The official opening of the first Clark Dealer Support Centre took place in France on 8 October, 2009. Despite the pouring rain, around 50 invited guests from the French dealerships travelled to Lyon to attend the festivities.
Oh behalf of Clark, Egon Strehl, Managing Director of Clark Europe GmbH, Dennis Lawrence, Managing Director of Clark Material Handling Co. in the USA and Seung Soo Baik, Managing Director of Clark Material Handling International in Korea, were present to wish Alberto Argudo, the General Manager of the newly founded subsidiary Clark France sarl, all the best and every success for the Dealer Support Centre in person.
They had planned the Dealer Support Centre project together and now they also cut the red ribbon together to mark its opening. In his speech, S.S. Baik emphasised the importance of the French market for Clark and stressed the fact that the support centre would create a proximity to customers which is essential to deliver the best possible levels of communication and support. “Especially in these difficult times, it is very important to us to show our partners that we are there for them when they have questions and problems, said Baik, as the representative of the parent company. Of course, this is true for all markets, which is why the foundation of further support centres in the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Great Britain is planned for coming years. “The current crisis will not prevent us from moving ahead with our expansion. After all, by doing so we invest in the future of the Clark company and its partners."
In late afternoon, just in time for the group photograph, the sun came out - a good omen.