Erkki Kohtanen, Vice President of Sales for Industrial Minerals & Dredging

Erkki Kohtanen has been with KSB for over 26 years. He began his career with the company in 1994. In that year, he joined the KSB Finland organization as a sales engineer. He served in this position for 3 years until being promoted to sales manager. In 2002, Kohtanen was asked to take over the managing director position of KSB Finland. In that role, he was responsible for oversight of the following market areas: energy, pulp and paper, general industry, municipal water and sewage, and mining

In 2009, Kohtanen moved to the US and joined KSB GIW, Inc. as Director of Marketing and Product Management. In 2011, he transitioned back to sales as the Business Development Manager for Projects in North America. While serving in this role, his responsibilities expanded to include the aftermarket business in 2014. His focus, however, was on oil sands, hard rock mining, phosphate, and S&G (sand and gravel) markets in North America. In 2020, Kohtanen was promoted to VP of Sales for Industrial Minerals and Dredging, with a focus on the oil sands, global phosphate, and dredging, North American S&G, soda ash, etc.

Kohtanen received his Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering (process engineering) from a technical University in Finland. His academic training and work experience serve as the foundation for effectively understanding the customers’ production processes, changes that can occur during the production process, and the impact it may have on the overall pumping systems.