Mr. Pierre Eluard Appointed Managing Director of Verlinde

Verlinde, France's leading manufacturer and exporter of industrial lifting equipment, announces the appointment of Mr. Pierre Eluard as Managing Director. He succeeds Mr. François Gurniki, who has led the company for the past seven years.

Pierre Eluard joined Verlinde in 2021 and previously held the dual role of Deputy Managing Director and Sales Manager for Southeast Asia. Over the past three years, he has been able to implement his own vision for the company's export development in collaboration with the sales directors, focusing on commercial growth and aligned with its Next Level Partnership slogan. With Pierre Eluard at the helm, Verlinde is entering a new strategic phase in its expansion.

Verlinde, whose headquarters are located in Vernouillet near Dreux, has been part of the Finnish group Konecranes, the world leader in the industrial lifting sector, since 1986. As such, Verlinde belongs to a family of lifting experts renowned for the quality and reliability of their products. The figures speak for themselves: 80% of its customers have been loyal partners for more than 20 years.

Pierre Eluard shares his vision by answering a few questions.

Can you briefly tell us about your professional background before joining Verlinde?

My career was built over 15 years of highly rewarding experience in the aerospace industry, within major companies such as Dassault Aviation and Safran, where I held positions of responsibility in international sales, business development, and marketing. I spent several years working in the United States and managed customers around the world, including in Brazil, Italy, the Nordic countries, India, Turkey, and China.

In 2020, the Covid crisis had a severe impact on the aerospace sector, and although Safran is an outstanding company with excellent products, I felt the need to begin a new chapter and take on new challenges. That is how I joined Verlinde in August 2021, taking on the dual role of Deputy Managing Director and Sales Manager for Southeast Asia, before assuming the position of Managing Director today. It was a bold but rewarding move that I embraced alongside a motivated and dynamic team. For me, the most important aspects of professional life are the projects I lead and the team behind them. At Verlinde, I am fully satisfied on both counts.

What were your main areas of focus during your last three years with the company?

As Sales Manager for Southeast Asia, I worked to reinvigorate the region. We are also pleased to announce the arrival of a new sales manager based in Singapore since mid-April 2024 to continue and strengthen these efforts.

As Deputy Managing Director, I led a Lean Management initiative, the "One KC Way" project, aimed at identifying improvements throughout our end-to-end processes and increasing efficiency so that we can better serve our customers.

I was also responsible for streamlining and optimizing our relationship with one of the group's main factories in Wetter, Germany, which manufactures our light lifting equipment range, including manual hoists, electric chain hoists, and enclosed track systems. Performance levels were well below expectations, so it was necessary to build stronger relationships between teams, identify simple actions to improve communication and processes between our entities, and ultimately enhance customer satisfaction.

As the new Managing Director, what direction do you intend to give the company?

In my view, Verlinde needed a clearer vision. I therefore initiated a joint reflection process with the Executive Committee to define a long-term vision supported by concrete actions. Our customers and commercial activity are naturally our top priorities. We want Verlinde to be known and recognized both in France and internationally. Our ambition is to become the benchmark brand in industrial lifting, recognized for both the quality of our products and the quality of service we provide to our customers.

The road ahead will not always be smooth, but we have the skills and determination needed to succeed. We have recently recruited a new Marketing Manager whose primary objective will be to build a structured marketing and communications plan and notably increase awareness of the Verlinde brand. We are all committed to this approach because every member of the Verlinde team is, and must be, an active contributor to it.

In a few key figures, what is Verlinde's position in the international lifting market today?

In 2023, our turnover amounted to €54 million for new equipment and €11 million for spare parts. We employ 40 people. We have production facilities in Germany, Finland, and China, and our international presence is becoming increasingly significant, with approximately two-thirds of our revenue generated through exports.

We recently recruited two new sales managers based in Singapore and Dubai to meet growing demand in these promising markets and to be even closer to our customers.

How do you assess the lifting market in France and internationally?

Like many industries, the lifting market is closely linked to national macroeconomic conditions. In recent years, following successive crises such as the Coronavirus pandemic and the energy crisis, we have observed a decline in sales of standard equipment, alongside growing demand for spare parts and modernization projects for existing overhead cranes.

In addition, we are increasingly dependent on major projects, exposing us to stronger competition and greater fluctuations in revenue. In France, our business remains at a solid level, and we see strong growth prospects in the Middle East, South America, and Southeast Asia, while observing a significant slowdown in China.

What are your medium-term objectives in these markets?

In the domestic market, our objective is to maintain our leadership position and regain market share in the light lifting segment by continuously improving delivery quality and leveraging our existing distribution network.

Internationally, we aim to increase awareness of the Verlinde brand by capitalizing on specific product lines such as our Stagemaker range for the entertainment industry, our ATEX hoists, and our Eurobloc BH belt hoists.

What new developments can you announce to your customers in the coming months?

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new wire rope hoist, the New VF, which will gradually replace our Eurobloc VT range over the coming years and features capabilities compatible with Industry 4.0 requirements.

In addition, we have recently introduced a new ATEX-certified electric chain hoist, responding to strong demand from some of our partners for this type of product.

Would you like to add anything else?

We have established a Quick Ship stock of Eurochain VX and Stagemaker hoists at our German factory, enabling rapid shipment and allowing us to respond efficiently to our customers' needs.

In addition, we are actively working to improve our performance and strengthen our customer relationships, particularly through the development of our online tools and the support of our new representatives abroad. Our ambition is to move forward and innovate while remaining true to our values and continuously adapting to market developments.