Employee Spotlight - Ferran Prat, EMEA Business Development Manager, PEM® Europe
What inspired your career path?
My career path began at the age of 16, when I worked in a tool shop for a Tier 1 automotive company. I enjoyed it and learned a lot about CNC machining, production, application engineering, and more – and went on to earn a Mechanical Engineering degree. With support from PEM®, I also completed an Executive Master in Marketing and Sales (EMMS) at ESADE Business School in Barcelona.
What is your role?
I joined PEM® in 2010 as Iberia Territory Manager and have held different roles over the years. In my current role as EMEA Business Development Manager, I support the growth of the PEM® EU market – strategizing with our internal teams and distribution partners to expand our business with new customers and new application solutions. This includes overseeing team resources in Germany and in newer markets such as Turkey, Israel, South Africa and the Middle East.
Tell us about the services provided by you and your team?
Our teams are on the front lines, working closely with our customers to develop new fastening innovations that help them overcome their toughest challenges. We are not just producing fasteners – we are truly a full-service partner. Our engineers collaborate directly with our customers’ R&D teams and process engineers, helping to design new solutions that improve product performance and reliability while optimizing production costs.
How does PennEngineering give customers a competitive advantage?
We are the only company that can support customers throughout all production phases – from prototype development all the way to fastener insertion and product assembly. Our market recognition and reputation are unmatched. Early successes with new customers lead to long-standing collaborative relationships and even more successes.
What excites you most about the future of fastening solutions?
The industry is always evolving, which is exciting. There are always new materials and new coatings to explore, and there are always new customer specifications to meet and exceed across all the industries we work with – from industrial, to microelectronics, to AE/EV.
It’s also exciting to see the advancements we are making in our system sell offerings, such as Haeger® and PEMSERTER® in-die insertion machines, which can easily and seamlessly integrate into our customers’ production lines to reduced total installed costs and improve assembly times. New innovations that are currently in development will give our customers an even greater competitive advantage.