Location: United States / Remote, with regular customer and business travel
Business Unit: Glass Fiber Tissue (GFT)
About the roleWe are looking for a commercially driven
Sales Manager - Glass Fiber Tissue (GFT), North America to grow our business and strengthen customer relationships across the region.
This is an exciting time to join our GFT business. With recent investment in state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities at our Madisonville, Kentucky facility, we are well positioned to pursue new customers, applications and growth opportunities across Americas. This is a hands-on sales role combining
new customer acquisition, account management and disciplined sales execution. You will manage relationships with existing and prospective customers, identify new opportunities and lead them through the full commercial journey, from initial customer need and technical development through qualification, negotiation and recurring orders.
Working closely with customers and colleagues across Product Development & Technical Customer Service, Operations and Quality, you will turn customer needs into commercially successful solutions.
The role has a broad North American focus, giving you the opportunity to pursue customers, applications and markets where GFT can create the gretest value and sustainable growth.
What you will doGrow the business- Deliver sales, volume, margin and growth objectives across North America
- Actively identify, prospect and develop new customers and business opportunities
- Grow existing accounts through new products, applications and customer programmes
- Build and maintain a strong pipeline and convert opportunities into sustainable business
Own customer relationships- Build strong, long-term relationships with key commercial and technical stakeholders
- Understand customers' businesses, applications, priorities and evolving needs
- Lead pricing, quotations, commercial agreements and negotiations
- Act as the primary commercial link between customers and Ahlstrom
Lead the sales process- Own opportunities from prospecting and initial discussions through trials, qualification, negotiation and commercial orders
- Maintain disciplined follow-up, clear next steps and momentum throughout the sales cycle
- Maintain accurate pipeline and forecast information and contribute to commercial planning
- Monitor sales and profitability and take action when performance deviates from plan
Turn opportunities into commercial business- Partner with Product Development & Technical Customer Service to translate customer needs into viable solutions
- Coordinate the commercial side of customer trials, samples, qualifications and new-product introductions
- Work with Operations and Quality to balance customer expectations with manufacturing capabilities
- Collaborate with Product Management on new applications and growth opportunities
- Bring the right internal teams together to move opportunities from development to successful commercialisation
What we are looking for- Bachelor's degree in business, engineering, science or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience
- Experience from similar B2B sales, account management or business development, within a technical or manufacturing environment
- Demonstrated ability to win new business and develop long-term customer relationships
- Strong understanding of sales pipeline management, forecasting, pricing and commercial negotiations
- Ability to navigate technical sales processes involving product development, trials, qualifications and multiple stakeholders
- Strong commercial judgement with the ability to balance customer needs, profitability and operational capabilities
- Excellent communication, presentation and negotiation skills
- A self-driven, persistent approach and willingness to take ownership from first contact through commercial execution
- Ability and willingness to travel regularly across North America
What will make you successfulYou enjoy
selling and developing business, not simply maintaining an existing portfolio.
You're comfortable opening doors with new customers, asking the right questions and staying close to opportunities until they become business. At the same time, you understand that successful industrial sales are built on trust, technical credibility and consistent follow-through.
You can move comfortably between a strategic customer discussion and the practical work required to get a trial, quotation or order across the finish line.
Above all,
you take ownership. You know your customers, know your pipeline, follow through on commitments and bring the right people together to deliver results.
