We sit down with Iñigo Eguren, CSO, to talk about Europe, Middle East & Africa
We sit down with Iñigo Eguren, CSO, to discuss the strategy and added value the company brings to the European, Middle East & African (EMEA) market and how EUN is cementing its benchmark status.
EMEA is a very extensive region...which countries is EUN represented in?
In Europe we have a consolidated network in Portugal, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark and facilities in nearly all the countries in continental Europe for front-line retail firms and customers, an area where we have been smashing it recently, becoming authorised official suppliers to top businesses and opening new stores across all European countries.
We also have a direct and deeply rooted presence in African countries like Morocco, Algeria, Angola and Guinea, as well as a strong presence in the Middle East - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, UAE, Kuwait, Oman and more.
When did you start supplying storage solutions in EMEA?
We began our market expansion around 1990 with the first national and international trade shows, presenting our products and solutions through initial contacts with customers and partners that provided first-hand insights into the idiosyncrasies of each market so we could drill down on our possibilities.
That type of collaboration enabled us to build relations and begin to expand the brand with reputable references that resulted in our current implementation where we are a reference across different sectors.
With regards the strategy to enter different markets...
Our outreach strategy is to align with specialised partners in each different market and sector, tap dedicated equipment firms and bring to the table solutions for museums, education, libraries, sport, industry, health, archives, major corporations and so on.
We support our expert partners in the private and public sector in developing different projects with our range of products, solutions and services.
How are you working on consolidating EUN in the market?
Our work turns on partnering with specialist local businesses, shaping market development off the back of common growth, pinpointing end-customer needs and working on answers to them, as well as developing projects that provide solutions and services throughout a facility's life cycle.
One aspect important to EUN has been to endow products with technology, bringing comprehensive and advanced management-driven solutions to market, along with the digital transformation and sustainability.
Is there any project you would mention in particular?
There are many I could name, but some of the most significant in terms of size and complexity of execution include the Musée National du Sport in Nice, France; the MoMu Fashion Museum of Antwerp, Belgium; the Luminy Campus library in Marseille, France; the National Archive of Monaco; the National Library and Eskilstuna Museum in Sweden; the work we did in Saudi Arabia with our partner the Riad Safari Group, and so on. In the last quarter of the year we will install and implement a government project covering over 40 linear kilometres and we have just finished installing and commissioning the Palace of Justice in Kuwait, a project involving more than 17 linear kilometres of storage. Plus, in February we executed the delivery to Norway’s Metacon construction company of the Sarpsborg Kommune installation covering over 33.5 linear kilometres.
Assembling a good team is fundamental. How is the EUN team put together?
Within our market development process, we double down on touchpoints with dealers and transmit the communication and coordination of factory teams and our local partners. We are shoring up these processes by training people to successfully steer management. We have onboarded Diego Canca as Area Manager for the EMEA markets, harnessing his extensive experience in this area. We have also recruited Ibai Silvariño as Sales Lead for the Middle East. We boosted the factory-based technical team with the inclusion of interior design expert Leire del Río Hidalgo, leveraging her proven track record in project implementation and coordination. These people reinforce the EUN team that has extensive experience and is made up of Mari Carmen Alonso, Ana María Sterciuc and José Luis Cobos.
At EUN we give great importance to the helpdesk to control execution in the facilities and have shored this work up by bringing Abdoulaye Ndiaye on board team leaded as responsible by Joseba Álvarez, the senior experience of Mark Harrison, to deploy de different projects. We run the inhouse teams from the factory and our dealers teams onsite.