Automotive firm targets growth opportunities in Eastern Europe

Birmingham automotive consultancy, G&P, has moved to strengthen its position in the Eastern European sector with a new appointment.

The Fort Dunlop-based firm is targeting the wealth of opportunities available in markets such as Poland and Slovakia.

The agency works with automotive firms by helping them to reduce their waste and improve their product quality.

To achieve its ambitions, it has appointed Marco Den Dekker to take up a newly created role as Eastern European operations manager.

Mr Dekker has more than 25 years’ experience in automotive manufacturing around the world with leading OEMs and tier 1 suppliers.

In his new role, he will assume overall responsibilities for G&P’s activities in Eastern Europe, ensuring the company’s existing clients in both the automotive and aerospace sectors, are well supported.

He will also be tasked with attracting new clients to the business, which is a former winner in the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise – Quality Excellence category.

“The enthusiasm of the G&P management team for the work they are doing is truly amazing and incredibly infectious, so it was impossible for me to turn down the offer to join them,” said Mr Dekker.

“There’s a huge ambition to continue to grow the company significantly and I’m very excited to be joining the team.”

Prior to joining G&P, he held senior roles with vehicle manufacturers including Volvo, Mitsubishi and SMART. His international experience includes stints in Holland, Slovakia, USA and Japan.

Supporting him will be Zuzana Den Dekker, who brings with her considerable experience of the industry and region having worked in similar automotive manufacturing roles, most recently as a finance director.

Arne Willerslev-Legrand, group managing director, G&P said: “G&P already has a significant presence in Eastern Europe as well as internationally, we employ more than 1,300 people at over 80 locations around the world.

“In order to further support the industry’s significant growth in the region, it was important for us to complement our existing team’s skills and knowledge with an experienced management team who have a strong understanding of the environment, the customers and the challenges they face.

“I’m extremely confident that under Marco’s guidance, we can help the region’s manufacturers understand why quality improvements are so fundamental to their business and work with them to achieve significant advances.”