An example of close corporation, collaboration and open communication with the customer and Germany has lead to a win-win for both the customer and SICK in South Africa.
A fabricator of aluminum products in South Africa had 15-year old Euro FID (flame ionization detector) LEL monitors in need of service, refurbishment and eventual replacement. Over time, the customer had increased its line speed from 120m/min to 170m/min, increasing its output and therefore revenue. However in doing so, the monitors on one coating line began to fail which resulted in loss of production, product and efficiency. The customer was contemplating more downtime resulting from the need to send the FID units back to Germany for repair.
To solve the problem and eliminate the looming downtime, SICK South Africa first worked closely with the customer to understand why the FID monitors were failing. The customer admitted to condensation in the furnace which caused blockages. Then understanding the situation, SICK South Africa and the customer both received on site training from a German specialist. As a result, SICK South Africa is now trained to locally repair FID monitors and offer service and support. Meaning no more need to send units back to Germany. And the customer is now trained to conduct its own "first line maintenance."
The customer purchased three complete sets of EuroFID monitors as spare units, plus a portable FID3008 for "spot checks." Additionally, the customer purchased a service level agreement for quarterly site visits from SICK. The future looks even brighter: the customer is so satisfied that it wants to repeat the procedure for its second coil coating line.