Pictured above: (l-r) Nicholas Kolarz (The Central Europe
Consultancy) and Jonathan Shepherd (Continental Europe - Sales
Manager for Steelite)
Pottery giant Steelite International is setting its sights on
major new markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) - with
ambitions to double sales and become one of the continent's leading
hotelware suppliers.
The CEE nations are Steelite's fastest growing market with the
hotel industry set to rapidly develop as nations such as Poland
gear up for the 2012 soccer European Cup and Russia's 2018 World
Cup.
To ensure Steelite International capitalises on these golden
opportunities, the company this week welcomed 25 visitors from nine
of the most influential tableware distributors from the former
Eastern bloc to its state-of-the-art headquarters in
Stoke-on-Trent.
The guests from Russia, Poland, Bulgaria and other countries
received a warm welcome to the Potteries as Steelite International,
with a turnover in excess of £50million and a UK workforce of
over 650, set out to impress and educate the VIP distributors.
The visitors were welcomed to Steelite's hi-tech factory where
up to half a million pieces of ware are produced each week.
Guests toured the factory to see how technologically advanced
the company is, the exceptional quality assurance of Steelite ware
with its lifetime guarantee, as well as the emphasis on
inspirational design.
The visitors also saw the famous Steelite 'bus jacking' feat -
where a London double decker bus is balanced on just four Steelite
mugs to demonstrate the strength and durability of the 'Made for
Life' brand.
During the visit there were also demonstrations of the work
being done to minimise the environmental impact of Steelite
International ware which is up to four times more durable than
certain inferior-quality tableware. This means huge savings for the
customer as well as four times less raw material extraction,
manufacturing and transportation.
Explained Steelite's Continental Europe Sales Manager, Jonathan
Shepherd: "We are already the favoured brand of international hotel
chains such as Hilton and Four Seasons and we anticipate major
growth across Central Europe where the lack of hotels is becoming
an acute problem, because international events need to be catered
for.
"Examples include the European soccer Championships in 2012 in
Poland and Ukraine, the soccer World Cup in Russia in 2018, the
World Ice Hockey championships in Belarus in 2014 and next year's
APEC meeting in Vladivostok - to name but a few.
"We have already invested heavily in developing the region: for
example, literature is produced in Russian, Bulgarian and Polish
and a video about the factory is currently being made in Russian.
Now we have ambitious growth plans for a region which offers
amazing opportunities in the coming years.
"Last week's visit is the beginning of a concerted campaign to
ensure that these highly influential distributors are on board and
understand the excellent quality and value that our ware
represents. These distributors are key to ensuring Steelite
International becomes the tableware of choice across Central and
Eastern Europe."