Our client is a leading international manufacturer of high-quality precision investment castings, primarily serving industrial valve manufacturers and OEMs across global markets.
To support its continued European growth, the company is seeking an experienced Country Sales Manager to develop its presence in Germany. This individual will be responsible for new business development, existing customer management, and coordination between European customers and the overseas manufacturing team.
This position is ideal for a commercially driven professional who combines strong knowledge of the industrial valve sector with a practical understanding of engineered components and technical manufacturing requirements.
Key Responsibilities
- Identify and develop new business opportunities with valve manufacturers, industrial OEMs, and other relevant customers in Germany.
- Build relationships with decision‑makers across purchasing, engineering, quality, supply chain, and senior management.
- Manage existing customer relationships and identify opportunities for account growth.
- Coordinate customer enquiries, quotations, new orders, forecasts, and commercial negotiations.
- Understand customer drawings, technical specifications, material requirements, testing standards, and quality expectations.
- Translate customer requirements into clear, actionable information for the manufacturing, engineering, and quality teams.
- Support projects throughout the complete sales cycle, including initial enquiry, quotation, tooling, sampling, qualification, approval, and serial production.
- Follow up on technical and commercial proposals to ensure timely project progression.
- Support the resolution of technical, quality, delivery, or documentation matters in coordination with internal teams.
- Provide regular sales forecasts, opportunity updates, and market intelligence.
- Monitor relevant market developments, customer requirements, competitors, and potential target accounts.
- Represent the company at customer meetings, industry events, and relevant trade exhibitions.
- Gradually support business development in additional European markets, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, and Switzerland.
Candidate Requirements
- Approximately 8–12 years of technical B2B sales, business development, or key-account management experience.
- Strong and demonstrable experience in the industrial valve sector.
- Proven experience selling to valve manufacturers, industrial OEMs, or comparable engineering‑led customers.
- Knowledge of investment castings, the lost‑wax process, foundry products, forgings, machined components, or other engineered metal parts is strongly preferred.
- Good understanding of industrial valve components, applications, materials, and manufacturing requirements.
- Ability to understand engineering drawings, dimensional requirements, material specifications, and customer quality documentation.
- Experience coordinating technically complex projects involving purchasing, engineering, production, and quality teams.
- Proven ability to identify, develop, and win new OEM accounts.
- Existing relationships within the German valve‑manufacturing sector would be highly advantageous.
- Strong commercial negotiation, account‑development, and opportunity‑management skills.
- Professional fluency in German and strong business English.
- Based in Germany and willing to travel regularly across Germany and neighbouring European markets.
- A degree or qualification in mechanical engineering, metallurgy, materials science, industrial engineering, or a related technical field is preferred. Equivalent relevant industry experience will also be considered.
Personal Profile
- Technically credible and confident communicating with engineering and procurement teams.
- Proactive and comfortable developing a market independently.
- Commercially focused with a structured approach to account development.
- Strong communicator capable of coordinating effectively across countries, cultures, and time zones.
- Able to manage long and technically involved industrial sales cycles.
- Customer‑oriented, dependable, and committed to building long‑term commercial relationships.
What the Role Offers
- The opportunity to lead the development of a strategically important European market.
- A high level of independence and direct influence on market‑development activities.
- Exposure to international customers and a well‑established global manufacturing operation.
- Potential to expand responsibility beyond Germany as the European business grows.