PROFILE BY SAM McKEOWN
The 34-year-old with a billion pound firm
AS a leader, you have to lead by example - which is exactly what Managing Director and business guru Rogier van der Linde, 34, did for multinational provider of on-road load handling equipment, Hydrauliska Industri AB (Hiab).
Originally from the small Dutch town of Sibekarspel, father- of-two Rogier started out in 2007 as a Business Administration intern for Cargotec in Rotterdam.
After fi ve years at Cargotec – company owners of Hiab – Rogier moved to Hiab in 2012 as Director of Business Development and faced the immediate challenge of rapidly increasing the company’s profi t margin.
Rogier said: “My CEO at Cargotec told me congratulations you got the job. But my fi rst task was to bring the company’s profi tability up from 2.9% to 10%.
Now operating at 14% profi tability & grown from £800m. to £1.1billion
“I remember my dad sayingto me - ‘are you stupid? You’re going to get fi red!”
However, Rogier turned the Hiab profi t margins around in such a dramatic way that the company is in rude health. Rogier puts this success down to his “hand-on” approach and fantastic staff at Hiab who have excelled in everything they do.
Rogier’s hard work provided him with a move to Malmo, Sweden, as Hiab’s VP Strategy & Business Development and Board Member.
“I love Malmo. I was living and working near the Sweden- Denmark border next to the Øresund Bridge.
“I have fond memories working at Hiab’s Swedish head offi ce, because it was such a beautiful place and my fi rst son was born around that time,” he said.
After turning Hiab’s fortune around Rogier, was rewarded for his work ethic and determination, and in July 2016 he landed in the UK to become Hiab’s Managing Director for UK & Ireland.
“The quarter one results for 2017 highlight that Hiab have another record and we’re now operating at 14% profi tability – we’ve grown from £800million to £1.1billion.”
“I remember getting the job in the UK and was asked to bring leadership, I had a panic attack; I was searching through Google reading leadership articles, but it’s actually quite simple.
“To lead you have to provide vision, motivation; build an infrastructure and, most importantly, recruit people who fi t in, which is done by bringing in someone who understands the culture.
“That way, the wheels keep turning and we grow as a team.”
The wheels on the Hiab train are now well and truly moving, and this was evident at the 2017 Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC in Birmingham on April 25th – 27th ,where Hiab and Rogier signed off 400 units in three days; a staggering statistic considering Hiab sold 1,200 during the whole of 2016.
He said: “Reengineering or developing a product isn’t hard. Take our 138 [Hiab X-HIDUO 138], which we had on show in Birmingham. People were interested because it’s a product that delivers a need.
“The diffi culty comes from getting a service network spot on, and I think that’s where we can beat our competitors and be there for our customers.
52
SHM July, 2017
www.skiphiremagazine.co.uk
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