Transforming technical support through teamwork

Installing and servicing Elopak’s filling machines might sound like a job driven purely by technical expertise, but Gerard Van Willegen sees it differently. For him, it’s all about building relationships. 

– It’s really a people business. Our filling machines and packaging are at the center of our customers’ operations, so we get to know them and stay very close to their business. 

Key to this collaboration is the regular check-ins with customers, where Gerard and his team ensure that the machines are running smoothly, and that maintenance is planned.  

– When we set this up with new customers, these meetings can take an hour. But the longer we work together, the shorter they get. Just 10 minutes a week can save us eight hours of work later and help us stay in the driver’s seat. 

From Benelux to Michigan: Improving customer support across regions 

Gerard introduced the practice of regular customer check-ins while working as a technical manager overseeing Elopak’s technical support in the Benelux. When he took on the task of building a service organization in Michigan two and a half years ago, he brought this habit with him. 

Today, Gerard leads a team of 31 people, including field service engineers, project managers, and specialists in spare parts, logistics, and food science. Together, they ensure that more than 200 filling machines at about 100 customer sites across the US and Canada stay in top condition, which can be challenging, given the size of their region. 

– When I worked in the Netherlands, I could visit three customer sites in a single day. Here, it can take three days to visit just one. 

With more than 10 years of experience in Elopak’s European operations before moving to the US, Gerard often bridges the gap between the company’s European and North American teams. His deep understanding of both the “Elopak way” and local conditions makes him a natural connector between the two regions. 

Attacking challenges with collaboration 

Over the years, Gerard has witnessed changes in the food industry and its packaging operations. 

– I’ve seen the concentration of production from smaller sites to fewer, bigger facilities. This shift is partly driven by longer shelf life due to a better filling process. Another change is that customers are finding it harder to find and keep technical expertise, which makes them rely on us more. 

For Gerard’s team, this means staying proactive – monitoring machine conditions, scheduling regular servicing, and replacing parts as needed. Looking ahead, he hopes for more opportunities to implement remote monitoring of customers’ machines, a solution often hindered today by strict IT security requirements. 

Still, technical support remains a people business, where teamwork is essential. 

– My job is most rewarding when we achieve something as a team, whether it’s an installation or solving a machine issue. A project manager, for instance, can’t do the job without support from the spare parts, logistics team and field service engineers. It takes a lot of collaboration, and it’s not a one-person show.