Atlas Copco Group
Sibongile Mtaopane joined Atlas Copco in 2006 as a Business Development Manager in the Oil-free Air division within the Compressor Technique Business Area. After a few years she left the company to gather external experiences before returning in 2015 as Business Line Manager for the Brand Portfolio. Five years later she wanted to explore areas outside of sales and moved into service within Industrial Technique Business Area in 2020.
Once you have worked for Atlas Copco, you will never find any other company like it. Trust me, I have tried. Here you have the freedom to speak your mind, share your ideas, get constructive feedback, and grow. This really does feel like home to me.
As a Business Line Manager, I make sure that our customers and partners get to experience the full value we can add. When customers spend money on a product or a solution from us, they want it to solve their problems. I have a background in product sales and the principles are the same in service, in the sense that customer satisfaction is key. The biggest joy in my role is knowing that we provide solutions and support to both internal and external customers.
Apart from minimal hassle and production downtime, we bring excellent quality. Ninety percent of our customers are in the automotive industry. If a car manufacturer uses inferior tools, they are not going to be able to ensure top-notch product quality. Our role is to make sure that doesn’t happen. Cars must always be safe.
Overall, I believe a lot of trainings take place regularly in Atlas Copco. Two leadership programs have especially spurred my development and growth. One is the "Explorer" program, a four-day training in which the future leadership needs of participants were addressed. The other program was “Fit for growth” which helped me understand what it means to create sustainable growth and my role in this as a leader.
Sibongile Mtaopane
I think service will always be a critical part of our offer. Customers invest a lot of money when purchasing their equipment and for each tool to remain in top condition, it must be maintained. What's important is how we do it from now on. Atlas Copco has always been steps ahead with innovation and we have the tools and the products for the future. Building and maintaining customer relationships will be key. We must make sure that customers continue to invest in service and calibration of their equipment. The only way to do this is to keep developing our offer so that is always aligns with their needs. The pandemic really proved that “there is always a better way”. We have embraced new and more efficient ways of communicating and reaching our customers. For service, the human touch will always be at the core of our business and we will continue to go to customer sites for installation of our tools and equipment, but online tools and solutions will play a bigger role in our daily business. I think there's a great future for service and I'm looking forward to it. A crucial success contributor is ensuring that our staff is trained and competent in delivering the right solutions. I have a strong team that is passionate about their work, so staying motivated is not a difficult task.
For me industrial ideas are all about great, ground-breaking, and innovation. Every product and solution of Atlas Copco must have one of these elements. It must change peoples’ lives and make a positive impact on our customers and on the environment.
