From 60 to 200 people: inside the Cutlite Penta sales department
In 2016 there were about sixty people at Cutlite Penta. Today there are 200, and in the meantime the job of the people in the sales department has changed from top to bottom.
The sales department is the office that turns a request for quotation into an order: it prepares the paperwork, keeps the line open with the sales reps and calls in the technical department whenever a customer asks for a machine built to measure. Carolina Delibassis and Alessia Rugi have been doing it at Cutlite Penta since 2016 and 2018.
Two different routes into the same office
“I got here in 2016. I never left this office, and I became one of the people the department relies on.”
“I joined the company in 2018 in Customer Care. After three years in after-sales, in 2021 I moved to sales. The company was expanding and needed new people in sales, but I also had a strong wish to renew myself professionally. I wanted to understand the whole life cycle of the product, to get the full picture that gives meaning to things I used to do automatically.”
Two different routes to the same desk: one from outside, one from inside. It is the second one that says something about the company, because moving from after-sales to sales means the internal path is real.
What changed in 2018, when metal became the bulk of the work
“2018 was the watershed year. Before that we mostly handled systems for plastic and dies. Then came the fiber laser cutting revolution, and it changed the way we work completely. Metal cutting systems are incredibly more sophisticated: the technical documentation became more complex, the layouts more articulated.”
“It was like learning a new language.”
Both historic divisions are still here and still working: the CO2 laser for plastic and dies. Metal was not brand new to the company, but those are the years when it became the bulk of the work in the office too.
“Luckily, experienced technicians and sales people guided us as we learned these new systems. Without their support it would have been hard to keep up with growth that fast and that unexpected.”
“Open house events, industrial trade shows and close contact with the demo area let us see the machines actually running. That gave us an understanding no manual could have given us.”
How sales, the technical department and the demo area work together
“In our work cooperation between departments is constant. The environment that has grown here is extraordinarily positive.”
“It is a perfect symbiosis. Everything starts with a request for quotation from a sales rep. When that turns into an order, we prepare all the paperwork it needs.”
“Customers often ask for customized solutions. In those cases the technical department comes in as well, to assess whether the changes are feasible.”
In practice the route is always the same:
- Request for quotation: it comes from a sales rep, with a specific customer and a specific job.
- Customization: if the customer asks for a change, the technical department assesses whether it can be done.
- Order: the request becomes an order and all the documentation starts.
- Connection: sales stays the point of contact between the reps and the other departments.
“We are essentially the connection point between the sales reps and the other departments. In our team routine is an unknown word: the biggest challenge is planning, but that unpredictability is what makes the job interesting and full of genuine human relationships.”
Why trade shows and open house events matter in a B2B market
“Industrial trade shows are intense, rewarding experiences. LAMIERA in Milan is our main appointment in Italy, followed by the show in Pordenone. The two alternate year by year.”
“We finally get to put a face to customers we may have dealt with for a whole year by phone or email. Open house events have a nature of their own: customers come to our home, and that creates a different atmosphere. There is more organizational stress up front, but you are moving inside your comfort zone.”
“A trade show is a real competitive arena, where you have to stand out among a lot of competitors.”
“They are a strategic meeting point for professionals genuinely interested in our products, and they generate quality contacts that often turn into real business relationships.”
“With Elvira D'Afiero joining, our team has grown further, and that lets us strengthen things that were already central for us: following up more effectively on the leads generated at events, taking care of every detail in the customer relationship and organizing the databases that support the sales network.”
From sixty to 200 people: what changes when you grow like that
“I would never have imagined it when I arrived, but the metalworking world has a charm of its own. Discovering the industrial processes behind components we take for granted every day is quite a discovery. And then every day is different from the one before. When I was hired we were barely sixty people: today we are 200.”
“The company offers real chances to grow professionally, as happened in my case. It asks for commitment, but the results pay the effort back.”
“The working environment is decisive: we spend most of our day here, and a cooperative climate is essential for everyone to feel good.”
“I am convinced the effort of these years will be amply repaid. The market will recognize our value more and more, because we have shown we have what it takes to compete at the highest level.” And Carolina: “Sudden growth was a challenge, but it also pushed us to evolve in the way we think. We have reached results that a few years ago were reserved for companies far older and far more structured than us.”
“Where will we be in a few years? Here, stronger, better organized and with a wider reach.”
The department keeps growing along with the company. Open positions are on the Careers page.
Frequently asked questions
How many people work at Cutlite Penta?
When Carolina Delibassis was hired, in 2016, there were about sixty. Today 200 people work at Cutlite Penta: the growth came above all when the bulk of the work moved to metal laser cutting.
What does the Cutlite Penta sales department do?
It turns a sales rep's request for quotation into an order and prepares all its documentation. It is the point of contact between the reps and the other departments, and it brings in the technical department whenever a customer asks for a customized machine.
Why was 2018 a turning point?
Because the work shifted from systems for plastic and dies to fiber laser cutting for metal. Those machines are more sophisticated: more complex technical documentation and more articulated layouts, with technical training to be redone almost from scratch.
How can you get a job at Cutlite Penta?
Open positions are on the Careers page of the website. The internal path is real: Alessia Rugi joined Customer Care in 2018 and moved to the sales department in 2021.
Behind every machine there is an office that answers you
Tell us what you need to cut: our sales department will put together a quote built around your work.
