At ATA Gears, the sales personnel and technical service engineers form very close teams determined to solve customers’ problems. It is Technical Service Engineer Antti Hämäläinen’s job to answer the technical questions and be the sales person’s backup in technical calculations.
Antti designs the toothings according to customers’ requests for quotation, then the sales personnel carry on with the actual quotations. A lot of the work is based on strength calculation, and Antti is responsible for making sure that the gear will really serve its purpose. Sometimes he needs to propose a solution that is actually better than what the customer thought was needed, if that’s what the calculations indicate.
The technical customer service also receives many technical enquiries about all kinds of damage or installation problems. Much of Antti’s time goes on giving advice and consultation about teeth contact patterns. As a designer, Antti has to verify that the strength calculations of the gears ordered are accurate. This often in cases where the customer is frustrated with a fault in another supplier’s gear and turned to ATA’s Gear Doctors for help – a durable and reliable design. Antti’s strength calculations must confirm that a gear meets the specifications of classification societies. This is especially important in the marine industry, where requirements must be constantly checked for possible updates.
“To ensure customer satisfaction, it is a crucial part of my job to guarantee that a product is indeed feasible. Don’t talk the talk unless you can walk the walk,” Antti confirms.
Designing gears is a highly specialized job for which any college or university only teaches the basics. In optimizing his own professional skills, Antti truly appreciates his time in ATA Gears’ production. ”It is a very rewarding job, being able to solve the customers’ problems,” Antti says. ”A satisfied customer is the best thank you.”
Could this be for you?
There is a constant demand for newly-graduated engineers in the business and at ATA Gears, and Antti recommends the work and describes it as very interesting. ”The image of our branch unfortunately does not correspond to reality. Many young people in particular think this is about old-fashioned mechanical engineering, but the reality is totally different. We have state-of-the-art tools, calculation and manufacturing methods with 5-axle technology. And very often we develop our own programs and solutions to problems – because they just otherwise do not exist. For me, that’s the very best in engineering creativity.”