Kennametal Starts New Rapid Response Center in Istanbul to ‘listen to the voice of the customer’
New facility joins UK-based center and RRCs in South Korea and Poland in delivering maximum customer value.
When it comes to local service, metalworking operations require three things – their problems are understood, they are responded to quickly, and that they get the right solutions. To better understand its metalworking customers, Kennametal took time to visit and listen to them before launching its latest strategy of investing in facilities that provide them the leading-edge technology solutions it is known for, the fast turnaround demanded in their operations, and local presence they can rely on.
That’s the Different Thinking Kennametal is exhibiting in its new Rapid Response Center, opening in Istanbul, Turkey in November 2014. Joining the Rapid Response Center in Kingswinford in the United Kingdom’s West Midlands, in Busan, South Korea, and in Zory, Poland, Rapid Response Centers are bricks-and-mortar commitments to providing Kennametal global expertise locally and with quick turnaround.
“Rapid Response Centers are the expression of a major ongoing effort in Kennametal listening to the voice of the customer,” describes Jan Menschner, Kennametal’s manager for global reconditioning services. “Key concerns are local presence, immediate responsiveness, and fast turnaround. This is particularly important in markets where the commercial infrastructure is still developing.”
In response, Kennametal’s Rapid Response Centers focus on the capability to quickly turn around requests for new simple specials and recondition used round tools (solid-carbide drills and end mills). Rapid Response Centers provide local access to acquiring the original Kennametal proprietary geometry specifications for the highest performance out of reconditioned tools. “This proprietary technology is unique to Kennametal and provides productivity savings not just with the first use, but also throughout the entire lifecycle of the tool,” Joost Berting, Vice President and Managing Director EMEA and Asia Pacific, adds. “Simple specials, also made locally, come with the same unique technology and are delivered in a shorter timeframe to match your production schedules.”
Kennametal Rapid Response Centers can be contacted by phone, email, or online at www.kennametal.com/rapidresponse. Once requests are received, quotes will be turned around within 24 hours. For manufacturing simple specials, tool orders are often delivered within 10 days or less.
The Rapid Response Center concept is itself evolving, according to Jeswant Gill, VP & EVP Industrial Segment. Future iterations may include customer showrooms, training resources, or even machine tools for demonstrations or small test trials. “Customer feedback from the UK, Poland and South Korea has been very positive, and we expect the same in Turkey,” he says. Kennametal plans additional Rapid Response Centers in other locations as business conditions warrant.
