Meet the team: Frédéric Lépron
International Key Account Manager Transport
TRANSPRESS
This month Frédéric Lépron, Key Account Manager Transport Flooring for Forbo Flooring Systems, sat down to tell us a little more about his role and how he works with clients to achieve their flooring requirements.
How long have you been with Forbo Flooring Systems?
I joined Forbo Flooring Systems over 14 years ago, in 2008 following eleven years in the automotive industry as an engineer developing and industrialising seats for major car manufacturers. During this time, I have had the pleasure to meet so many customers across all 3 of the transport segments. I’ve built relationships with many people across the Forbo world. Liaising with colleagues across different departments including technical, production, design, sales and marketing. I’ve participated in lots of exhibitions and events over the years and I’m very much looking forward to again being able to participate in numerous events in 2022.
What does your role with Forbo Flooring Systems entail, and which areas and countries do you oversee?
As an International Key Account Manager for Transport, I work with key clients in many different countries including France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Turkey, Greece, Australia, South America and India.
Essentially, it is my responsibility to work with clients to ensure that we support them as much as possible when it comes to their flooring requirements for rail, marine, bus and coach projects. Many companies have commitments and goals to hit relating to things such as carbon neutrality and using sustainable resources, and part of my role is recommending solutions that can help them achieve these objectives.
What does a typical day/week look like for you?
COVID-19 unearthed many challenges for businesses worldwide, but it also presented some excellent opportunities for Key Account Managers. Previously, I spent a great deal of time travelling from client to client in all areas of the world. However, remote lines of communication became utterly essential during the pandemic, and most of these mediums are still used now. This means as well as face to face meetings, I can also meet with new clients and keep in touch with existing clients remotely, to make best use of the time I have available.
A typical day is usually centred around communicating with clients to explore what challenges they are facing and how we can provide a solution for them. The key challenges that I hear about most often:
· Energetic Transition
· Reducing CO2 emissions
· Contributing to a circular economy
· Using sustainable solutions
· Scarcity of raw materials
How have customers’ expectations and requirements changed since the pandemic?
While there hasn’t been a drastic change in direction, there has undoubtedly been a more significant focus on reducing carbon footprints and finding reliable partners that can offer greater stability in an ever-changing economic market.
How do you think Forbo Flooring Systems brings value to a project and your customers?
We pride ourselves on offering a truly comprehensive and compliant floor covering product portfolio for the global rail, marine and bus & coach sectors. Combining durability, performance, fire resistant properties and great aesthetics. We also aim to add value in terms of the services that we can offer, such as, cut to shape/size, alternative installation systems for certain products, bespoke labelling and packaging to name just a few.
What do you enjoy most about working at Forbo Flooring Systems?
Over the last 14 years we have really developed the business that we have in the transport sectors and today, Forbo is a key player. The target to achieve CO2 neutrality in transport industries is quickly becoming a reality and reducing our footprint for future generations is a daily motivation.