What some of my clients say:
Albert has proven to give sound 'Practical Advise that works' over a number of years and at my request continues to do so. He has in time negotiated on my behalf, initiated a complete reorganization and assisted in creating it and last but not least organized sales from the beginning to where it stands now. In due course the company was able to move to new facilities remaining in the 'old' in another functionality. As a result the company continues to show a profit in a tough and harsh market.
Jaap Hardeman, Hardeman Betimmeringen BV, Lunteren
Albert has given me 'Practical Advise that works' for a number of years. Not only was it a pleasure to work with him, the advise provided has in reality proven worthwhile in an organizational sense and in results achieved.
Walter van Arkesteijn, Innofaith Beauty Services BV, Eindhoven
For some time now Albert assists me with 'Practical Advise that works' His advise not only deals with the organization but with our sales approach, next to financing opportunities and assistance with recruiting. It is possible to receive sound advise on all matters and issues that I find in my daily practice, be they change of office location, change of suppliers, advise about contracts and agreements; all these matters can be put forward and a sound advise, either in a meeting, by telephone or in writing will come forward.
Henk-Jan Angerman, Secwatch bv, Almere
Toscano Mobil is a furniture manufacturer in Murcia, Spain, producing high quality furniture with a global market (Spain, UK, Ireland, Eastern Europe, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, India, Arab Emirates,...).
The company, a family business, needed to re-structure the family equation, setting the strategy for the next years, and the basis for securing this strategy. Thus, in this process, the company defined and implemented a family protocol, transition plan, strategic plan, but also an organizational and process system.
In words of Francisco Muñoz, "Alberto helped Toscano Mobil in many ways. His contribution was especially important for setting the basis for the future, from both the family and the company perspective".
Magriet Guiver, IIB Graduate and MD of Guiver Freeman provides advice to US company with regard to dealing with their Works Council in the Netherlands.
Due to important differences in labour laws, there had been some difficulties in the implementation of certain decisions of the US management. This had caused the relationship with the Dutch Works Council to become very strained. Both parties wished for an improvement in the relationship. We acted as mediator and later as independent consultant, which resulted in a better mutual understanding and in the satisfactory completion of several consultation and consent procedures.
Graduate of the IIB and MD of Pegasus Funding Resources a nationwide organisation specialising in helping companies with cash flow difficulties was approached by a fellow IIB Associate to help one of his clients who had received an order that they could not afford to fulfill.
The order was from the Ministry of Defense. The goods were ready for shipment from China and the MOD was expecting them to arrive without delay. Their original source of funds, their Bank, had let them down and they needed to raise £360,000 and only had a week to raise the funds.
There was no time to arrange the normal round of Bank meetings and credit committee deliberations so a funder needed to be found that would conduct the normal negotiations by phone, fax and email and who was prepared to move quickly. The funds were raised within 5 working days and the only time the management team met the Bank was to sign the actual documents and drawdown of funds took place the next day.
The client was happy and commented: 'In the present market conditions getting a loan so quickly and in this manner proves the strength and professionalism of Pegasus's network of contacts'
Peter Kroeger, IIB graduate and MD of Kroeger & Co. Leamington Spa, UK. Kroeger and Co. supports OLM Group secure controlling stake in Hytec Information Security.
OLM Group, the UK's largest independent supplier of information solutions for children's and adult care services, has invested in Hytec Information Security Ltd to procure a controlling stake. "Hytec retained the services of Peter Kroeger, a specialist in mergers and acquisition, to find partners interested in meeting our objectives as owner managers", said David Bryant. "Peter Kroeger provided a full service to us, preparing all of our external documentation, researching potential suitors, and bringing companies to meet us who were genuinely interested in what we have to offer. He chaired all of our initial meetings and helped us sell ourselves and the company to best advantage. "We were afforded the luxury of choice from several very good options and he did this in a way that created goodwill on all sides. He kept everyone on track through the due diligence and contract negotiation stages. This was achieved under a pressured deadline before the end of the 2008 tax year. We are extremely satisfied with his help, advice and professionalism throughout.... and the end result!"
Steve Carey, IIB Graduate and MD of Breakout Business Services, supports the growth of a leading Australian trade publisher wanting to launch a new range of titles in a specialised non-fiction area.
The problem was getting the ball rolling when existing staff were fully loaded and taking on new staff for an as-yet non-existent project was not an option. We were called in to define the potential of the new market, analyse competitor presence and strategy, and outline attributes and tactics for recent bestsellers.
We recommended six topic areas we demonstrated would reward investment in the new market, detailing key titles to form the backbone of the list. As a direct result of our research the Publisher was confident enough to begin commissioning titles in the topic areas we had specified.
Trevor Wyborn, IIB Graduate and MD of Upwards Spiral helps South African Medical Publisher struggling to grow their international business.
By using the strength of the IIB network it was possible to identify, employ and train agents is seven international countries.
Initially we where tied to English speaking countries but found it to be easier to setup relationships and agreements with countries a little different from the norm. Agencies have been setup in Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Croatia, where the language is not English. As a result the publisher has been able to increase there client base by almost 400% and is now able to produce copy in four languages.
The biggest benefit is that the same research work can be used in four languages thus cutting the production time significantly. With a completed development of a new website it is possible for client companies to participate in the creation of each new newsletter rather than having copy moving backwards and forwards for sign-off and approval. The result is that production now take weeks less than before.