Fenti Kertasari

Location	Van Leeuwen Distribution Indonesia
Position	Managing Director
At Van Leeuwen since	2001
Age	49

Fenti Kertasari started off as a salesperson at Van Leeuwen Distribution Indonesia in 2001. She rose to become the company’s Managing Director. She is above all proud of her team. ‘Our colleagues make the greatest possible effort to provide customers with the best quality pipes and tubes, and service. This is crucial in our business where being a reliable partner determines your success.’

‘In 2001, when I started as salesperson at Benteler Distribution Indonesia we were four employees,’ says Fenti. ‘As a small team we tried to gain a foothold in this region. We primarily focused our efforts on the Process & Power segment, because this is where the best opportunities were. We now serve a large number of customers. We focus on the distribution of pipes and tubes to customers such as the palm oil industry, sugar plants, power plants and refineries.’

Starting small

‘I considered it a challenge to start ‘small’ and to help the company grow. It gave me the opportunity of learning all of the business aspects in depth. Over the years I more or less carried out all of the possible tasks within the company,’ says the Managing Director. ‘Ranging from sales to procurement, and from order processing to organizing logistics. You learn a lot very quickly in actual practice. It is exactly because I now know what every function entails and what you are likely to be confronted with as employee that I am able to effectively manage the team and the business processes. I am currently managing thirteen employees.’

New business

‘As manager you of course always look to see how things can be improved. For example, I am working on a plan to acquire new business. The markets in which we are operating are becoming increasingly more challenging. We are affected by rising oil and gas prices, for example, but we are also confronted with changing import requirements. This is why we are expanding our outlook and investigating how we can generate new business in other segments. The fact that we form part of a large international company is a big help in this regard. Our collective strength is that together we have access to many high-quality stocks, a global network of warehouses, extensive supply chain and project expertise, and a strong network of suppliers and logistics partners. At Van Leeuwen we help and learn from each other.’

Drive and commitment

Fenti can also count on the maximum drive and commitment of Van Leeuwen Distribution Indonesia’s employees. ‘We have a highly committed and driven team. They are the pivot of our company. Colleagues possess the right professional knowledge and excellent communication skills and are committed to the company. I could not ask for a better team. For example, during the corona pandemic we still managed to book a number of great new orders for projects at power plants and sugar plants. We succeeded in doing this by going all out. We not only make promises to our customers, we also deliver on our promises. Customers will only come back to you if you are a reliable partner.’