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NGK Spark Plug Europe supplies a wide
range of glow plugs, spark plugs, lambda
sensors, ignition coils and leads, exhaust gas
temperature sensors and air flow meters. Its
new warehouse has more than 100 employees
and is able to quickly and efficiently deliver
the more than 5,000 products the company
delivers each day.
Damien joined NGK in 2012 as
Executive Director of the European
Aftermarket business, before taking on his
current role in 2014. In April 2017, NGK’s
Europe office became the regional
headquarters for EMEA and Damien’s
responsibility was extended to cover this
region. “We created a supervisory and an
executive board at the same time to govern
the region,” Damien says. “And I’m a
member of both boards.”
NGK Spark Plug was first established
in Japan in 1936 and has since expanded
worldwide. Its EMEA region was formed
with the aim of creating more unity among
its subsidiaries. “We put the regional
headquarters in place for speedier decision
making because, in the past, NGK Middle
East and South Africa had separate reporting
lines to Japan,” Damien says. “It was a very
long reporting line to global headquarters.”
NGK has built a strong customer base
in EMEA over the years and continues to
support those customers through its online
platform TekniWiki. This portal provides
technical information, installation videos and
interactive e-learning applications on NGK
and NTK products, and is available free of
charge. “We want to make the technical
knowledge that we have accessible to
anyone,” Damien says.
He adds that it has generated a positive
response. “The platform is very much
appreciated by customers because there
are few opportunities for live, face-to-face
technical training. There was a need for
a more efficient, time-saving and less
costly alternative for providing technical
information and training. At the same time,
the need for training and support has been
constantly rising due to the increased
complexity of car maintenance. Digital
was definitely the way to go.”
NGK has embraced innovation and uses its strength
in this area to support car manufacturers in their challenge
to reduce carbon emissions.
“There seems to be a trend towards electric mobility
now,” Damien says. “At the same time, many issues are
yet to be resolved to master this change in technology, such
as access to clean energy or to rare materials to produce
batteries for those electric cars. Even if we see a change
in the mid-term regarding technology, we believe that our
products will remain relevant for a while. To prepare for
change, we will focus on sensor technology – this is
a growing and important market.”
Further, NGK has been supporting car manufacturers
with the downsizing of engines. “To do this, we’ve got
a technical centre which is equipped with the latest
testing systems needed to adapt to all the requirements
of the automobile industry,” Damien says.
Heading into the future, he says the company will focus
on the sensor segments, launching new product lines and
further growth opportunities. “Overall, we are now looking
at EMEA and some of the emerging markets that we have
in our region – typically in the Middle East and Africa. We
have a strategic objective to grow our market share in those
developing markets.”After working in executive-level roles for
several years in the automotive industry, these
are Damien’s words of wisdom.“Stay true to yourself. That’s something I have
learned over the past years. For me, the most
important thing for an authentic manager is
to show his/her values and to speak true. It is
about being congruent, that is to say, the gap
between what I am, what I say and what I do
is as small as possible. If there is a coherence
between what I really am, my convictions and
what I post, I am convinced that people feel it
and that it is a factor of commitment.”Authenticity
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