Maxi-Lift’s Road Show ‘17 is the company’s ambitious effort to take installation and maintenance training to customers in the field, strengthening its relationships throughout the country. Their journey to being the single source for all things related to bucket elevator performance and maintenance will cover a lot of miles this year.
Bo Fisher, Vice President of Sales/North America, says the project packs the necessary tools and knowledge into a mobile unit and hits the road. As a veteran in this industry, Fisher knows first-hand the need for a proactive training program.
“I do a lot of inspections on bucket elevators when customers call. They have problems in the field, and I go inspect it and troubleshoot the elevator with them,” Fisher said. “Over-torqueing bolts on the bucket installation, is one example. When you do that, you can lose life in your belt from delamination. I’m trying to train our customers on easier installation methods, so they can save the life of their belts and buckets.”
While troubleshooting individual cases is helpful, reaching larger audiences is the Road Show goal, according to Fisher. “Many of our customers already rely on us for our knowledge to help them implement best practices in their operations to get maximum efficiency from their equipment while preventing downtime,” he said. “Our products are designed to give a low total cost of ownership, and by combining them with training and best practices, we maximize their return on the investment.”
Maxi-Lift began soliciting interest at the GEAPS show in Kansas City and is doing follow-up announcements and promotion in Maxi-Lift’s Bucketology newsletter. For all the phone calls and videos that can help troubleshoot, nothing beats hands-on training, Fisher said. Elevator employees who visited the booth at GEAPS were skeptical about the need for training, until they got the tools in their hand.
“Once you put the drill in their hand, they understood what we were talking about and it made a believer out of them,” Fisher said. He noted, a lot of the experienced employees at these elevators are retiring, and their skills and knowledge are following them. Road Show is an opportunity to make sure the next generation has the benefit of Maxi-Lift’s 40-plus years of installation and maintenance expertise. Once trained, they can implement procedures for all their new and current employees.
“The face-to-face aspect is extremely important, especially as it relates to group training. Larger groups create a momentum of questions and interactions that help develop the instructive dialogue,” Fisher said. “Every facility faces similar challenges and questions, but they also have singular problems. In the group setting, our training will allow our experts to weigh in, but also can create a discussion among peers that facilitates a better understanding of causes and solutions.”
The next step is getting the itinerary filled out and mapping the Road Show’s travels this year. This is a free service that will be available to groups and organizations. It’s another opportunity to shake hands with those who are in the field, a solid reminder of Maxi-Lift’s commitment to their success.
For more information on this service please call us at 800-527-0657 or visit us at www.maxilift.com.
