Meet Zak - Service Sales Engineeer

We’re proud to introduce Zak Abnoun, who has been part of our Cork‑based team since July 2024. Joining FläktGroup as a Service Sales Engineer, Zak brings a strong drive for customer partnership, technical curiosity, and a genuine passion for delivering measurable energy‑saving outcomes for clients across Ireland.

Since stepping into his role, Zak has focused on building relationships from the ground up — developing new business, identifying retrofit opportunities, and helping customers understand how modern HVAC solutions can significantly reduce energy use and carbon impact. His resilience, hands‑on approach, and commitment to meaningful, sustainable improvements have already made him a valuable contributor to our continued growth in the Irish market.

1. How did your career at FläktGroup begin?

In my previous sales role, I happened to be visiting a construction site when I noticed cranes lifting FläktGroup units into place. It caught my attention, and I made a mental note that the company looked impressive.

By coincidence, only 2 weeks later, I was approached about a Service Sales position with FläktGroup in Cork. I went through three interviews, got the job, and the journey started from there.

2. What do you like most about working here?

What I value most is the autonomy and accountability.

I manage my own territory end-to-end from prospecting and cold outreach through to proposal development and close. That level of ownership allows me to move quickly, prioritise high value work, and deliver consistent results.

I also enjoy that the retrofit projects I work on don’t just reduce operating costs for clients but deliver genuine energy and carbon reductions. It’s satisfying to see real tangible outcomes.

3. What qualities are critical in your role?

Sales requires resilience. Sales involves rejection, long sales cycles, and projects that don’t always progress despite significant effort. I believe strongly in meeting customers face to face both new and existing.

Building relationships in person is still the most effective approach to establish trust, credibility, and understanding.

4. Tell us about your role and your successes to date

A large part of my role is new business development: prospecting, cold outreach, site visits, and building trust from first contact. I focus on tailored HVAC service and retrofit solutions that deliver measurable improvements in efficiency and sustainability.

This includes AHU retrofits, EC fan upgrades, heat pumps, chillers, controls, and wider energy-optimisation projects.

One notable project was a summer retrofit at Cadbury in Dublin. The entire factory smelled of melted chocolate, and the project delivered a 76% reduction in energy consumption while maintaining operational performance.

Another was a fan retrofit for Tirlán, Ireland’s largest dairy producer. The existing AHU dated back to 1982 and was driven by a 75 kW motor. The upgraded system delivered a 50% reduction in energy use leading to a strong operational and environmental outcome

5. Do you think it is important that we are aware of environmental and sustainability issues?

Yes, absolutely. When I’m delivering client presentations, I focus on energy reduction rather than cost alone. Quantifying energy savings makes the scale of impact clear and directly links project decisions to decarbonisation KPIs.

6. What challenges do you face in your role?

Time is one of the biggest hurdles. You can put a lot of work into preparing quotes and making revisions, only for the project not to proceed.

Another challenge sometimes is simply the workload there are never quite enough hours in the day. Prioritisation becomes essential.

7. Have you been supported in your training and career to date?

Yes definitely. I’ve been consistently supported from a technical standpoint, with ongoing training that’s helped deepen my understanding of the products I’m selling and the applications they’re used in.

I also recently took part in the sales training in Colchester, which was genuinely one of the best workshops I’ve attended. I was already using MEDDICC in my own process, but being able to sit with the instructor and ask very specific, role relevant questions helped me clarify where I can tighten my sales process and improve execution.