Key rental companies, representatives of installation firms, major dealers, industrial retailers and leading journalists were all on hand to share in the celebration with Martin's Russian team.
The evening's programme included talks by Martin Professional's vice president of distributor sales, Bruno Garros, and head of the Russian Representative Office, Mikhail Kuznetsov. Also on the programme were several surprises like a draw with the main prize a trip to the Martin factory in Denmark.
"Russia is our most important market from a growth perspective and is currently the largest market outside our traditional subsidiary markets," stated Bruno Garros in his welcome speech. "In 2010, we made the decision to manage the Russian market ourselves and since putting Michael in charge we have seen solid growth and a strong improvement in Russian customers' awareness of the Martin brand. Martin has a clear ambition to be the leading brand in Russia."
On the heels of the economic downturn, the Russian office experienced considerable growth and is now one of Martin's top five distributors.
"We are completely satisfied with the first year results," Garros stated. "The efforts of the Russian office show an annual turnover growth of 35% and further progress and new achievements are on the horizon. The Martin Russian team has been exceptional." Mikhail Kuznetsov, product manager Anton Anufriev and marketing manager Elena Zhulidova are the key personnel at Martin's Russian office with a recent addition being service engineer Artem Gudelev.
The new office has provided a whole new level of support and service for Martin's Russian customers. Mikhael Kuznetsov comments, "An impressive start means of course plenty of obligations. Our first year was mostly devoted to the rental market and providing service and support. Now we are at the beginning of the next stage, which is to develop activity in the architectural and installation markets.
"The Martin portfolio provides a wide choice of innovative dynamic solutions and as a reliable partner we offer the best solutions for a number of global projects that we expect in Russia in the near future. We say 'thank you' to everyone who has chosen Martin and who has driven our success."
(Jim Evans)
