Westerville, OHIO, USA, JUNE 13, 2018:
A leading U.S. cement company's immediate response to general maintenance is to perform it in-house rather than turn to a service provider. However, the North American supplier of aggregates and building materials did not yet know the analyzers in its Texas, USA plant were becoming obsolete.
The site would not easily go to an outside source for help, but the cement plant picked up the phone when Jack Swartz, ABB Test and Customer Care Service Manager, called about its obsolete equipment.
Swartz, who has worked with the plant for 15 years, already knew the company had a problem he could stop before it started. Despite the site's do-it-yourself mindset on maintenance, he visits the plant at least once a year to ask about the state of their facility equipment.
''I proactively approached the customer," Swartz said. ''So the customer came through."
A discussion about spare parts during his last annual visit gave Swartz a chance to provide the company with a recommended spare parts list, just in case the plant ever needed outside assistance. He also took note of the plant's aging analytical equipment. He recommended for the customer to consider upgrading the older analyzer modules.
In March 2016, Swartz contacted the company again to suggest upgrading the older analyzer modules including their Magnos 17 and Uras 14s.
In May 2017, a $107,447 purchase order was received for four Magnus 27 analyzer modules and six URAS 26 analyzer modules. The 24-hour installation took place last October.
Swartz' perseverance with a self-maintainer like this cement company serves as a reminder of ABB's ability to support customers' needs face-to-face.
"In a way we have always pushed these values," Swartz said. "Some people don't like getting in front of the customer, but I have always seen it as part of the job."
