QIN

International Sales Director

The Business:

QIN Srl develops, manufactures, and markets piston rings for O.E. manufacturers of 4 stroke large bore engines for marine, industrial and power generation applications.

QIN Srl acquired Industriale Srl in 2007 with its production facilities in Genova, Italy. This also encompassed technical know-how, patents, and expertise, as well as chrome ceramic and plasma coating plants and the casting competencies. They have since started their own foundry in Cuorgnè (Torino), Italy, for an integrated and vertical business.

The business were keen to take advantage of international opportunities but were lacking a proactive international sales team. Therefore, they were looking to recruit an International Sales Director who could lead a new team and help the business achieve their ambitious growth targets.

The Challenge:

The main challenge to overcome was a diverse brief. We were effectively trying to hire two people in one – someone that was both capable (and willing) to initially work in a hands on selling capacity but also had the capability in the medium term to step up into a broader commercial capacity and build a team.

Our Solution:

Our initial focus was to identify candidates with experience of selling products (ideally mechanical), into similar target markets. In order to address the diverse requirements of the role, we tailored our pitch to each candidate. This enabled us to attract a number of suitable candidates that had varying levels of experience.

Identifying the Candidate:

We provided our client with a wide range of potential candidates to choose from, and this enabled them to refine their requirements. We were then able to identify the most suitable candidates for shortlist and interview with the client.

Simply Bringing the Right People Together:

We provided a shortlist of four candidates with three progressing to interview with the client, culminating in the appointment of an excellent candidate.The successful candidate had broad experience of selling products into similar target markets and had previously held international responsibility. They also held an excellent mix of both sales and marketing experience.In addition, they spoke a couple of other languages which although was not a prerequisite, it was certainly an additional benefit for the nature of the role.