填空题
.Manufacturer's newservicefocus
The huge Eastman chemical complex in Tennessee, USA symbolises the effort by one mid-sized UK manufacturer to make a move into the world of services. Stationed full-time on the site-which is one of the biggest chemical works in the US-are six employees of British firm AES Seal,
1 job is to maintain and replace the mechanical seals in rotating machinery throughout the complex. The link with Eastman is part of AES's push to become as much a service company as a manufacturer.
The company has built its service operations by spelling
2 the direct financial benefits it can offer new customers:
3 return for a service contract covering a specific site, AES will reduce current maintenance costs by 25%. The company has been able to hit this target up until
4 and its service contracts account
5 a respectable proportion of its annual revenue.
However, the added service offering consists
6 only of the pursuit of individual contracts, but also of trying to build the question of service into AES's overall culture. About a fifth of the company's employees currently work in a service function, advising customers both on the type of seal to buy
7 on the correct way to operate their plants
8 that sealing costs are reduced.
Design skills are also central to the operation. AES employs about 25 people to design new seals, vital in helping the operating efficiencies of the companies it sells
9 Progress is such
10 AES will soon be scarcely recognisable as the company it used to be.