Introducing the new captain of MacGregor’s service business

16 Dec 2022 Reading time calculated text

Seppo Heino, a naval architect by education, has experienced a home-coming - working in the maritime industry for the first time in his long career.

As of September 2022, MacGregor’s Global Services Division has a new captain at the helm, Seppo Heino. We sat down with him for a conversation about his new role and how he sees the services business.

Seppo Heino notes that MacGregor’s success depends solely on customers and understanding their needs. This means always keeping customers in mind and working together with them in everything we do, he says.

He emphasises the importance of an open dialogue with the customers, also during tough times:

We as a company need to listen to our customers’ views and really understand their challenges and needs. Our task is to maximise the efficiency of our customers’ operations and minimise unplanned downtime.

Continuous improvement is a must

Heino has worked in industrial companies since 1989. Prior to joining MacGregor, he worked the last ten years for Kalmar, a provider of cargo handling solutions and services to ports, terminals, distribution centres and heavy industry. His roles included heading sales, spare parts, logistics and a newbuilding division.

While a veteran in business leadership, Heino is a newcomer in the maritime industry, and it has been exciting for him to enter a completely new field. He has met many new people, made observations, asked questions and had a steep learning curve.

Maritime business never sleeps and every day comes with new situations to adjust to. “We need to continuously fine-tune our way of working. A very important priority for us is to streamline our spare parts related processes, find the right tools to increase efficiency to be able to respond even faster to our customers’ needs and requests,” Heino describes.

Digital and sustainable are the words for the future

Heino has a positive view of the future. MacGregor is an industry leader with resources and capabilities to develop and invest, especially when it comes to new areas such as automation and digitalisation.

“Digital offerings have already proven their value. For instance, OnWatch Scout can provide real time information and recommendations for mission critical equipment, helping shipowners and operators to make more precise predictions on maintenance and spare part needs, and help reduce downtime,” he says.

“MacGregor’s global service network extends to over 30 locations globally, with responsive local teams and 24/7 remote support. This combined with our digital capabilities and analytics give unparalleled possibilities to support our customers’ operations.”

Concern for climate and need to reduce emissions are quickly growing in importance in the maritime industry. This is key in MacGregor’s strategy. “When we succeed in serving the customer with sustainability in mind, we will not only become a better company but will also help our customers and the maritime industry improve,” says Heino.

Safety first!

Safety is key for all players in the maritime business, and Heino underlines the importance of safe working environments.

“MacGregor has a long tradition of high safety standards and has safety performance to be proud of. However, this is an area we can never stop working on – for the safety of our colleagues, customers and partners.”

In addition to physical safety, he lifts up the importance of building an open atmosphere where all can be their natural selves, dare to speak up, can enjoy working and feel inspired.

This and further articles in our latest edition of MacGregor News include: