Evan Jones | OEM Account Manager | WIKA USA
An OEM account manager at WIKA USA, Evan Jones is dedicated to helping equipment manufacturers find innovative, cost-effective measurement solutions for their industrial applications.
The key to his success is that he takes his skill set, and adds to that an ability to quickly understand customers and their pain points. He makes the time to listen, and then follows up with solid solutions. It’s not always easy.
“In my sales roles, I’ve had to manage difficult customer interactions due to Covid, supply disruptions, inflation, and price increases,” Evan says. But even in those challenging scenarios, he has been able to maintain and grow his accounts.
Rising through the ranks at WIKA USA
In 2013, a WIKA recruiter found Evan on LinkedIn and asked if he was interested in making a move. He was doing lead-gen for a smaller business in Kennesaw, Georgia, at the time, and there really wasn’t a path for growth or advancement. After his initial interview at WIKA USA, he was impressed by what he saw. Both he and his wife liked the fact that it was a private company with good values, quality products, and long-term employees.
He began as a lead generation specialist, then took over as the CRM (customer relationship management) administrator for the Americas. In that role, he worked with teams in Germany, Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. to deploy WIKA’s new platform – training sales and marketing personnel and helping to transition customers from an earlier iteration of WIKA’s online shop to its current customer portal. For his efforts, he received a Core Values Award for his diligence, abilities, and vast knowledge base. In November 2023, Evan began his current role as OEM account manager, overseeing about 20 customer accounts: three in the medical industry, one that specializes in self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), another in gas supply systems, and the rest in pumps and compressors, industrial machines, and other fields.
Building relationships based on solutions and quality products
Evan loves interacting with his customers – on the phone, by videoconferencing, and in person at their locations.
“One of my favorite parts of this job is collaborating with customers to find creative solutions to a particularly thorny problem,” he says. “And I can do this thanks to the engineering support and customization that we offer our customers. There are so many manufacturers who make widgets – and that’s all they do. But not only are WIKA’s standard products already customizable, with a wide choice of materials and process connections and whatnot, we work with so many OEM customers to engineer products to fit their unique designs and needs. In my job, I get to play a role in making that happen, helping them innovate and bring important – even lifesaving – products to the marketplace.”
He adds that another key differentiator is the reliability and durability of WIKA products. “I think the market speaks volumes to our quality, and this is something I bring up often when I talk with current and potential customers. Paying slightly more for quality products today means that you pay less over time. Not only do you save money by not having to replace parts as often, but you’re also minimizing downtime – which is super expensive – and avoiding the safety and health hazards that can come from using cheaply produced products in critical applications.”
When he’s not helping OEM customers with solutions to their industrial challenges, Evan can be found spending time with his wife and two kids, serving in their church and community, hiking, traveling, and watching football.
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