19 August 2008. MAN Diesel PrimeServ, MAN Diesel’s after-sales division, recently expanded its global network to 58 hubs with the official opening of its Valencia office.
The new centre was inaugurated at a ceremony on July 17th in the presence of staff and industry representatives, where Carlos Keller, Service Director for PrimeServ Spain, gave the opening speech to a large attendance of invited guests.
The seed for the Valencia office was planted in 2005 when Carlos Keller himself headed a group tasked with improving the quality of service to MAN Diesel’s Spanish customers. The decision to open a service centre stemmed from this, and a study of Spanish goods and ship movements led to the current location being chosen. PrimeServ Valencia lies just 20 minutes from the port of Valencia and 30 minutes from the port of Sagunto – both busy ports on Spain’s eastern coast.
The new service centre came officially into being in May 2007. At the beginning of 2008, it moved to its new facilities with renovated office space and workshops, capable of handling all manner of jobs on valves, injection systems, and two-stroke and four-stroke cylinder covers and heads. The workshop concentrates on maintenance, including the cleaning of parts, grinding of valves/valve-seats, honing of cylinder liners of all sizes, overhaul of injection fuel-valves and fuel pumps, non-destructive cracks and surface testing. It also specialises in engine timing and operation analysis as well as the electronics of ME and ME-B engines and Alpha Lubricator servicing.
The Valencian staff prides itself on its mobility and frequently travels about Spain and internationally to attend to jobs as requested by customers.
Dr. Stephan Timmermann, Executive Board member with responsibility for MAN Diesel PrimeServ, also addressed the audience and highlighted the new Valencia centre as evidence of MAN Diesel’s efforts to improve its contact with and service for the company’s customers worldwide.
MAN Diesel has a long presence in Spain. It opened its first office in Madrid in 1960 and has supported the local market with spare parts and technical advice ever since. Spain’s strategic, geographical location on the Iberian peninsula means that it serves as a crossroads for ships coming from all nations. When added to a proud maritime heritage and a rank as Europe’s second largest shipbuilder, Spain is a unique market. In addition to marine prime movers, MAN Diesel also has a significant share in the Spanish diesel power and cogeneration plant-installation market. Spain currently has some 5,000 MW of such power installed within its borders in what is a growing market.
The opening of the Valencia office is also part of a broader MAN Diesel PrimeServ strategy for Spain. PrimeServ Las Palmas, on the Canary Islands, is due to open shortly for business and will provide a service for two-stroke and four-stroke engines (both stationary and marine) as well as turbochargers for which the company has recently purchased a complete, turbocharger-balancing machine. The Las Palmas centre aims to serve local customers as well as those based on the west coast of Africa and further inland on the continent.
Captions:
Interior view of the Valencia hub’s workshop.
Carlos Keller, Service Director for PrimeServ Spain, delivering his speech at the opening ceremony.
Carlos Keller pictured with Dr. Stephan Timmermann, Executive Board member of MAN Diesel with responsibility for MAN Diesel PrimeServ
Download the pictures here.