The announcement comes after the company carried out a number of optimization measures, infrastructure and organizational improvements at its Center of Excellence (COE) in Oelde, Germany.
Steering team
GEA has appointed an assessment coordinator and the Fast Lane offer is currently limited due to capacity and time restraints. As a result, a small steering team will decide on the urgency of each repair based on criteria.
Once a repair is prioritized, the operational team takes over the order, managing the entire process which includes cooperating with the specialist departments as well as arranging for the dispatch of parts and repaired machines – reducing overall lead times by up to 80%.
“Even the short-term breakdown of a separator can, in worst-case scenarios, halt the entire production which can result in heavy economic losses for companies. Such situations require quick analysis and repair. In most instances, the separator must be transported to a certified GEA workshop to ensure authorized repair by the original manufacturer, which includes the necessary safety tests," a GEA spokesman said.
Shipment, reporting, repair, inspection and return require a certain time frame, which can be bridged via bowl rentals or spare parts – however, this is not always the best scenario for customers.
Urgent repairs
The GEA Fast Lane Service is designed for urgent repairs, which are handled by a dedicated team who work alongside GEA’s regular diagnostic and repair service teams but have the advantage of being able to exclusively handle prioritized cases more quickly.
The Fast Lane Service is offered for separators in all application areas with a surcharge based on bowl diameter.