Walter USA Responds to Regional Growth with Personnel Changes

The changes include the appointments of a managing director and a national sales director to handle continued growth in the Americas region.

Walter USA (Waukesha, WI), a leading manufacturer of cutting tools, has announced the appointment of Kim Seidelman to managing director and Jeff Kraez to national sales director.

The announcement was made by Muff Tanriverdi, the president of Walter Americas, who will continue to manage all of the subsidiaries under Region Americas, which include Walter USA, Walter Canada, Walter Mexico, Walter Brazil and Walter Argentina.

Seidelman will report directly to Tanriverdi, who says, “Our business in the U.S. has expanded and grown faster than planned, and consequently, so did our other operating companies in North and South America. The growth to current volumes and the demands of these markets now necessitates an organization of the region and therefore, these appointments.”

Seidelman joined Walter through the Valenite integration in 2010 as the director of sales for key accounts. He started his career as a sales engineer with a distributor in Wisconsin and has over 27 years of experience in the metal cutting tool industry with a progression of responsibilities, from district manager, regional sales manager and OEM manager to business unit director for engines and components in North America and connected global markets.

Kraez, the current sales director for distribution for Walter USA, will now be leading the entire sales force and reporting to Seidelman. He joined Walter through the Titex integration in 2006 and started his career as the director of sales for Titex and Prototyp.

Kraez has over 18 years of experience in the metal working industry and has held many roles including field sales, applications, engineering, product management and sales management. All of these announcements became effective June 1.

Walter offers an extensive line up of cutting tools for milling, drilling, turning, boring and specialized tooling for unique applications through its competence brands Walter Valenite, Walter Titex and Walter Prototyp. As well as multi-level service programs through its Walter Multiply brand.

Headquartered in Waukesha, the company has a strong network of distributors and field engineers across Americas. The Walter name is synonymous with productivity, thanks to more than 80 years of developing cutting tools and inserts that set new standards in quality, innovation and production. www.walter-tools.com/us