“I feel it’s a privilege to work for Filtermist; the fact that we design and manufacture products that are having a direct impact on the quality of people’s lives and in some instances even saving lives, is motivation enough for me.”
Kerstar Product Manager Ben Kimpton joined Filtermist nearly four years ago as a Design Engineer, working on projects including developing a dedicated entry level product range for specific overseas markets.
In 2019 Ben became the Product Manager for Filtermist’s Kerstar brand following the acquisition of the long-standing industrial vacuum cleaner business earlier that year:
“My experience in the engineering team gave me greater exposure to group activity and the potential for growth from the vast array of product ranges within the wider Absolent Air Care Group. When the Kerstar role came up I saw it as a great opportunity to broaden my knowledge of other products manufactured by Filtermist,” said Ben.
Ben is now part of Filtermist’s Senior Management Team, taking on brand responsibility across all functions of the business. Most recently he’s been part of the team who have organised the move of Kerstar manufacturing operations from Northampton to Telford.
Ben was initially attracted to Filtermist thanks to its reputation within the industry and its global footprint and exporting success. However, Ben says that one of the best things about working at Filtermist is the people, commenting:
“My colleagues are all committed, professional and experienced. Everyone at Filtermist works well as a team and supporting each other and sharing knowledge is the norm.”
Pictured above: The Kerstar Team at the opening of the Kerstar line at Filtermist's Telford site last in December.
In the four years Ben has been with Filtermist he’s undergone extensive training to ensure he has the skills needed for the future. He was among the first cohort of colleagues to complete the ‘Filtermist Rising Stars Program’ - a comprehensive training initiative aimed at supporting career development at Filtermist. Since then, Ben has continued his professional development with mentoring sessions with an external consultant and he became P602 qualified in 2020. He is also part of this year’s Filtermist Senior Leadership Program (SLP) and he’s recently enrolled on the ‘Certified Product Management’ training programme with The Association of International Product Marketing & Management.
"You get out of life what you put in,” said Ben. “The Filtermist management team gave me a fantastic opportunity when they took a chance on me with the new Product Manager role back in 2019. By continuing with my personal and professional development, with Filtermist’s support, I can ensure that the business will get the best out of me, and we can prosper together”.
You can keep up to date with the latest from Kerstar by visiting the newly launched website: www.kerstar.com and by connecting with Ben on LinkedIn – view his profile here.