21/11/2018

- What are the main duties of the Technical Services Department?

Our main duty is to provide all manner of technical services, both internally within MTG and externally to clients and users of MTG products.

In addition, we are responsible for carrying out field tests, producing and participating in new product developments and imparting internal and external product training.

- What does technical support entail?

One of the most popular services we offer are the bucket layouts. This service is provided free of charge for clients, and it involves configuring the wear front of earthmoving machinery such as excavators, loaders and rope shovels, in addition to any other pieces of equipment our products are used with. The way the products they are about to receive are placed and their composition are presented taking into account all the client's needs, possibilities and technical variables, in addition to those of the structure where they are placed, which is normally the machine’s bucket. The Client sees what the final product will look like and receives all the necessary information about how to place it, which avoids risks. This service is obviously totally personalised depending on the specific case, and frequently a number of different options are offered.

We also provide technical assistance in regard to information about our products and product comparisons, in addition to responding to any technical queries that may reach us, be this by phone or by email, or even by preparing a more comprehensive technical study.

Furthermore, we prepare the instructions for the installation and maintenance of each of our products, which we distribute among the entire network.

- What other services do you offer?

Another feature I would like to highlight is our on-site assistance service, which entails providing support in the event of incidents, as well as finding solutions to our clients’ needs. Often clients have pieces of equipment that do not work adequately, and they contact us to put this right. This kind of request is highly gratifying, because once a solution is found, we are able to secure their loyalty, and a closer relationship is formed. 

- Carrying out field trials is among your responsibilities. What do these involve?

Field trials are always carried out with prototypes for testing new systems, and they are absolutely necessary prior to launching a range of any new system. These tests need to be performed in different applications and terrains, as products behave very differently on dry, humid, abrasive, impact conditions, etc. Most of all, we must make sure the products function correctly in the condition they are destined for. After a tweaking and monitoring period, and once the results arrived at are deemed to be satisfactory, we proceed to granting technical approval of the system by means of the reliability report, which gives the green light to the development of the entire product range and its sizes.

- You also provide support for approved products. Can you tell us a little about this?

At Technical Services, we provide technical support for any product sold by MTG throughout its wear life. We are linked to it from the very moment it is born as a prototype, and until it is discontinued. As soon as the product is expedited, we become responsible for managing any quality or usage incidence that might take place, providing technical assistance and reporting about the knowledge acquired and that may be applicable to later new product developments.

- Presumably all of this must entail a great deal of product knowledge.

Absolutely, a knowledge of all our products and their behaviour is essential for the work we do; it gives us credibility where our clients are concerned. Without it, we would be unable to perform any technical support duties.

Product knowledge also helps us impart MTG product training, both internally within the organisation and externally for clients and final users. 

- What is your relationship with the Product department like?

It is excellent. As it happens, we fall under one same unit. We participate in new project developments, both in terms of new systems and new technologies. We constantly provide field feedback. By constantly being out on the field dealing with the final users, we are able to identify the improvements that should be applied to our products. Collaboration between us is absolute, and it could not be any other way.

- How is Technical Services organised and what regions do you currently cover?

There are eight engineers in our team, two of whom are local, one is in Australia and another in Chile. The rest are located in MTG’s head office in Barcelona, and we travel whenever we are needed or when we decide on doing so internally. We cover the whole world, and our aim is to change the technical interlocutor serving the client or distributor as seldom as possible. To this end, each engineer is in charge of a different geographical area: Chile and Peru, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia, Africa and the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Russia and Kazakhstan, Western Europe and NAFTA, and finally, Brazil. We also have dedicated technicians for each of our OEMs and for the dredging sector. In this way, we provide worldwide coverage for all the company’s sectors. 

- What are the main challenges faced by Technical Services?

Our main challenge involves providing solutions to the final users, especially in unfavourable working conditions or when they do not have the right means available. It is in those cases that we need to innovate and provide the best assessment possible while remaining flexible as a department and as a company.

- What do clients value the most in Technical Services?

Product reliability is the most valued feature, especially in Mining, Dredging and OEMs. Reliability is everything. After that, efficacy and efficiency in technical service, added to the customised attention we provide, all of which are of vital importance. 

- In terms of the mining sector, what results have you obtained from your experience with mining?

Our experience with mining has always been and continues to be very positive indeed. We carry out studies involving different product compositions in order to increase the machine’s efficiency. The study is ongoing and personalised for each mine taking into account their individual conditions.