ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

Jonas Persson, who joined Nilfisk-Advance as ceo at the beginning of this year, was at ISSA/Interclean Amsterdam for the first time last month. Having come to Nilfisk from outside the cleaning sector, it was an ideal opportunity for him to get an overview of the market and the other machine suppliers.

Persson was previously a member of the executive management board and head of the Asia-Pacific division for supplier of lock and security solutions, ASSA ABLOY - based in Hong Kong.

“The routes to market were very similar to the cleaning sector,” he explains, “in that the business had consumer and professional operations, and we sold via distributors and direct to customers”.

What were his key observations on visiting the ISSA/Interclean exhibition? “It’s overwhelming how many small players there are in the market,” he replies. “Consolidation will inevitably happen I believe – it’s happening already – and it can only continue. However it is still interesting that so many small companies survive.

“Cleaning is an extremely interesting business,” he continues, “and I see it very much heading towards sales of solutions rather than simply of products. This is where I believe it will be extremely difficult for smaller companies to compete.”

Persson has ambitious plans for Nilfisk and he plans to raise the company’s profile and position in the sector. “There is still huge potential for Nilfisk in emerging markets, and we are also experiencing growth in Europe. Our target is to have an equal share of our business in all three major areas of the world,” he explains.

“Nilfisk is a very healthy and mature company, which is still highly profitable. It is vital we now drive innovation in customer care and customer focus. It’s not simply about product development – although we need that too – as a company we must focus on how we launch and go to market. I don’t feel that we are as good as we could be in that respect.”

So how does change come about? “We listen to our customers, we take their views on
board and we drive our relationships with them forward,” Persson concludes.