Page 170 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - ΜΑΙΟΣ 2024

MARINE EQUIPMENT

At ERMA FIRST, after-sales customer support is any type of support provided to
customers after purchasing a product. Upon completing the transaction, the customer and
maker enter a ‘partnership’ spanning the entire lifetime of the vessel.

ERMA FIRST’S

AFTER-SALES SUPPORT

GOES BEYOND

ADDRESSING SPARE

PARTS AND SERVICE

REQUESTS

Marine equipment makers are fully aware that what drives their clients’ specific
requirements is the nature of their business. The complexity of vessel operations
makes the provision of support more difficult than in other industries, especially
when the equipment must also comply with environmental regulations, as is the
case with ballast water treatment systems (BWTS).
Providing services to a ship at sea demands round-the-clock live support, readily
available spare parts, and experienced engineers stationed in strategic locations
so that travelling, idle time, and expenses are minimised.
As a global leader in BWTS, with systems installed on more than 3,500 vessels,
ERMA FIRST has established a highly efficient and effective customer support
network. We have achieved this while navigating the extraordinary challenges
that have arisen worldwide in recent years, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and
China’s border restrictions, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and, more recently, the
Israel-Palestine conflict and the subsequent attacks on commercial vessels in
the Red Sea.
Each challenge has required proactive measures to ensure robust support for our
systems on board vessels. To overcome travel restrictions during the pandemic,
we established service stations worldwide, enabling us to deliver and commission
our systems irrespective of the installation’s location. Our service stations have
also allowed us to attend vessels and provide troubleshooting and maintenance
services upon commissioning.
We are currently operating service stations with experienced engineers in:
China: Shanghai, Zhoushan, Dalian, Guangzhou; Korea: Busan; Vietnam: Hai
Phong; Singapore; India: Mumbai; Japan: Osaka; UAE: Dubai; Türkiye: Istanbul;
Greece: Piraeus; Italy: Naples; France: Marseille; the Netherlands: Rotterdam;
Germany: Hamburg; Poland: Gdansk; Latvia: Jelgava; USA: New York; Canada:
Vancouver; and Panama. From these stations, our engineers can reach every
location where our clients may require service or maintenance.
Our next step towards enhancing our service provision involves strengthening
our local teams in hotspots such as the Amsterdam–Rotterdam–Antwerp area.
While finding experienced personnel in Northern Europe can be challenging, we
by Panagiotis Dalianis, are actively trying to find solutions.
Technical After Sales Director Another challenge we had to overcome was the scarcity of certain parts due to
at ERMA FIRST
supply chain disruptions during -but mainly after- the pandemic. At the time,

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