Over several years, we’ve produced in-depth pieces about Shaftec’s products, production and testing methods; however, after racking our brains with the remanufacturer, we agreed to do something a little different…
The objective is to show you the people behind the brand, position Shaftec’s employees as the face and lifeblood of the business; thereby, we’re offering you another perspective of the company, what it does and for which markets.
Over the coming issues, we’re going to introduce you to various members of the team – some of whom you’ll be familiar with – all with important jobs and responsibilities.
We start off with Marc Wise, Shaftec’s sales manager, and I began our chat by asking him to tell me about his day-today role:
Marc Wise (MW): “Analysing market data, liaising with internal teams to ensure smooth running of orders, credits, accounts activities etc. Setting up new processes for new customer orders, speaking to key customers to grow business together and explore new opportunities.”
Q. Obviously, with the impact of the pandemic has brought over the last two years, both personally and professionally, how has your role changed/adapted in that time?
MW: “The pandemic changed my role in the business dramatically. During the lockdown, Shaftec was running a skeleton team, which meant having to get involved in all aspects of the business especially operationally. Before the UK went into lockdown, I dealt with export sales. During the pandemic, I found myself becoming heavily involved with all departments within the UK side of the business, which helped develop my new role.”
Q. Has the pandemic changed your perspective when it comes to selling product/working with customers, such as being out on the road/video calls?
MW: “Video calls have been the norm for the last couple of years. Being out on the road, building relationships and meeting new people is a part of the job I love.
“I’m starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel, with more face-to-face meetings and conversations taking place, now society is fully-open; however, there has been a culture shift, not just in our market but everywhere, with emails now the main line of communication, as most people sit in front of a computer for long periods.”
Q. How is Shaftec seen in the marketplace?
MW: “I think Shaftec is seen as a reliable, quality option in the market, which I believe is what makes us a winner. The market is now at its most competitive across all our product groups.”
Q. What are distribution levels like in the UK?
MW: “As a remanufacturer, Shaftec has maintained its position over the past few years, as availability has not been an issue for us. Others across the industry have witnessed disruption in the form of shipping, container shortages, raw material increases and port delays.”
Q. If you could sum up Shaftec in one sentence, what would it be?
Marc Wise: “A reliable, adaptive company and brand which evolves to embrace new technologies, ensuring top quality service and product is always delivered on time to the customer.”
