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Driveline specialist ADS van STIGT: fifty years of service excellence
Fifty years of service excellence
DRIVELINE SPECIALIST ADS VAN STIGT GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND
Customer service has always been a top priority at ADS van STIGT.
The company carries a large amount of stock in its warehouse, which means delivery times can be kept as short as possible.
Manager Service, Pim van Beest.
ADS VAN STIGT’S WELL-OILED SERVICE MACHINE HAS BEEN RUNNING FOR HALF A CENTURY AND EVEN THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK IS NOT PREVENTING THE COMPANY FROM GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR ITS CUSTOMERS.
ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF ADS VAN STIGT
Excellent customer service, qualified and experienced service engineers, and a large stock supply of parts are the three secrets to the success of driveline specialist ADS van STIGT. The company celebrates its 50 th anniversary this year and customer service has always been a top priority, explains Manager Service Pim van Beest. “We have a highly skilled team of sixteen factory-trained service engineers available 24/7. These engineers have the training and experience to deal with any problem that may arise. We are in close contact with all our manufacturers, so we are always up to date on modifications or new products, and the relevant technical information about the products and parts.” ADS van STIGT has a well-equipped workshop in the Dutch city of Gorinchem. Here, the team can overhaul all the gearboxes in the company’s portfolio. There is a testbed to test all the gearboxes after the overhaul and carry out functional test on newly delivered gearboxes. The company also installed a 35m 2 painting cabin with a heating system two years ago, allowing it to improve the quality of the painting process. And as an authorised service shop for Schaller Automation since 1980, there is a test unit for the function test of oil mist detectors. As the company always carries a large amount of stock in its warehouse, delivery times can be kept as short as possible. “This allows us to respond quickly and skilfully, so that we can minimise costly downtime for our customers”, comments Mr Van Beest.
Happy customers In the past fifty years, ADS van STIGT has developed from a representative of foreign manufacturing companies into an independent importer, distributor, and maintenance expert. Familiar names like Masson Marine, ZF Marine, Schaller Automation, Dr Horn, Geislinger, Katsa, O&K-Bonfiglioli, and Dürst Automation are all represented by ADS Van STIGT. The company supplies drivelines and electronic control and monitoring systems for a wide variety of industries. It specialises in reverse reduction gearboxes, planetary gearboxes, clutches, pump drives, controllable pitch propellers, flexible couplings, and electronic control and monitoring systems. “We work on anything that floats, such as dredgers, bulk carriers, tugs, inland vessels, offshore, fishing vessel, sail boats, tall ships, inland vessels, and superyachts”, explains Mr Van Beest. The company just recently landed itself a new client when a Scandinavian shipowner had a tanker vessel with a damaged propulsion gearbox. “The manufacturer recommended us for the repair. The shipowner was a bit hesitant at first, but decided to give us the job”, recalls Mr Van Beest. “Our team not only repaired the gearbox, but also determined the cause of the malfunction and was able to offer advice to prevent a repeat incident. Because our engineers have enough knowledge and expertise of the complete driveline, they were able to offer this additional service. The shipowner was so happy and has already pledged that it wants us carry out all future repairs and interventions. A case like this certainly makes us very proud.”
Long-distance repairs Johan de Boer is one of the service engineers that regularly travels the world to carry out repairs and maintenance. “What I love most about my job is the ability to help our clients whenever problems arise. We hop in the car or on the plane to help them as quickly as possible. We sometimes travel thirty hours to get to a client, and the fact that they want us to come is a testament to how much they value our service and expertise.” Long-distance travel has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but work nevertheless continues closer to home. “Our service team has been split in two. One half works from our headquarters and stays indoors, while the other half works from home answering call-outs”, says Mr De Boer. “When we get called out, we drive to the workshop where our colleagues have already prepared all the parts and tools that we may need. We just load them up and go to the client.” Most of the work is now limited to the Benelux and Germany, but customers are helping by coming up with creative solutions. “We have just completed a job in Abu Dhabi, where there was a failure in a gearbox. The client sent us the whole gearbox, which we repaired in our workshop and returned as soon as possible”, comments Mr Van Beest. “The work was actually completed faster in our workshop, as we didn’t have to deal with the limitations that you sometimes run into when you go on board a vessel, like having to wait for permits.”
Well-oiled service department With the world slowly easing up on the COVID-19 restrictions, ADS van STIGT is also looking towards the future. “We do a lot of preventative maintenance through our inspection programme”, states Mr Van Beest. “For the past few months, many of our clients have understandably wanted to postpone inspections and preventative maintenance. The inspections are fortunately not extremely time-sensitive and can be postponed by a few months. Many of our clients are making appointments for later in the year.” Mr De Boer concludes, “A well-oiled service department is an absolute must for a company like ours. Service has always been a top priority for ADS van STIGT and this will surely continue in the years to come.”
