San Diego, United States: Southeast Asian dealers were recognised for their excellence at Jacobsen’s 2016 Awards Ceremony during the Golf Industry Show.
The premier award of the evening, the APAC Dealer of the Year award, was presented to Shriro Trading Vietnam Company Ltd by Chuck Greif, Jacobsen’s APAC Managing Director.
Prior to handing over the award, he said: “Although only in business since 2012, Shriro has been able to take an area that had nearly no Jacobsen sales and grow the Jacobsen brand to a highly significant market share in 2015.
“With a 500-fold increase in sales on 2014, Shriro captured every new golf course opening in 2015 and are poised to match that feat in 2016. Highly aware that it takes parts and service support to grow market share numbers, they have invested significant time and expense to keep their personnel fully trained and also training golf course staff to ensure that their Jacobsen equipment is serviced to the correct standards and operated safely. Shriro Vietnam is truly deserving of the APAC 2015 Dealer of the Year award.”
One of Shriro Vietnam’s staff members, Ly Trieu Van, known universally across the Jacobsen network as Vincent, also received a Jacobsen APAC Pacesetter award.
Presenting his engraved crystal glass plaque to his colleague Ngo Chien, Greif said: “Vincent has demonstrated the pacesetter mentality and work ethic over the past two years, understanding the growing needs of the golf market in Vietnam. Working not only with superintendents, but building relationships with the key purchasing personnel.
“Keen to make sure the customer is very well taken care of with service, parts and back-up, Vincent captured the only four new golf projects in 2015, with two of them opening in 2015 and two scheduled to open in 2016. At the same time he worked diligently to keep his current customer base satisfied, while working the conquest accounts as set out in the business plan.”
The second Jacobsen APAC Pacesetter award was presented to Masakazu Tamura of Japanese distributor, Mikuni Corporation.
Greif said: “Working in Tokyo where there is more concrete then grass and with over 30 million people, Masakazu must have a well-planned day. This is not just something that happens overnight; over the past few years he has spent countless hours understanding his territory’s machinery share, knowing what products are at each golf course and knowing what products are scheduled to turn over annually.
“By having this data at his fingertips, he is able to work his territory efficiently and achieve the objectives of year over year growth and achieving sales in the seven figures. Truly a pacesetter mentality and work ethic.”
Continuing an excellent evening for Mikuni Corporation, they were also presented with the Jacobsen APAC Excellence in Marketing award.
Recognising their achievement, Karen Proctor, Ransomes Jacobsen’s Marketing and Communications Manager-International, said: “Mikuni are extremely proactive at promoting the Jacobsen brand in their territory. In 2015 they supported 18 golf tournaments, proving their dedication and commitment to the local golf industry.

“Mikuni also created a series of road shows to solely promote the new Jacobsen Truckster XD. This was immensely successful and resulted in over 30 orders. Their commitment is also evident in the non-golf market, where they have successfully marketed the Pro Turf range.”
There was further recognition for Mikuni Corporation when Keisuke Nagasawa was called to the podium to collect a framed certificate in appreciation of 45 years loyal service to the Jacobsen brand.
Completing the recognition of the Southeast Asia distributors was the APAC Parts award presented to Seo Won Company Ltd of South Korea.
Explaining the rationale behind the award, Jason King, Ransomes Jacobsen’s Customer Care Director said: “I am very pleased to present this award to Seo Won in recognition of their parts promotion programme and their growth as Jacobsen distributor for just over five years. Recognising the importance of this important part of their business, they grew their parts sales last year by a significant amount to complement their whole goods sales performance.
“Their ambition to become the number one service and parts provider in the country demonstrates they truly recognise the importance of after-sales support.”
A Textron Inc company, Jacobsen is an Executive Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation.