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emphasis on being physically closerto the customer to better assess thecustomer’s needs. By being in the samesocial scene and seeing situationsfirsthand, we were able to developa relationship with the customerand establish an open channel ofcommunication. This lead to a clearunderstanding of thecustomer requirementsand allowed us to developa product portfolio thatbetter met the customer’sneeds; this was a clearcompetitive advantagefor us.”In 2004, Olsen movedback to Milwaukee,Wisconsin, as presidentof Metso’s sales andservice operations inNorth America andCentral America. In2007, he joined SuperiorHighwall Mining, asmall manufacturer ofspecialized coal miningequipment in Beckley, West Virginia.The company was later sold to Terexand Olsen assumed the role of director,responsible for the sales and serviceorganizations around the world for TerexMining. Shortly before Olsen joinedAstec, Bucyrus International acquired theTerex Mining division.NEW ROLE WITH ASTECAs Astec Industries’ Vice PresidentMining Sales, Olsen is tasked withimproving the sales and service networkto best be able to deliver the company’sservices and products to its globalcustomer base.“To join a company with a reputationfor excellent services and products thatare well suited to addressing the needsof the mining industry is an excitingopportunity,” says Olsen. “To be pairedwith a standard of excellence and peoplealready committed to accomplishingthe goal of quality customer service isrewarding, and I look forward to takingAstec to the next level of service.”Olsen brings an understanding of theglobal mining markets to his currentposition and takes from his pastexperience a wealth of life lessonsand hands-on expertise. An example isOlsen’s experience at Superior HighwallMining. He was recruited to take abusiness that was Appalachian-focusedJohn Olsen is Astec Industries’ Vice President Mining Sales and brings a strongcustomer-service focus to current mining operations.and build its international business. Thiscompany made highly specialized coalmining equipment for a niche market.After making some changes in the goto-marketstrategy and focusing on themajor coal mining markets, the companywas able to make some good inroadsinto the Russian, Australian, and Indianmarkets that resulted in the placement ofequipment in those countries.MINING OPERATIONS CHALLENGEAs Olsen sets a course for improving thesales and service network for the miningdivision of Astec Industries, his role willinclude a complete review of the currentdistribution network to determine whatgaps exist and then establish a plan ofaction to address those gaps.“We will assess where we are currentlyand decide where we want to be, andthe plans put in place will be executedto deliver the desired results. The gapswill vary by market, and by clearlyidentifying the needs in each market,we can effectively remedy any issue …what’s not working; how to be moreefficient; and how to provide the bestcustomer service experience possible.It’s important that the determined nextsteps are favorable and all parties arein agreement with the plans to moveforward.”Olsen plans on doing agood bit of travel in hisnew position with Astecand will be developinga distribution and salesnetwork focused on bestmeeting the customer’sneeds. “Being closer to thecustomer is a key elementto reach the next level ofcustomer service. I wantto know how long it takesfrom the time a customerorders a part to whenthe part can be deliveredand what’s the timeframefor getting a servicetechnician onsite to getequipment up and running.With a keen understanding of theprocesses in play within the company,the correlation of how important thecustomer service portion of the businessis to growing your capital equipmentsales can be understood and successachieved.”ISSUES FACING THE MINING INDUSTRYWhen it comes to issues facing themining industry, Olsen sees the following:• Health and Safety. The numberone issue for mining companies istheir employees’ safety followedclosely by protection of theenvironment. This is simply an issuethat is forefront in the industry.• Environmental/Political. Anumber of issues fall into thiscategory, among them: a) Riskassociated with companies forcedto prospect in remote and politicallyvolatile parts of the world in search ofeconomically viable ore bodies; b) taxpolicy volatility as evidenced by theToday’s aggregate & mining solutions | volume 3, number 1 5