Position Specification – Key Account Manager

Sanmar Group Overview

The Sanmar Group (http://sanmargroup.com/) is a US $ 1 billion global conglomerate with an asset base in excess of US $ 1.5 billion. It is a third-generation family-owned, professionally managed Group. The Group has a strong presence in key industry segments such as Chemicals (including Specialty Chemicals), Engineering (Products and Steel Castings) and Shipping. Besides 23 factories in India, the Sanmar group has manufacturing/supply chain facilities in the USA, Mexico and Egypt.

Matrix Metals Overview

Matrix Metals is the steel casting business of the Sanmar Group. It consists of three entities viz.

Ø Sanmar Matrix Metals Limited with an installed capacity of 28,000 tons per  annum located at Viralimalai, Tamil Nadu

Ø Acerlan Matrix Metals with an installed capacity of 12,000 tons per annum located at San Juan del Rio, Queretaro, Mexico

Ø Matrix Metals LLC located at Houston, Texas, U.S.A. This houses the sales, marketing, business development, customer service, supply chain and technology support functions for North America.

The steel casting business began in 1998 by providing cost competitive foundry services to its affiliated units and joint venture partners. Since then, the steel foundries in Mexico and India have significantly expanded and today service a variety of end user segments such as Construction and Mining, Oil and Gas including Valves & Pumps, Transportation, Rail and Military. The India facility specifically has scaled up from captive consumption to newer segments, and includes a state-of-the-art, fully automated sand foundry, an Investment Foundry, a machine shop and a valve assembly plant. Mexico consists of a sand foundry with shell casting and a machine shop in Mexico City.  Both the foundries have machine shop partners to machine a significant portion of their casting produce.

The size of the business at present is around USD 100 Million. The geographical distribution of sales is approx. 50% North America, 10% Europe and 40% India and Asia.  The group has aspirations to triple their business in the next five years.

The business at present has approx. 1500 employees (direct and indirect) consisting of 500 in Mexico, 16 in the USA and 1200 in India.

Role Summary:

Position Title: Key Account Manager (Valves & Pumps)

Location: US - Houston preferred or remote South/Southeast based

Reporting into: CEO Global based in Houston

Job Purpose

1.    Lead both business development and account management for key valve and pump assigned customers

2.    Coordinate relationships with customers, internal business units and develop new program opportunities

3.    Enlarge the relationships with existing customers by continuously proposing solutions that meet their needs

4.    Exceed the budget performance for machined steel castings low carbon to special alloys.

Key Responsibilities:

1.    Build and maintain strong relationships with key clients, serving as their primary point of contact for all business-related matters.

2.    Develop and implement strategic account plans to achieve sales targets, foster account growth, and identify new business opportunities.

3.    Conduct regular business reviews with clients to assess their needs, address concerns, and provide solutions that meet their objectives.

4.    Collaborate with cross-functional teams, such as sales, marketing, and customer support, to ensure seamless delivery of products/services and exceptional customer experience.

5.    Identify upselling and cross-selling opportunities within existing accounts to maximize revenue generation.

6.    Stay updated on industry trends, market conditions, and competitor activities to proactively identify potential threats and opportunities.

7.    Prepare and present reports on account performance, sales forecasts, and market insights to internal stakeholders.

8.    Manage contract negotiations, renewals, and pricing discussions in collaboration with the sales team.

9.    Provide exceptional customer service by promptly addressing customer inquiries, resolving issues, and coordinating with internal teams to deliver timely solutions.

10. Collaborate with product development teams to provide feedback and insights from clients, contributing to the development of new products/services.

Specific Context for Matrix Metals

-      This is a business turn around plus build out challenge (not running of a steady business)

-      It is an all-round solid “Execution” role – Order Booking/ Sales/ Marketing/ Business Development/ Relationship Management

-      This is a cross-border management role and has potential to grow personally and professionally on the job.

Context specific competencies and job needs that are important

1.    Impeccable ethics and transparency to foster trust & comfort: The Sanmar group places enormous emphasis on ethics and integrity. Similarly, there is an expectation on transparency and escalation – especially of “bad news”

2.    Alignment and Adaptability: The candidate will also have to align with Sanmar corporate and adapt suitably to Sanmar’s working style –frequent interactions, joint decision making etc. This needs to be someone who is used to or has the maturity/comfort in a collaborative decision making and problem-solving environment, not someone who expects total autonomy and carte blanche from day 1

3.    Drive and Resilience: Candidate must have the drive, passion and aspiration to take this business to its full potential from a market perspective. The assignment will involve hard strides to turn around this business, put in place processes, win back customer confidence etc. The position will be empowered to take decisions within prescribed framework and deliver a long lasting performance.

 

 

 

 

Qualification & Past Experience with relevance

-      Origin – Successful Foundry / Metals sales leader who…

o  Has worked in sales for a large foundry / metal industry

o  Has extensive experience of selling to international customers and developing markets. Connect with American markets is a plus

-      Strategic / Tactical - Must have the drive and the ambition to grow beyond the current job and represent all functions.

-      Performance oriented. Commitment to the targets/ commitments made and has demonstrated performance / deliverables consistently in his/her career.

-      Experience in having been a key member in the leadership team and critically involved in arriving at and fully executing critical management decisions. Opportunities and challenges are significant, and the role requires significant Sales and Business Development Leadership capability. For the same reason, high energy levels, ability to withstand pressure, good decision-making skills, EQ and an ability to manage multiple, competing, high priorities are required.

-      Engineering Graduate/education in Material Science/ Metallurgy, Masters/ MBA Post Graduate Qualification is a plus.

-      Industry preference – Prefer machined Steel Casting experience. Alternatively, Iron Casting Foundries, Forgings, Metal industries, supplying large global OEM’s

-      Understanding costs and pricing tools is important. Company uses Sales Force and SAP ERP.

-      - Experience in negotiating complex Purchase and Sales Agreements is essential. Need to protect company interests and focus on risk mitigation with respect to warranties, etc.

-      - Ability to work in a multi-cultural business environment

-      - Willingness to undertake extensive travel within US and at times to Mexico foundry

-      - The position comes with good compensation and bonus potential and career growth. Other benefits include excellent subsidized health care, dental, vision, 401K and other benefits. Sanmar is an equal opportunity employer. We believe in fair, transparent and objective treatment of all employees.