Hammer tools up in Germany

Distributor cuts the ribbon on second continental office in nine months

Storage distributor Hammer has opened its sixth regional office in an effort to demonstrate its commitment to the European market.

The new Munich office marks the second opening of an extra base within nine months, following the launch of its Paris hub last year.

On top of its Basingstoke headquarters, Hammer now has local offices in Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and now Germany.

From its new Munich base, some 80 per cent of its vendor portfolio can be sold, and the firm hopes its local presence will attract new business with German and Austrian customers.

The move comes less than one year after the distie hired its first European sales director, Eddy Bergiers, to drive growth across the region.

"Our goal is to become, as in the other European countries where we have offices, the leading player in the distribution of storage and server solutions," said Bergiers.

"We believe there are huge opportunities in this new territory and with our experienced team in place I'm convinced that we will have no problem in emulating our success in this region."

It is not just new offices which Hammer is launching on the continent as its once UK-only event Storage Focus has been taken to Belgium, the Netherlands and the Nordic region.

Hammer's managing director James Ward said the expansion of its physical presence in Europe proves its commitment to local growth.

"To be expanding our physical presence into two countries in the space of nine months further demonstrates Hammer's commitment to growing and supporting our European business, and our recognition of the part local offices play in our continuing objective to be the strongest value-add distributor in Europe," he said.

"We are looking forward to capitalising on the opportunities which the German market presents, which we will embrace with the superior storage tool kit which Hammer has honed for over 20 years."