After nearly a year of working from the Netherlands as an export account manager for Spain, our colleague Jesse van den Boomen is now stationed in Spain. From his base in Barcelona, he can not only serve customers in the northeast of Spain but also reach other regions with ease. This allows him to engage with customers and prospects more flexibly and efficiently— shorter lines, stronger connections.
Shortly introduce yourself and your role at Landport
I am Jesse van den Boomen, 27 years old, and I work as a representative for the Spanish market at Landport. Until the beginning of this year, I served this market from the Netherlands.
I joined Landport in April 2024, and since then, I have traveled to Spain seven times, visiting both existing and new customers in every region of the country.
Why are you moving to Spain, and from when will you be there?
The main difference from the way I worked in the Netherlands is that I will now be much closer to our customers, allowing me to be more focused on the market and customer needs.
Starting in February, I will be living and working in Spain, with Barcelona as my home base. From there, I can not only serve customers in the northeast of Spain but also visit other regions relatively easily. Within six hours, I can be in Madrid, the Basque Country is about a five-hour drive, and Valencia is just three hours away.
How will you approach your work there?
I plan to visit a different region twice a month. In my first week, for example, I traveled to Aragon and the Basque Country. Before each trip, I contact customers and prospects in these regions, schedule meetings, book a hotel, and prepare thoroughly. Then, I drive from Barcelona to— in this case— Aragon and the Basque Country, mainly focusing on prospects.
Landport has a very broad and deep product range, which allows us to serve many different markets. For example, companies in the Lawn & Garden sector are mainly active in the northwest of Spain, while the Andalusia region is more focused on agriculture.
The further south you go, the drier and more desert-like the landscape becomes. This also means that the climate is more attractive for motorcyclists, leading to a higher number of motorcycles, mopeds, and scooters on the road— all of which require batteries that we can supply.
Additionally, apart from Madrid with its 3.2 million inhabitants, the major cities in Spain are primarily located along the coastline. Barcelona has around 1.6 million people, Valencia about 800,000, etc. In these cities, there are a huge number of scooters and mopeds, which represents a significant market for us.
What will be the difference between working from Spain and working from the Netherlands?
I will be fully immersed in Spanish. Previously, when I traveled to Spain for one or two weeks, all meetings had to be scheduled well in advance. Now, I can approach customers and prospects much more flexibly and directly. And if a meeting needs to be rescheduled, I don’t have to wait until my next visit to Spain.
What are your goals?
Landport focuses on long-term partnerships. Some of our customers have been ordering from us for decades, and I hope to build the same strong relationships with our Spanish customers and new partners.
There are many interesting prospects in Spain for whom Landport can offer tremendous value. What these customers and prospects especially appreciate is that a representative from a Dutch battery wholesaler and importer is moving to Spain, speaks the language, and understands the culture.
Distributors of motorcycle batteries can be found throughout the country, especially in larger cities and southern Spain. For Lawn & Garden batteries, there are interesting distributors in the north. Our industrial battery range will also be highly attractive to many Spanish partners due to the quality and specifications of our products. This is another sector I will be targeting.
On a personal level, one of my main goals is to increase brand awareness for LP Batteries and Landport. That means I will be looking for strategic partners who want to feature our products prominently in their offerings.
How will collaboration with colleagues in the Netherlands continue?
Leading up to my move to Spain, I worked closely with my colleagues in the internal sales department, so the foundation is already in place. Since we now know each other well and I understand our company's processes, we have developed a strong collaboration. The same goes for colleagues in logistics, marketing, and finance.
One thing I will have to get used to is working alone and handling everything independently. That’s an exciting challenge. At the same time, I know I can always count on my colleagues in Raamsdonksveer. While our communication will now be mainly through Teams, email, or phone calls, the lines of communication remain short, so I’m confident it will work out smoothly.
Good luck and enjoy Spain, Jesse!
Thank you! I’m really looking forward to it, and I’ll keep you all updated!