Xcellence names directors to drive European expansion

Xcellence Display Solutions has appointed Tim de Ruiter and Martin Ware to lead its new European division, marking a push to expand its presence across the region.

De Ruiter has been named Commercial Director and Ware Managing Director. Based in the Netherlands and the UK respectively, they bring almost 50 years of combined experience in professional AV sales and management.

The appointments come as Xcellence builds on operations in the United States, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Europe is the latest focus for the Dubai-founded display manufacturer as it expands its channel and customer network.

As part of that effort, the company has opened offices in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, adding to its existing bases in New York, Dubai, and Hong Kong.

Xcellence makes commercial display products including dvLED, interactive displays, digital signage, professional monitors, brackets, and AV software. It says it has completed more than 50,000 projects in more than 110 countries, supplying customers including Adidas, Emirates, Rolls-Royce, JCDecaux, and Prada.

As it enters the European market, the company is also highlighting its manufacturing model. Products are designed, engineered, manufactured, tested, and supported in-house, with production centred on a 235,000 sq ft facility handling both standard and customised work.

That structure is central to the sales message de Ruiter and Ware will take into Europe. Over the past three months, they have developed a channel strategy aimed at distributors, resellers, and integrators.

European build-out

Ware said Xcellence believes there is room in the European market for a manufacturer offering more direct access to engineering and production teams.

"With Xcellence, the rules and perception of what a global display manufacturer can deliver have been rewritten. For customers that have been forced to scale back, make compromises or even shelve their expectations in the past, this is a gamechanger," said Martin Ware, Managing Director, Xcellence.

For customers seeking products outside a standard range, its engineering teams can adapt displays to suit specific environments and technical requirements. Customisation options include size, form factor, brightness, enclosures, indoor or outdoor use, brackets, branding, and software.

Xcellence says some bespoke projects can be turned around in as little as 20 days from the initial consultation. The company is positioning that offer as a point of difference in a crowded professional display market, where many suppliers rely on third-party manufacturing or rebadged products.

"We engineer, manufacture, test and support every display and product we make, end to end, worldwide," said Ware. "This structure enables us to support partners with consistency, speed and direct access to the teams behind the technology."

Channel focus

De Ruiter will lead the commercial side of the European push, focusing on partner relationships and market development. The regional strategy is intended to give customers access to both standard products and customised displays, alongside technical support.

"Xcellence is able to meet the needs of European businesses in ways that many traditional display manufacturers do not. No matter how bespoke a customer's needs, we have a solution to ensure their ambitions are achieved - even if that solution doesn't yet exist at the beginning of the conversation," said Tim de Ruiter, Commercial Director, Xcellence.

The company employs nearly 2,000 people globally, including research and development teams. It works across sectors including retail, hospitality, finance, corporate workplaces, education, transport, and public spaces.

Its approach is to let customers specify products around project requirements rather than limit them to a fixed catalogue. That is likely to shape its European sales effort as it looks to grow through channel partnerships rather than a direct-only route to market.

De Ruiter said that combination of established manufacturing and customer choice would be central to the company's pitch in Europe. "Customers want the reliability and capabilities of a proven global manufacturer, but they also want choice, flexibility and direct access to the people behind the technology. Xcellence provides all three," he said.

Ware added: "At Xcellence, we own the line, not just the logo. Our displays are designed, developed and engineered by our European and wider global R&D teams to meet worldwide standards of precision, compliance, performance, and a commitment to long-term reliability. Xcellence delivers everything you would expect from a premium professional display manufacturer, but with a customer-centric approach at a level you've never seen before."