Martin Representative Office in Russia Celebrates 1st Anniversary

	Mikhael Kuznetsov, head of Martin's Russian representative office

Martin Professional's representative office in Russia recently celebrated its first anniversary at a special party with partners and friends at club "Lookin Rooms" in Moscow.

Key rental companies, representatives of installation firms, major dealers, industrial retailers, and leading journalists were all on hand to share in the celebration with Martin's Russian team.

The evening's program included talks by Martin Professional's vice president of distributor sales, Bruno Garros, and head of the Russian representative office, Mikhail Kuznetsov. Also on the program were several surprises, including a draw with the main prize a trip to the Martin factory in Denmark.

"Russia is our most important market from a growth perspective and is currently the largest market outside our traditional subsidiary markets," stated Garros in his welcome speech. "In 2010, we made the decision to manage the Russian market ourselves, and, since putting Michael in charge, we have seen solid growth and a strong improvement in Russian customers' awareness of the Martin brand. Martin has a clear ambition to be the leading brand in Russia."

The Russian office's first year of work, performed by a small team of dedicated professionals, developed into a real success story, the company reports. On the heels of the economic downturn, the Russian office experienced considerable growth and is now one of Martin's top five distributors.

"We are completely satisfied with the first year results," Garros stated. "The efforts of the Russian office show an annual turnover growth of 35% and further progress and new achievements are on the horizon. The Martin Russian team has been exceptional." Kuznetsov, product manager Anton Anufriev, and marketing manager Elena Zhulidova are the key personnel at Martin's Russian office with a recent addition being service engineer Artem Gudelev.

The new office has provided a whole new level of support and service for Martin's Russian customers. Kuznetsov comments, "An impressive start means of course plenty of obligations. Our first year was mostly devoted to the rental market and providing service and support. Now we are at the beginning of the next stage, which is to develop activity in the architectural and installation markets.

"The Martin portfolio provides a wide choice of innovative dynamic solutions and as a reliable partner we offer the best solutions for a number of global projects that we expect in Russia in the near future. We say 'thank you' to everyone who has chosen Martin and who has driven our success."