’re doing and we take care of it, whether it’s 2:00 a.m. or New Year’s Eve, or whatever. We’ve built up a good reputation for being there for our customers when they need us. We have a complete inventory of parts here.” According to Gibson, innovation remains a major strength of the SENNEBOGEN company. “They do a lot of different things that help fit what the customer wants, like the specially designed machine with a diesel engine and a plug-in electric motor that I saw at a recent show. In this case, the machine had a smaller diesel engine to move it around and an electric motor to power its material handling operation. If it’s at all possible, they’ll figure out a way to do it,” says Gibson. “Over the years, Erich Sennebogen has listened to his customers’ needs and then when the next product model comes out, it has those desired features on it.” “We love the product. We understand it and our customers like it. SENNEBOGEN and Gibson Machinery – it continues to be an excellent relationship,” says Gibson. SENNEBOGEN takes great pride in all of the distributors they select to represent the company’s product line. “These are the people who have knocked on the doors, demonstrated the equipment and made SENNEBOGEN the number one material handler in North America in eight short years. John Van Ruitenbeek, Bill Kretschmer and Lee Gibson are indicative of the high quality distributors we have assembled on our team. We all share in their success,” says Erich Sennebogen. About SENNEBOGEN SENNEBOGEN has been a leading name in the global material handling industry for more than 50 years. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, SENNEBOGEN America offers a complete range of purpose-built machines to suit virtually any heavy lift or "pick & carry" application. A growing network of distributors supports SENNEBOGEN sales and service across the Americas, ensuring the highest standard of professional machine support and parts availability. |
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| For more information on the full line of SENNEBOGEN’s green line material handlers, contact: |
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Constantino Lannes,
President, |
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- MAY 2008- |
