AI Issue 4 2017

48 Acquisition International - April 2017 Eurofins Product Testing is a laboratory that takes complex products that need to be tested in accordance with legislative requirements, before it can be sold on the market Kim Holm Baekgaard explains in a revealing interview. urofins Product Testing take on consultancy work, as well as carrying out testing, and do business with major companies and producers in this vein. They also take on work during the research and development phase (R&D) to ensure that products perform as expected before mass production of the product concerned takes place. Furthermore, the focus is always on securing quality for Eurofins Product Testing prior to entering the market. For example, many countries have legislation about products that come into contact with food; Eurofins Product Testing takes that complex message from governments and translates it into a context that firms can understand. Sales director for product testing, Kim Holm Baekgaard explains that the firm has a motto, “your products deliver what we promise”, and so Eurofins Product Testing ensures product safety for manufacturers, distributors and retailers. “We are responsible for the testing of construction products, organic compounds and all packaging that comes into contact with food, but that does also include drinking bottles or lunchboxes. All these items need to be tested according to European and national legislation”, Kim goes on to explain. Company: Eurofins Product Testing Name: Kim Holm Baekgaard Email: KimHolmBaekgaard@ eurofins.dk Web: www.eurofins.dk Address: Smedeskovvej 38 8464 Galten Phone: + 45 70 22 42 76 Testing, Testing, Testing E 1704AI49 “In terms of testing disinfectant, we have to check that it is safe to use but that is also kills the bacteria that the producer promises. We also test toys, because they are for children there is much legislation and regulation around that, so we help in terms of consultancy to navigate around it and carry out all the testing required.” “My role in the firm is to direct sales across Europe, I have a team that are stationed in a number of countries including France, Italy, Sweden Germany as well as the Benelux countries. I ensure that sales are performing the way we want them to meet the market demands, that is what kind of tests we should be performing in our labs so that we stay ahead of the competition.” Kim adds that he has been in his current position for two years, having had a position previously as a sales manager in Denmark, the firm’s largest sales region. Before that, Kim had 12 years of sales experience in a totally different business area, but he was brought into Eurofins Product Testing to try and make it a more commercial. While the firm used to have technical staff that would go out and talk to customers about testing, they had no knowledge of sales techniques and getting the prices right for the customer. The plan when Kim joined the firm was to align all the European labs, and to ensure that everybody was working on the same CRM system. Today, the technical staff are sitting behind the scenes as experts and technical consultants, and can be brought into meetings when necessary. “The staff here have an extremely important role, and everyone in this business is equally important. When you are doing business in the laboratory world, everything needs to be well documented and very precise. You are not stronger than your weakest link, so those who are performing the tests on a regular basis need to work without mistakes so that we can be known in the market as a firm who offers great quality control, so that you can believe in all that we produce. “The back-office functions where we have all our expertise, they are the ones who need to show the market we know what we are talking about. The sales staff in the front end of the business do not need to be experts, but they just need to know what we can do and then start communicating on a level where decisions can be made. Once that