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16 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? SEPTEMBER 2013 SNEED SHIPBUILDING, INC. Repair Capabilities include: s $ R Y D O C K S 4 O N # A P A C I T Y s - A C H I N E % L E C T R I C A L - E C H A N I C 3 H O P S s ! " 3 # E R T I l E D 7 E L D E R S s # R A N E S s " L A S T I N G A N D 0 A I N T I N G New Construction Capabilities include: s ) N L A N D 0 R E S S U R E " A R G E S s ) N L A N D 4 O W I N G 6 E S S E L S s ! " 3 # L A S S E D $ E C K " A R G E S s $ R Y $ O C K S s ) N L A N D 4 A N K " A R G E S 2 LOCATIONS # ( ! . . % , 6 ) % 7 - A R K E T 3 T R E E T s # H A N N E L V I E W 4 E X A S 0 H O N E s & A X / 2 ! . ' % $ U 0 O N T $ R I V E s / R A N G E 4 E X A S 0 H O N E s & A X CONTACTS MITCH JONES / F l C E s # E L L M I T C H S N E E D S H I P B U I L D I N G C O M CLYDE SNEED O F l C E s # E L L C E S N E E D S N E E D S H I P U I L D I N G C O M FIVE MINUTES WITH WOLFGANG SCHMID missions, we?re not talking about rockets that take us into outer space,? Schmid said. ?However in a gear, as simple as it might look, there is so much technology built in, in terms of material, in terms of manufac-turing processes. To this day we are still op- timizing a gear, the form and the function. We make them lighter, we make the stron- ger. We have the technical ability to deliver what the market wants, what the market needs. We have infrastructure to support our customers and operations globally.? But even the best made products eventu-ally need service, repair or replacement, and Schmid stressed repeatedly the importance of serving the customer. ?We consider our- selves a benchmark company in after sales service.?Crucial to this is the fact that ZF ? for the most part ? does not use third parties or dealers, making the company and its em-ployees intimately and immediately aware of customer feedback, both positive and negative. In turn, it is then able to commu-nicate with the factory in a direct manner to help identify and resolve potential prob-lems. ?I have a staff of naval architects and application engineers, so we?re pretty self-sufÞ cient and we can respond quickly. We are the manufacturer,? Schmid said. ?This makes it much easier to get feedback from the customers directly back to the factory.? Future Challenges While the marine industry is as ß uid and dynamic as any other, it has been a few steps behind in terms of consolidation and cor- poratization. But that is starting to change. ?The marine market has been very dynamic for the last two years,? Schmid said, ?with a lot of consolidation in the marine propul-sion sectors.?(Photo: ZF)Aerial photo of ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Corporate Research & Development and Corporate HQ, Friedrichshafen. ?We have focused more heavily on the commercial activity, backed by our acquisition of a thruster company, which signaled that we really want to be- come a major force in that market? MR #9 (10-17).indd 16MR #9 (10-17).indd 169/5/2013 10:15:08 AM9/5/2013 10:15:08 AM
