SMC Pneumatics (South Africa) has announced the appointment of Johan Bester as its new head of sales. Responsible for sales to existing and new customers through direct and indirect channels, Bester will report to general manager, Adrian Buddingh. “I look forward to bringing my 19 years of automation experience to SMC,” says Bester. “Our goal is to provide customised solutions tailored to customer needs. I aim to help grow SMC’s market share through a customer-centric view. This in turn will help customers grow their own businesses and productivity.”
From l: Johan Bester; Adrian Buddingh.
Through its extensive product range and technical expertise, SMC will be able to offer a wide variety of industrial automation, motion control and process applications. According to Bester, SMC concentrates on face-to-face customer communication. To this end, 23% of the company’s 22 000 global employees are highly trained technical sales engineers. The plan is to follow suit in South Africa, and he is currently setting up a highly qualified sales team to support local customers. “Johan brings a wealth of knowledge to SMC. His experience and know-how will be a real asset as we look to expand our activities in the African market,” concludes general manager, Adrian Buddingh.
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