Klaus Engesser has been appointed as MEIKO’s new head of export sales and marketing for dishwashing technology.
This appointment marks an important step forward for the Offenburg, Germany-based manufacturer of commercial dishwashers and cleaning and disinfection appliances, which is determined to continue enhancing the quality of its export business team, as MEIKO Managing Director Burkhard Randel explained: “Klaus Engesser will be a great asset to our team and we’re delighted to have him on board. As well as his previous managerial experience running subsidiaries and sales companies in the export department of a major company, he has also spent several years building up an extensive knowledge of the commercial kitchen appliances sector.”
Founded 86 years ago, MEIKO has annual sales of 260 million euros, over 50 percent of which are generated by exports to more than 60 countries. The long-established company is now pursuing a forward-looking strategy focusing on the strategic internationalisation of its business fields and organic growth.
“MEIKO is a dynamic, global brand and a company that values innovation, so it’s a great opportunity for me to apply my skills,” added Engesser.
MEIKO currently has ten affiliated companies in Germany, six in the rest of Europe and four outside Europe, as well as two production facilities in the USA and China. Engesser anticipates that his new role at the company will be “an exciting challenge”. In a statement, he also explained that MEIKO’s high quality standards and outstanding innovation capabilities are key drivers for successfully marketing the German-made machines worldwide and giving the company’s “clean solutions” a prominent presence in the commercial dishwashing arena.
He noted that he has always perceived MEIKO from the outside as a brand that represents innovation, reliability and customer focus and emphasised that he is looking forward to playing an active role in further enhancing MEIKO’s position on the world stage.
Engesser considers that one of his key tasks will be to continue expanding the company’s sales activities in existing markets while building up its own distribution structures. He also intends to focus on opening up new sales markets and exploiting their full potential. “We’re already in a great position thanks to MEIKO’s outstanding product portfolio and high quality standards. My goal is to grow the company in all its different product areas. The key is not just to acquire new customers, but also to turn them into active promoters of our brand,” Engesser explains.
He ranks networking as one of his most important tools – which suggests that MEIKO may have found the perfect messenger for the MEIKO brand.
The 42-year-old manager studied business administration at Pforzheim University of Applied Sciences before continuing his studies College of Design, Technology and Business at the Luis Vives University of Madrid. Before joining MEIKO, Engesser worked as a market director at the metalworking company Roto Frank AG (annual turnover: 655 million euros) where he was responsible for exports to various different countries and sales companies.
He will be drawing on these many years of managerial experience in sales and marketing in his new position at MEIKO. He also spent three years as a regional sales manager at Blanco, a period during which he gained key insights into the commercial kitchen appliances sector. Klaus Engesser is married and has two children.
