You are leaving the automation industry and the role of Nordic Aftermarket Manager to help us at Norditek, why?
- The recycling industry is very exciting right now and the aftermarket has become very important for Norditek, both because it is growing steadily and because the customer expects the right service and support without hassle. Here is an exciting challenge to create something really good, together with driving and developing spare parts sales. It is also interesting to work with the circular transition in a company with a lot of forward thinking.
How do you think a really good aftermarket works?
- A good aftermarket starts with a really good understanding of the customer's needs. This is needed to be able to plan ahead and deliver the right service and spare parts when needed. For Our , machines are often consistent when the operating environment is predictable, so there is great potential to book and plan better for service and support. It's a simple thing to start with. In the longer term, there is plenty to do in the area, at Volvo I worked a lot in the predictive area with connected services, vehicle control and driver behavior. At Norditek, we have good opportunities to use more available data to predict and prevent downtime and optimize production.
Okay, so how do we make it happen?
- I will place great emphasis on familiarizing myself with and understanding the customer's various problems so that I can get out on the road and meet customers. Then it's about ensuring a high degree of personal responsibility among employees and making sure that all the experts, service partners and technicians, have the right conditions. We have to make wise choices; for example, what is technically critical is not always the most commercially critical. We will also improve the overall experience with things like chat support, e-commerce and getting answers to your questions directly. Today, industrial companies have almost the same expectations as consumer companies to deliver a really good customer experience; customers have become accustomed to a certain level. And if you can't deliver that, you at least need to be good at explaining why it's not possible.
You have just returned from the industry's largest trade fair, Bauma. As a newcomer to the industry, what are your impressions?
- Everyone is talking about recycling! Even those who traditionally only blast and crush, industries such as concrete and the mining industry, are starting to talk about recycling instead of virgin mining, which is very positive considering all the emissions from new mining. Otherwise, it was a huge fair, very lavish and an incredible number of machines in place. It was also nice to see that user-friendliness has become more in focus in this industry as well. In the service area, it's all about making it easy to change spare parts and easy to monitor wear and tear. It is becoming more educational and clearer how and when you change parts, it should be easy to do the right thing, which is good.
Finally, did you want to be an aftermarket manager when you were young?
- No, it was not obvious. I chose between firefighter and that.
Thanks for the interview, welcome and here we go!