License to teach

ebm-papst has become the first fan manu­fac­turer to offer offi­cially recog­nised advanced training semi­nars in Great Britain.

Layout of the new client centre

An hour’s drive north-east of london is where the new infor­ma­tion heart of ebm-papst UK has been beating since June 2009. It is from here that the bene­fits of EC tech­nology are broad­cast. The newly estab­lished Client Centre in Chelms­ford offers modern facil­i­ties for presen­ta­tions, exhi­bi­tions and espe­cially semi­nars. Here, for example, building plan­ners and engi­neers learn how they can reduce carbon dioxide emis­sions. And partic­i­pants here also make sure that they keep their licence. In the United Kingdom, many profes­sional asso­ci­a­tions insist that their members undergo contin­uous profes­sional training. Contin­uing Profes­sional Devel­op­ment (CPD) means that they have to demon­strate a certain number of hours every year. ebm-papst UK uses this oblig­a­tion specif­i­cally as a chance to teach end customers and their consul­tants more about ways of saving energy with EC tech­nology. The British subsidiary is the only fan manu­fac­turer with the offi­cial licence to offer CPD semi­nars.

EC: One link in the savings chain

“We are trying to transmit a message that goes beyond our prod­ucts,” says Managing Direc­tors David Jarvis, explaining the under­lying idea. “What benefit can the end customer draw from EC tech­nology? For example, that it can be used to keep food in super­mar­kets fresher for longer.” The target group for the semi­nars are primarily energy managers, build­ings managers, hotel managers. “Anybody who has anything to do with paying bills,” explains Jarvis. Well knowing that every­body who takes an overall view of energy effi­ciency will benefit from the semi­nars. Even archi­tects and engi­neers can learn about the numerous bene­fits that Green­Tech EC tech­nology will bring their customers. lower energy costs, lower main­te­nance costs, quieter climate control systems, resulting in hotel guests having a more relaxing night’s sleep, for example. It is clear that EC is just one link in a greater chain of effects. “With effi­cient systems you can make the greatest savings. These are greater than those that can be achieved with EC motors alone. We have some compelling stories to tell, but to do so we have to look beyond our own horizon – that’s the chal­lenge,” stresses Jarvis.

Faster on the market

The effort is worth­while. ebm-papst also gains enor­mously from the semi­nars. If you know what a customer’s customer needs, you can tailor your prod­ucts precisely to these needs. “We are currently learning a great deal. This knowl­edge will enable us to put the right prod­ucts onto the market much faster.” In addi­tion, the energy-effi­cient brand is also expanding onto the markets of the end customers – and they are demanding equip­ment with Green­Tech, the future-oriented EC tech­nology from their suppliers. That is some­thing else that David Jarvis knows. “We are changing from pushing to pulling our prod­ucts.”