WHEN TEAMWORK GOES BEYOND PHYSICAL DISTANCE

Case history

Discover how Mep managed an international sales process by creating a long-term collaboration with a Thai customer despite anti-Covid-19 restrictions.

There is no doubt that the particular time we are experiencing has drastically changed our everyday life and habits but, despite the issues related to physical distance and travel, Mep has never stopped being in contact and close to its international customers too. This is how we acted during the recent collaboration with a Thai customer.

THE BEGINNING OF THE COLLABORATION

The Thai customer needed a plant to improve and increase his current production of pipes for mufflers: actually, he needed a system to execute angle cuts of pipes with a thickness of up to 1-2 mm in perfect tolerance, without deforming or damaging the product surface thus optimizing production times.

Starting from the analysis of the customer's specific need, we came to offer a customized solution and, after several comparisons, the customer chose:

- The automatic circular sawing machine Tiger 372 CNC LR 4.0 RC
- Set of customized comb jaws
- The CB6001 bar loader

Moreover, the customer decided to keep this collaboration alive by asking us to develop and manufacture further sets of customized jaws in the future according to his needs in order to allow him to cut other profiles with different shapes.

WHY THE AUTOMATIC VERTICAL CIRCULAR SAWING MACHINE TIGER 372 CNC LR 4.0 RC

The automatic vertical circular sawing machines are characterized by an extreme cutting precision: as a matter of fact, thanks to the characteristics of the circular blade, the cut finishing is excellent without the need to carry out further processing. Morevoer, cutting precision is also due to the sliding of the saw head on double linear guides, which grants a mechanical vibration reduction during the cut.

- The saw head controlled automatic rotation allows to reduce setting time and to execute cuts in perfect tolerance with a precise control in speed, torque and positioning - tolerance 1'.

- The cutting library allows the automatic setting of the blade speed and head down feed rate according to the type of material and, at the same time, it enables cutting at maximum performance of the sawing machine thus reducing setting time: moreover, from the extendable material library, you can choose the type and the geometry of the material, the hardness and the type of circular blade and, accordingly, the control sets the right blade speed and head down feed rate.

- Self-regulation in real-time of head down feed rate according to the type of material that allows to adjust the saw head down feed rate even in case of blade wear.

- In addition to the automatic cutting mode, the machine can also operate in semi-automatic mode which allows to execute particular and non-standard cuts.

WHY THE CB 6001 BAR LOADER

The CB 6001 bar loader grants the maximum flexibility of use thanks to the possibility to handle the load on the sawing machine of round, square and rectangular solid or tubular bars of any kind of metal.

- It allows to cut in sequence all the bars positioned onto the chute and, consequently, the sawing machine can work even without the operator's presence.

- The 80-cm table with adjustable tilt can be loaded up to be fully occupied.

- Its modular design allows to customize the length according to the specific production needs - standard chute 6000 mm.

WHY THE SET OF CUSTOMIZED COMB JAWS

The several sets of customized comb jaws allowed to execute angle cuts of pipes with different diameters and thicknesses, thus preventing the damaging of the pipes while clamping.

- The adjustable pneumatic clamping system turned out to be the best solution for an efficient and safe material clamping in order to avoid the deformation of the pipe and to grant a burr-free cut at the end of the cut.

- The nylon used to manufacture the several sets of comb jaws was found to be the most suitable material to prevent pipe lining.

SALES PROCESS DEVELOPMENT

Due to the international nature of this collaboration, the language and the constant need to translate from Thai to English (and vice versa) could have caused misunderstandings and difficulties during the sales process. For this reason, we decided to put communication and transparency first by paying attention to the details of each step and to the customer's needs.

Project planning was the first step of this sales process and it was realized thanks to the collaboration between MEP sales and engineering departments. As a matter of fact, they both analyzed in detail the specific customer's request in order to then evaluate the feasibility of the project and offer the best solutions to meet his needs.

Then, the customer analyzed the project proposal and he was immediately satisfied. Due to his specific need, the customer sent us some material samples in order to make sure that the customized solution proposed was fully in line with his products. Once the preparation of the offer and the estimation of the delivery times were completed, we immediately put into production the machine and the accessories requested. Finally, we carried out all the necessary cutting tests before shipment.

Due to the current global pandemic, it was not possible to send our technicians to Thailand in order to offer assistance during the installation and for the use of the purchased products. For this reason, before the delivery of the plant, we decided to create some photos and "step by step" videos in order to remotely support Thai technicians. In fact, the photos and videos sent captured all the moments of assembly and commissioning of the sawing machine.

"GETTING TOGETHER IS A BEGINNING, STAYING TOGETHER IS PROGRESS, WORKING TOGETHER IS A SUCCESS"

Despite the issues related to physical distance and the current global pandemic, we were able to provide assistance to the customer even after the delivery of the cutting plant through a communication channel characterized by transparency. What is important to us is to take care with the utmost attention to the specific customer's needs in order to make him satisfied with both the product and the service received. It is not just a matter of finding a solution that is simple and quick to realize, but rather of adapting to each single customer and manufacturing products tailored to their needs. What has always distinguished our company is precisely this possibility to customize the machines, their components and accessories according to the customer’s needs!

We are glad to be able to transmit these values also during this international collaboration: in fact, the customer was satisfied with the product and the service received so much that he inserted in the logo of his company the logos of our retailer and MEP! And as if this was not already a source of pride for our company, the collaboration with our Thai customer will continue over time thanks to the study of particular jaws that will allow him to continue to execute angle cuts of pipes with particular diameters.

“Mep products really meet our needs and our production requirements. At the same time, the service provided by the retailer and MEP was very professional and friendly during all the several steps of the sales process", says Meng Sung, the owner of the Thai company. "We are very satisfied with this collaboration and we hope to continue to work together by means of studies and upgrades aimed at improving our production line".