Thierry Lambot, founder of French distributor Tecmar, has retired and handed over the management of the company to his son Martin.
Thierry’s marine career involved managing the French branch of the Lewmar for 26 years before leaving and founding the La Rochelle based company 13 years ago in 2011 with his wife and two friends.
Since then, the company has continued to grow, both in new territories and new markets. Key achievements include the opening of an electrical department in 2012 and then a plumbing department in 2018, expanding a network of technical sales representatives located throughout France and the opening of new offices in Antibes.
Tecmar currently represents around 30 brands and more than 3,500 customers.
“My personal commitment to ensuring the success of Tecmar has always been very important and it is with complete confidence that I hand over the company to my son today,” said Thierry. “His desire to continue the values that I have upheld is a source of satisfaction and an assurance for our partners of successful future collaborations.”
Martin studied international trade specialising in purchasing and innovations and worked supplying high added value products, notably at Total where he was in charge of sourcing electronic components for batteries.
He joined Tecmar as purchasing manager and over the course of six years, gradually expanded the scope of his activities: first with suppliers, then with customers, and finally in the overall management of the company.
The acquisition of Tecmar on his father’s retirement presented itself as a logical continuation of this development.
He is set to build on the distributor’s dynamic further, with plans to continue expanding into emerging markets, particularly the industrial market, while maintaining Tecmar’s DNA of technical expertise and providing a service to continue to meet tailor-made needs.
“I will attach great importance to preserving the soul of Tecmar,” he said. “We have been able to build a real relationship of trust with our customers by mobilising ourselves on a daily basis to provide them with tailor-made solutions. Even if I commit to new projects, this will remain one of my priorities.”
Martin will work alongside his brother Pierre-Philippe Dangaly who is head of logistics and stores and a team of around 20 employees based at the head office in Sainte-Soulle and Antibes.
One of his first projects will be installing photovoltaic panels to supply the company’s premises with solar energy.