In August last year, Tinby expanded their sales organisation and were pleased to welcome 53-year-old Michael Lind who took up the position of sales engineer.
Michael is an export economist and has worked in sales and marketing for more than 25 years.
He brings with him extensive experience from the furniture and rehab industry and has been based in Berlin, among other places. Given his background, Tinby was the next logical career move for Michael, providing him with the opportunity to tackle the market for flexible PUR, as this is a rapidly-growing sector within the furniture and rehab field - particularly in Germany and Scandinavia.
More resources for the FLEX segment
“Due to the increased level of activity within a number of segments such as the greentech sector, Tinby needed further resources to handle the so-called FLEX segment," explains Michael Lind. “This area includes products in flexible PUR, primarily for the furniture industry, rehab and care, as well as what we at Tinby call “Play”, i.e. playgrounds, toys and child and baby products.
What all of these products have in common is their need to be soft and comfortable for the user comes into contact with them, plus they must be easy to clean and durable when used on a daily basis. One of my most important tasks in this regard, is to communicate the unbelievably huge number of opportunities this material offers in terms of developing new and better products," he explains.
Michael has spent a great deal of time building and maintaining relationships with existing FLEX customers, so that products and working methods can be constantly adapted to the needs of the customer in their daily lives in their respective markets - only by doing this can Tinby provide cooperation and consultancy services during product development that really ensure that things get done.
Spreading the word about this material is so enjoyable
Michael Lind goes on to add that he gets great enjoyment from and is extremely motivated by being able to spread the word about PUR as a material to manufacturers who have never worked with it.
“The possibilities are endless, and it is fantastic to see how manufacturers who were perhaps somewhat sceptical about this material to start with, change their opinion and begin to visualise new opportunities after a positive meeting," says Michael Lind.
Michael Lind on the right - watches a video production of a FLEX recording. Also a way of communicating the flexible PUR message.
Things take time
As everyone knows, things take time, and the message about new materials also needs time to sink in. Therefore, the process might sometimes be described as a journey of sorts - from the initial dialogue on materials until the customer has a finished product in hand that can be marketed to the end-user. Michael Lind has this to say about that relationship:
“First of all, the manufacturer must have a strong, original idea, one that is often developed in collaboration with architects and designers. Next, of course, the resources and market demand must also be there,” he says. “At the moment we have lots of exciting projects both on the drawing board and in the pipeline on the sales side and, as always, we strive to continually improve and do things in a more rational way - together with the customer.
Innovative thinking and using our initiative are what drive us and are a necessary part of an industry like ours, and fortunately, at Tinby, we have the kind of culture that promotes that way of working. For example, in the area of development, I can name such fields as biocomplexity anti-bacterial treatment, fire requirements and load requirements which are just some of the tasks we are constantly working with to develop our skills further.”
“I am looking forward to working with Tinby's customers and I look forward to immersing myself in all the exciting projects that we are seeing more and more of," concludes Michael Lind.
