The training collaboration between Promeco and ABB provides inspiration for product development and enhanced product knowledge
Promeco’s partner ABB organised a product training in Kankaanpää on 13 June. ABB is Promeco’s long-term partner and, in the case of low-voltage products, one of Promeco’s main suppliers. The training provided a comprehensive overview of ABB’s product portfolio: low-voltage products, control devices, various circuit breaker solutions, as well as product novelties and future prospects of the industry.
For ABB’s representatives, Product Marketing Manager Pekka Heinonen, Area Sales Manager Pekka Rautio and Product Marketing Manager Veikko Voutilainen, the visit started the day before with factory tours. At both Kankaanpää factories, the representatives were able to see Promeco’s products and solutions on site, providing ideas and insights for development work. “At the factories, you can clearly see how and which ABB components are being used. Based on this, we are able to offer products from our catalogue that have not been thought of before. Through these kinds of Aha-moments we have been able to come up with and advance new solutions,” says Pekka Heinonen from ABB.
Product expertise as a key resource throughout the production chain
The training itself was attended by a comprehensive representation of Promeco employees: people from the sales, purchasing, design and production departments participated in the event. One of the goals of the training was to increase the important product knowledge throughout the production chain, from procurement to design and implementation. The training was both an effective recap and a chance to learn new things for old veterans, while there were also many new Promeco employees among the participants. For the newcomers the training offered an effective starting package for the new role. One of the first-timers was Joonas Kujansuu, a salesperson whose career at Promeco had started at the beginning of the summer. “Even though I already knew the topics from before on a general level, it complimented everything I’ve learned so far with more in-depth knowledge. While I don’t get to use all the content directly on a technical level in my every day work as a salesperson, it is important to know the products thoroughly so that the complete value they bring to the customer can be presented effectively,” Kujansuu describes the benefits of the training.
The event proceeded with active participation and conversation. Heinonen from ABB was delighted by the participants’ interest in the training: “The people were clearly interested in the topic, even though it is challenging to build equally engaging content for such a broad group of professionals. A positive surprise was especially the absence of phones and laptops, which are nowadays usually being checked and tapped constantly in similar events.” According to Heinonen, particular interest was aroused by spring-connected components and abnormal solutions, which are Promeco’s field of speciality. Such unique product combinations include, among others, switchgear producing DC current and bus locks for ships. In addition to Promeco, these are offered by only a few other operators in the industry.
The client at the heart of everything – Increasing value for the end customer by joining forces
ABB has organised similar events with Promeco for about ten years, the collaboration being increasingly active for the past five years. Sales Manager Juha Liipo, the counterpart from Promeco’s side, is pleased with the excellent teamwork with ABB: “The personal chemistries are working smoothly, planning the trainings together has been rewarding. It’s great that ABB is pro-active and customer-oriented also in this regard.” ABB organises similar trainings with its other partners too, but Pekka Heinonen says that such collaboration has been the most active with Promeco. “Training sessions are a tried and tested concept that benefits both parties. Things move forward efficiently when ABB initiates new solutions and Promeco develops the idea further at the implementation level. The common goal is to create added value for the end customer, which requires complementary input from both parties,” Heinonen sums up the core purpose of the training.