Kloepfel Recruiting: Recruitment for TFL
When TFL Ledertechnik GmbH took over the organic leather chemicals business from Lanxess, there was an urgent need to fill a position at Chempark Leverkusen: Lead Buyer Technical Procurement. For a quick and straightforward solution, the company contacted Kloepfel Recruiting. Riccardo Jaffore, Head of Global Procurement at TFL, describes how the successful filling of the position took place from the customer’s point of view.
Which position were you looking to fill with the help of Kloepfel Recruiting?
We were looking for a position in technical purchasing for chemical production in the Chempark in Leverkusen, Germany. This was due to the fact that TFL was about to acquire a chemical production business unit belonging to Lanxess, which is located there. This position was vacant and we started the search with the assistance of the Kloepfel team.
What was the reason for having this vacancy?
When we started the acquisition process, one of the many tasks we had to undergo was to plan our procurement resource requirement, find gaps and ways to fill them up. Since we acquired not all of Lanxess, but only a division, some positions that were centrally organized became vacant. This was also the case for my procurement team.
Kloepfel Recruiting recruits purchasing experts for its customers. What purchasing skills should the perfect candidate in this special case „Lead Buyer LEV“ have?
We were looking for a candidate who already had some experience in procurement, preferably in technical procurement. This is different from chemical procurement, which is about sourcing raw materials for production, trade materials from other formulators and so on. Technical procurement means in our case: Non-stock-items and services like maintenance, cleaning, general services, equipment and machinery – also software! So basically all items we are not selling. Engineering background would also be helpful since of the chemical production environment. So some basic industrial and engineering competencies were absolutely necessary to judge over equipment and services.
Why did you decide to hire with external support?
With the merger of the former Lanxess business unit and TFL, there were many tasks at hand in a very tight schedule. We decided to outsource part of these tasks to third parties for reasons of capacity and efficiency. In this regard, Kloepfel Consulting was already helping us with supplier contracts. We used the opportunity to combine different services with a unique partner like Kloepfel.
What other skills and qualities were important to you when hiring?
For once, English language skills, since we are working in a global environment with an international team. But it also had to be a character fit, we were looking for candidates who were able to quickly fit into teams and also be a team player in general, because there is contact to many other departments within the company – like manufacturing, maintenance, engineering, but also supply chain, RnD, laboratory, finance etc. Regarding external contacts, the building of professional relationships with suppliers goes beyond just language skills and procurement knowledge, it’s a question of general behavior and attitude towards people. Also the skill of setting up targets and policies was important.
Which challenges did you face in filling the position?
Thanks to the Kloepfel team, I can say it was basically a piece of cake. Kloepfel preselected five or six profiles, from which we reached very quickly a shortlist of fitting candidates. When we conducted the interview with the candidate who later filled in the position, I had the right feeling from the start. A challenge could have been availably – but the chosen candidate was basically available from day one. So all in all, after leaving most of the recruiting task to the Kloepfel team, everything became incredibly easy for us.
Why did you choose Kloepfel Recruiting to assist you?
Kloepfel Consulting was already assisting us in optimization of negotiating supplier contract conditions for the newly acquired business unit. In this context, we came to know that the Kloepfel Group also offers HR-services, including recruitment. Since we were satisfied with Kloepfel Consulting assisting us in handling around 120 supplier contracts, as soon as the vacancy of the technical lead buyer in Leverkusen became clear, we decided for Kloepfel Recruiting to assist us.
How fast was the candidate introduction and selection?
It took a few months defining the candidate’s profile, because this had to be handled within the capacities the merger left to our team. Once Kloepfel Recruiting knew what to look for, the selection itself was really fast. Indeed, we hired the candidate in April, which was about three months before we officially merged with the business unit of Lanxess. So he couldn’t work on-site in Leverkusen yet. Kloepfel Recruiting also supported us here, letting him use office rooms and infrastructure at the Kloepfel Headquarters in Düsseldorf. Since Kloepfel Consulting was already involved in setting up the supplier contracts basically from scratch, they were able to give him deep insight in the procurement structure. This way, he could already get to work and be perfectly prepared before starting his job on-site in Leverkusen.
What was your personal impression of the Kloepfel Recruiting Team?
The broad knowledge of procurement recruiting was impressive, and Sarah Freitag is a pleasure to work with.
Your conclusion: how did you experience the recruiting process with Kloepfel overall?
It would be difficult to expect anything better, because everything went so unbelievably fast and the preferred candidate almost immediately proved to be the right fit professionally and personally. I can hardly believe it always works this way. But half of everything is luck, the other half being good work – and Kloepfel Recruiting worked flawlessly.
Looking back, how satisfied are you with the result of the staffing process by now?
We are perfectly satisfied. The candidate integrated very quickly in the TFL-team, works very effectively, has the necessary experience in the relevant fields and also gives great impulses on building and improving processes.
Contact:
Christopher Willson
Kloepfel Group
Tel.: 0211 941 984 33
Pempelforter Str. 50
40211 Duesseldorf
Mail: rendite@kloepfel-consulting.com