Man at the Top

Mr. Jan Klomp has been appointed as the new Group Managing Director for Imperial Bathroom Products Ltd., which includes the responsibility for UK distribution company Impulse Bathroom Products Ltd. Jan succeeds Michael Keegan who has decided to return home to the UK after 14 years with Imperial Bathroom Products Limited to enjoy life after a career spanning over 40 years in the bathroom industry with Ideal Standard, Armitage Shanks, Lecico, Hardy and American Standard.

Jan Klomp has over 20-years experience in the sanitaryware and plastics industries worldwide but particularly in Europe and Australia, most recently running a highly successful kitchen franchise company in Australia. Prior to this he was General Manager of the Wisa Group in the Netherlands where he ran their group activities as a division of the Sphinx group.

When Wisa was acquired by GWA Australia / Caroma Industries he became Managing Director of the European group activities with the specific role of changing the business from an in-house supplier in the Sphinx group to a Sales and Market driven entity, which he achieved with very considerable success. Jan will be based at the company's head office in Hong Kong, and intends to be actively involved in the production facility in China and visiting all the group companies on a regular basis.

He takes over as Group Managing Director of Imperial Bathrooms following a period of dynamic and successful growth for the company including the company's expansion into the UK market. Jan sees his role as overseeing further development of production facilities and the latest manufacturing technology in China and in particular to expand the sales and marketing network in all area's.

‘The UK is a big market for the group’ says Jan ‘with 12-years experience operating in the UK, the Impulse Bathrooms brand has become a significant name and has been part of the challenge to longstanding UK manufacturers. We see great potential to increase our presence in retail and trade sectors and have introduced a wide range of new products to ensure we achieve this objective. I am looking forward to working with the highly professional teams in our key markets to continue our ambitious growth plans.’

UK General Manager Gary Hawkins adds ‘With his worldwide experience in the bathroom market, we are fortunate to have Jan's knowledge at our disposal as we develop Impulse Bathrooms presence in the UK. The recent introduction of baths and brassware ranges to add to our ceramic suites is a major development as we can now offer complete bathrooms suites designed specifically to bring something a little different into the UK marketplace and to give good margins for retailers. Jan is joining the company at a very interesting time and his expertise will be instrumental in developing new ideas and business concepts for the benefit of the whole group.’

Web: http://www.impulsebathrooms.co.uk