Organizational Changes at Okuma America Focus on Field Support

The company has also moved to enhance its sales organization to better serve the needs of its distribution network and provide better manufacturing solutions to the end-use customers. Tim Thiessen, who was promoted to the vice president of sales from the position of senior regional sales manager in 2011, now manages an extensive group of CNC machine tool sales professionals, including six regional managers, three sales engineers, five product specialists and the inside sales department.

Having worked with Okuma for over 20 years in each of the positions he now supervises, Thiessen is well versed in the duties and responsibilities of each role and can manage the team’s resources accordingly. “Our customers are busier than ever and are operating leaner organizations. They need help to continually improve their manufacturing processes and stay competitive. This organizational structure helps us and our distributors focus on the needs at hand, ensuring that the most qualified individual is able to assist the customer”, stated Thiessen.

The delineation of the sales roles creates a dynamic that allows each group to focus on specific responsibilities. The regional managers work closely with distribution management and sales staffs, the sales engineers provide product and processing expertise and the product specialists assist the distribution sales staff and customers in identifying the appropriate products and options for given applications and manufacturing needs. In addition to providing sales and engineering expertise, the product specialists also provide product training for both distributors and end-use customers.

The organizational structure will provide distributors and end-use customers with specific points of contact within the Okuma organization and will help focus attention on helping manufacturers become more productive and efficient.

Okuma America is the U.S.-based sales and service affiliate of Okuma Corporation, a world leader in CNC (computer numeric control) machine tools and machining process optimization, founded in 1898 in Nagoya, Japan. The company is the industry’s only single-source provider, with the machine, control, drive and spindle all manufactured by Okuma. Along with its industry-leading distribution network (largest in the Americas), Okuma delivers an expansive breadth of products, technology strength and innovation, and deep service and support offerings that empower the customer. www.okuma.com

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