→ The new showroom in Johannesburg was officially opened by the Ambassador of Switzerland, Helene Budliger Artieda (left) who was joined by Ronald van Triest, Member of the Group Executive Board and Erwin Kaelin (right), Head of Developing Markets.
Geberit Johannesburg hosted 300 of their esteemed customers at a gala evening at their new premises in Longmeadow earlier this year, in celebration of the official opening of the new state-of-the-art facility as well as celebrating ten years as Geberit Southern Africa. “Time goes by. Quality remains.” was the campaign for 2017 and perfectly matched Geberit Southern Africa’s events and big reveal celebrations. Guests were welcomed into the new warehouse where they were treated to cocktails and canapes whilst an exciting aerial silk dance routine unfolded high above the racking system, highlighting the sheer volume of the new warehouse. The Goliath Titans and the band Swing City entertained to reinforce the whole theme of “Time goes by. Quality remains.” All around the welcome area were large easels with historic pictures of Geberit through the ages, clearly showing how time goes by and quality remains. One area had photographs of the very beginning of Geberit, dating back to 1874, when the company was known as Gebert after the founder Caspar Melchior Gebert.
And the journey continues ... Erwin Kaelin, Head of Developing Markets, gave a moving speech on the history of Geberit, focussing on the journey of Geberit in the South African market. He has been involved in establishing Geberit in Southern Africa from before it all started and he shared with everyone his first experiences and interactions with the various people and businesses who were actively involved in marketing of this unknown Swiss brand – Geberit, back in the early 1980s and 1990s: from the first projects, to agencies and distributors to first the first premises and trainings, leading up to the eventual acquisition of AMS by the Geberit Group in 2007. Erwin always had a dream to bring a piece of Switzerland to South Africa and this year his dream has finally been realised with the impressive hydraulic drainage tower, a simulation of the facility located at the Geberit head office training centre in Jona, Switzerland. In addition, as Geberit Southern Africa is the launch market for the new Geberit bathroom series which encompasses manufactured and Geberit branded ceramics and bathroom furniture, a purpose built, architecturally designed, state-of-the-art showroom was officially unveiled and opened; designed to enhance the all-inclusive Geberit Bathroom Collection.
↑ Aerial silk dance routine in the warehouse.
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