Global Insider 02/2010 - Seco-Warwick

2/2010
CLOSER LOOK AT THE CAB TEAM
With great pleasure we would like to present an
interview with Piotr Skarbiñski, the CAB GPL.
Piotr Skarbiñski
Who is a GPL and what is his function?
The SECO/WARWICK Group
includes companies with a long-term
technological achievement in the USA, India
and Poland. Recently a new plant in China has
joined the Group. A number of products and
technologies successfully developed on local
(or rather continental) markets constitute the
Group's accomplishment. The point is to launch
these products in other companies of our
Group. It is essential to introduce broadly
defined technical management of individual
products, management which is involved with
all aspects of the Group's activity; in practice -
global management. That is why a GPL (Global
Product Leader) has been appointed for every
product.
Who is the GPL's partner in this task?
This is a very relevant question!
Long-term activity in our trade, beginning with
activity of our mother company SWCorp., and
later SW in Œwiebodzin, has proved that an
organization based on teams is the best
solution. These teams are focused on individual
products. They work on product marketing,
sales, design, quality control and assembly as
well as start-up and service. Shortly speaking,
teams are responsible for fulfilling requirements
and achieving customer satisfaction while
maintaining each projects'
profitability.
When it comes to
the product which I am in
charge of - Aluminum Brazing
Furnaces (CAB), in every
company of our Group there is
at least product specialists for
the team. We have created a
model where teams take
products to their respective
markets and the GPL supervises
the technical and marketing
strategy. This is what the should look like in the
future and how it already works in SWC and
SWSA. In cases where a product is first
introduced, the GPL should have a large
contribution to the training process and
participate in meetings with customers, ensure
support during offers and project creation and
at a later stage, supervise product
manufacturing.
So the GPL's task is to be a global 'master' of
the product?
Yes, the GPL's job description
contains functions like supervision of the
product global marketing, price strategy,
development and research, but also supervision
of offers' technical content, in particular,
guarantees of fulfilling technical conditions and
norms and selection of key materials. The GPL
has influence on the selection of an order's
executor within SW Group, taking into account
not only the costs, but also the technical
capacities of the individual Companies.
It sounds very ambitious, but what does this
look like in CAB practice?
In practice I have performed this
function for a few years now, but during the
SECO/WARWICK PRESIDENTS MEETING,
which took place in April of this year, the rules
and principles for cooperation within the Group
were established in detail, including principles
for the GPLs functions. The rules take into
account the unique characteristics of the
situation and experience between individual
companies. For example, SWC in the USA is the
company who had been the first to develop
CAB as early as the eighties. Chuck Field, who
is the CAB Team Leader in SWC, has the
greatest experience in this product within the
whole SW Group. I have been learning from
him and Jeff Boswell while introducing CAB to
SW in Poland 10 years ago. At present, a
limited market in the NAFTA region does not
require a full expansion of the CAB Team in
SWC, but Chuck along with Mike Jacobs, sales
SWC CAB Team (from the left: Dan Maloney, Mike Jacobs, Bruce Kramer, Chuck Field)
engineer and customers contact project
coordinator, are independent.
In turn, SWAllied is only starting the
development of CAB furnaces. The team that is
formed there does not yet have experience
in aluminum brazing equipment, however, they
have vast general experience in industrial
furnace production. Assistance for Nambiar
Sreenath, CAB Team Leader and P.V. Marydas,
sales engineer, consists of preparation of initial
projects and offers and joint visits at potential
customers. I hope that we will not have to wait
long for the rewards for this work as there are at
least two 'hot prospects' which should result
in orders shortly.
S.Nambiar
P.V. Marydas
A good learning opportunity and a
chance to gain some experience for SWAllied
is the relocation of CAB line from the USA to
India. The main order executor is SWC and
SWAllied will perform the role of a
subcontractor providing staff for assembly and
supporting start-up. I hope that after this task
our colleagues from India will be able to put
their first furnace into service with just a little
help on our side.
What is the situation in China, it is yet the
fastest growing market, also in CAB?
Key market has
received key
support. As
everybody
certainly knows
S³awek WoŸniak
who is the pillar
of our CAB team
in SWSA, is
S³awek WoŸniak
currently the Deputy Director
in SWR in Tianjin. CAB furnaces, next to
vacuum furnaces, are one of the two strategic
products. Thanks to S³awek's presence there we
do not need to waste time on training. The
company has been in operation since May this
year. One furnace has already been shipped to
the customer, the second one is in final
assembly stage, and the third one has been
contracted a few days before our conversation.
Congratulations S³awek!
2
Poland • USA • China • India • Russia