The company
MAHLWERK builds industrial shredders and granulators for the recycling industry — around 180 employees, family-owned, exporting to more than 20 countries. Poland was its fastest-growing enquiry market: a steady stream of leads, but nobody on the ground to turn them into orders.
The challenge
The first hire in a new market has no local team, no brand recognition and no playbook. The profile had to combine a network in the Polish waste and recycling sector with the patience for 6–12 month capital-equipment sales cycles — and the independence to build a country organisation from a home office.
Our approach
Our Warsaw team systematically mapped the Polish recycling and environmental-technology sector: 124 relevant profiles across competitors, plant operators and adjacent machinery segments. We approached candidates directly in Polish, screened for market-entry experience, and presented a first shortlist of four profiles within six days. In parallel, we advised MAHLWERK on salary benchmarks and a market-standard bonus model for Poland.
The result
The contract was signed in week seven. Nine candidates were presented in total, four reached the final round. The first major order closed in month five — and by the end of year one, the new Country Manager had already hired two service technicians.
“Within a week we had profiles on the table that we could not have found ourselves in a year. The quality of the shortlist decided this search.”
