Van Straaten invests further in international growth

AMSTERDAM - Sept. 1, 2015 - PRLog -- Van Straaten (http://www.vanstraaten.com/), specialist in innovative visual communication, continues to pursue its international expansion strategy. Van Straaten recently opened a branch office in Germany in order to gain better access to the business potential in the ‘DACH’ market comprising Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Mr Frank Zeuch has been appointed as General Manager / Geschäftsführer. Earlier, Van Straaten had already acquired Cees Smit Worldwide, a leading specialist in textile constructions, with which the company gained access to the US live communication and exhibits market.

Van Straaten is one of the largest service providers in the visual communication market with a strong focus on internationally operating retailers, expo experts and event organizers. The growth of its international activities has now resulted in a Van Straaten branch office in Germany. Van Straaten aims to serve international customers that are based in Germany, Austria and Switzerland from this office. Van Straaten's head office near Schiphol will remain the centre from which international account managers and segment specialists provide services to customers operating in other European countries.

Customers operating outside Europa are served through Cees Smit Worldwide (http://www.ceessmit.com/), a company acquired by Van Straaten two years ago. Cees Smit Worldwide is an international supplier of Creative Fabric Solutions for Tradeshows & Interiors, Visual Branding and Events. The company is an expert in, amongst others, organic canvas constructions. Van Straaten has gained access to the high-potential US market with this acquisition. Over the past two years, Cees Smit Worldwide has developed into a flourishing business division in the US with customers such as Sony Pictures and Microsoft.

Niels van Straaten, CEO: "The expansion in Germany marks a new step in our internationalisation strategy that Van Straaten has formulated for the longer term. More and more companies are starting to operate internationally. We are keeping pace with this development. Thus customers, such as retailers with locations in various countries, can work together with one partner for the visual merchandising of all of their branches in Europe. There is a lot of demand for innovation in the market and I see that our solutions are valued very highly by customers worldwide."