Meet KLINGER’s Sales Partners!
The majority of our customers have already been in contact with our sales partners: Those are the companies who support us in marketing our products and promoting our services. All of them act as resellers, providing expertise and onsite services. Still, some of them go far beyond that, and market products they diligently manufacture under the KLINGER license. In this series, we bring a few of our international sales partners out from behind the curtain – to give you an idea of the important work they do.
International sales partners mean many advantages for our customers:
- shorter delivery routes
- faster delivery
- flexibility
- local production, cutting or assembly as a sustainability measure
- reliability even in times of global supply bottlenecks
- service in the local language
Norwegian supplier Bagges is no stranger to longevity. Founded in 1894 in Kristiania (now Oslo), the company is honoring 130 years of operation, as well as 100 years of partnership with KLINGER. Family owned since inception, Bagges intentionally fosters partnerships with like-minded companies and customers.
“We have a high focus on long time relationships, like KLINGER. We very much like to choose companies that are a bit like us ourselves, and that means family-owned companies. I think we have a different way to work, and we understand each other better.”
Geir Gudmundsen, CEO of Bagges AS
Besides a century of business partnership with KLINGER, this philosophy is clear in other aspects of the company as well: customers also enjoy decades-long relationships, and employee retention is far longer than industry average.
Contacts mentioned in the article:
Geir Gudmundsen, Chief Executive Officer von Bagges
Stian Hagen, Vertriebsleiter bei Bagges
Embracing change
Key to the company’s success is its adaptability. Unlike many family-owned ventures, Bagges isn’t hindered by dependence on tradition or reluctance to disrupt the status quo. Instead, the firm encourages constant innovation across its portfolio and business practices. Because they embrace change instead of resisting it, the team is proficient at navigating the constantly shifting landscape of the industrial market. For example, insulation and fire protection products made from asbestos were a major part of Bagges’ catalog during the early twentieth century, but once the material’s hazards became known, the company quickly pivoted to safer and greener substitutes.
“The biggest challenge for Bagges lies in adapting to rapid changes in regulatory standards, environmental requirements, and market expectations.”
Stian Hagen, Head of Sales at Bagges AS
With customers across a wide variety of sectors, including the marine industry and aquaculture, Bagges is heavily invested in ensuring a sustainable path forward.
A green partnership
Just as they pivoted to greener materials in the past, Bagges is now working to further transform the business in response to globalization and environmental change. KLINGER plays a key role in this process, providing the valves and gaskets needed to support the rapidly evolving hydrogen electrolyzer market and other state of the art fuel systems. As the energy market continues to evolve, Bagges and KLINGER’s partnership will allow them to offer global customers a wider range of options. “It’s easy to speak about opportunities,” Stian says. “If you look at environmental change, there is big potential. You have to stay alert, and you have to be aware what is happening in the market.” Geir adds, “Every company has a big focus on ESG, and we can see a lot of possibilities.”
Fact box
Did you know…
… that Bagges values stability, with employee tenure averaging 16.2 years?
… that current employees include fourth generation family members?
… that the company is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified?
… that insulation and packings were their first products in the 1890s?
… that current offerings include valves, gaskets, pumps, level gauges, and filters?
