Unlike the sailors of bygone eras who would look to the stars to chart their course across the high seas, today’s sales engineers navigate their days based on the procurement calendars of key clients and public bodies, hoping that the submission deadlines for large projects do not come into alignment!
Holding responsibility for bringing in new business, as well as tender response and the delivery of several ongoing projects, my days are primarily driven by the plans of our client organisations – will a new linkspan be included as part of the port regeneration scope? Does the client know that there is a locally based company able to deliver the linkspan as a turnkey project from design to manufacture and installation – providing them a more cost-effective solution?
This variety of considerations equates with a very diverse day, involving a myriad of differing tasks – from product development within the Malin Marine Equipment range, to tender response and project input, ensuring that our clients’ needs are captured at all stages. I am also often involved in vessel mobilisations, which requires me to understand the scope and check where electrician hours are needed – our teams are multi-disciplinary, which means I can offer clients far more cost-effective solutions, as the same personnel may well be used for nonconcurrent activities).
Taking part in the development of solutions put forward by the engineering teams in response to tenders is especially rewarding; working with true masters of discipline engineering and seasoned operations managers means that We can offer clients innovative solutions, with progressive methodologies.
With past experience of managing engineering projects, I can also appreciate the project interfaces that keep project managers awake at night. However, by undertaking as much of the service delivery in house as possible, our clients can be confident of continual and seamless communications between designers, manufacturers, and installation parties, which makes my job much easier. I am very proud to work for Malin, a company that is committed not only in encouraging innovation, training the next generation of talent, but in sustainable solutions that hopefully, create a circular economy.