Engineering Business Consultant
IECO - Integrated Equipment Company
Total des années d'expérience :38 years, 1 Mois
Dealing direct to the Chairman who has 86 years old and wanted me to be ready at any time to take all his responsibilities and to replace him once he stops working.
I was dealing with all the foreign agents that are working with us and the others that are offering to work with us and looking for making an agency agreement.
I studied the market and provided all assisting information to the Sales Manager I used my previous experience to open doors for new customers specially in the Army, and the Military Factories.
Continuous contacts with the Industrial Factories, the Railways Authority, the Industrial Factories in general and the Iron and Steel Factories in particular beside the Ship building Companies.
Full commercial responsibilities helping both the Egyptian and British trading activities in doing their business, being at the British Embassy I provide all the commercial, trading and business information to the British Companies encouraging them to invest and doing business in Egypt studying their products and try to find the end users in Egypt that could be interested to deal with such UK Company. Sometimes the UK Company is seeking to have apropriate agent that could represent them in the Egyptian Market, our role is to find them this agent, this to be done by establishing a list of potential agents that are working in the same field, starting making our contacts negotiating in detail all their activities studying the possibility of making an agency agreement with the UK Co. asking them if so, what they can do what are their arrangements
I was responsible to establish chargeable reports for the UK Companies who are looking for starting business in our market and they are ready to pay for getting such reports to get a complete image about the market, their chance to succeed all the advices and the lists of potential agents complete with their contact details. Beside that we are providing the UK Companies with all the Egyptian regulations, how to ship their goods solving their customs' problems, attending exhibitions and fairs in both Countries.
Full responsibility of the General Manager, responsible for the Production in the factory from A to Z. The raw materials, all the machining operations to produce the steel cutters, importing the diamond segments from Belgium, then welding operations at the factory to fix the segments on the cutters. Following all the operation procedures at the factory with the Factory Manager, his assistants and his labours and all staff. Following all the modern production technology, applying the Industrial Security rules.
High co-ordination and organising the production to match the sales inquiries. I establishes a strong professional team of sales (Sales Manager and Sales Staff) helping, assisting and supporting them with all the aids they need, whether technical or problems solving, applying motivating schemes, commission and bonus. Arranging visiting plans to customers in diffrent fields whether in the quarries, the factories. We had a big area in "Shak El Thoaban" where we had many marble and granite workshops and factories who are using our equipment. Beside that we had all the Ceramic Factories in the Market they need our equipment for polishing the porcelain. I also had good contacts with big factories out of Cairo, a big and wide factory in Alexandria.
I was following the accounts, the purchases, the sales and the money collection from customers, participating in exhibitions and fairs.
Establish a strong professional Sales and Marketing staff of selective engineers active and efficient. supporting them by technical training and advices, motivating them through a fair commission scheme. Creating a proper list of contacts with several types of customers, concentrating with the leading Contractors and intensive contacts with the head people of the big projects that might need our equipment. We succeeded to sell a number of concrete mixers, but only few concrete pumps.
I worked in one Company of this strong Group called INCOME that was considered the leading company of the Group and the first established in the Group.
I had the responsibility to be the head of two departments "the industrial Products and the Heavy Trucks.
System of work is to search for Russian or East European Companies that could maake business in the Egyptian Market then we sign agency agreement in which we mention our commission when making sales in the market, beside that we make what we call "Barter Agreement" which means mutual supply from both sides same value, if we get a deal importing Russian Trucks amounting $100000 we have to export from Egypt any type of products required by the Russian Market by same amount of money.
Succeeded to sign agency agreements with many Russian Companies, specially the Heavy Trucks for the army at the same time we have succeeded to export to Russia from PARFICO our sister company in the group producing perfumes and cosmetics.
The owner was the General Manager, so I was acting as the G.M. of the company. At that time the company was appointed as the main Contractor of Coral Beach the big resort in Hurghada, so the owner (G.M.) was totally busy located in Hurghada, and I have taken the whole responsibilities of the management office including sales, procurement, accounts, adminstration activities. beside the full responsibilities of the two factories in 10th Ramadan for the manufacturing of Fiber glass products, and the pre-fabricated fences. I was dealing with many distributors of fiberglass flat and corrigated sheets motivating the sales staff and running the whole business, beside that I succeeded after a tremendous efforts to find a Canadian Company who accepted to provide us with the "Know How" to produce the Fiber Glass Cabin for the different Trucks (it was a remarkable success )
Selecting successful team of Sales Engineers and the Sales Admin staff to establish a professional team and strong S & M Department. Provide them with all needed advices and training, support and motivate them.
Study the market and the competitors, follow up the projects in the market that might need these heavy equipment, making the proper stock of these equipment to match the market demand.
Follow up all the tender of heavy equipment trying to make intensive contacts prior to the tenders issued dates. Put a sales plan to the sales staff to follow it up. Establish the Sales target, the main objectives and doing all the best to fulfil the target and achieve success. I put the commission scheme for all the sales staff, I did it in a different way by not only fixed amount for each sold unit but also selecting the best sales engineer in each quarter and the best sales engineer of the whole year to be rewarded not only money wise but also providing him a certificate of appreciation in a big celebration attended by the owner.
I was following the performance of each sales man having an early morning daily meeting discussing with the staff all what they have done the previous day. I join the staff in some of their visits to the customers, I put them a list by the customers that they have to visit regularly and ask them to write a daily report. Organising with the two other departments of the company, the maintenance and the Spare Parts departments. I have to be in contact with the liaison office in Cairo to discuss all the matters connected to the customers and our equipment, the maintenance, the warrantee, and the stock supply.
I was doing all my best to solve all the problems that the staff might face in the market, and the other problems between the staff. I was checking all the time the main technical differences between our equipment and our competitors equipment.
Attending all the exhibitions and the international fairs of heavy equipment in Egypt, and some abroad. I was preparing a weekly report to the chairman who attends a weekly meeting with me and my staff in which we discuss all the matters connected to the customers, the equipment, the projects, and any problems arises in the market getting his support and his advices.
The Company's activity was the building products, doors, windows, wall papers, furniture and wordrobes and metal toilet partitions. I succeeded to provide our doors "Hills Doors" to all the new built hotels at that time (it was the time of the Sadat open door policy that needed a number of new hotels to be built.
Our products were high in quality and high in price, so our success was in the hotels and luxury buildings that looking for high quality products, foreign consultants who are rejecting products out of specs.
I had intensive contacts with Egyptian and foreign Contractors, foreign Consultants, starting my contacts in the very early stages prior the building.
Have done a tremendous efforts and achieved remarkable success.
Selling West German Tools and Machine Tools related to "Jaeger " the big name all-over the world in the Egyptian Market at that time was not easy at all as it was considered the market in which price comes first to the quality. But, I have done a good effort contacting industrial factories and shipbuilding companies sometimes I had to make some demonstrations to show the performance of our cutting tools and equipment until we proved our name and our products we gained the trust, succeeded also to sell the machines that cutting and bending the steel bars used by the contractors, we started by Arab Contractors "at that time it was the leading Contractor in the Market". Later on we managed to spread over the whole market.