Last October, I had the chance to meet Dave Perotta, Vice President of Operations at Electronic Systems Protection at the GraphExpo Show in Orlando. Just about this time last year, ESP/Surgx was acquired by Ametek.
Art: It’s been a year since ESP was acquired by AMETEK, what has transpired?
Dave: It’s been a great transition for us, and it was a perfect opportunity from our standpoint for AMETEK to acquire us. AMETEK is a global leader in electronic instruments and electromechanical devices. The Power Systems and Instruments division of AMETEK that we’re now a part of has been very complementary to the core products and solutions we sell. That’s given us access to a wealth of additional resources and we’re able to add other AMETEK products into our portfolio, thus giving us a larger package of solutions to offer our customers.
Art: What types of products are those?
Dave: We can now complement the whole power platform, so instead of being just a plug level protection device, we can offer some level of circuit breaker level protection to complement our plug level portfolio. We’re now able to offer products like battery backup systems, large transformers and power supplies to provide a complete package to our customers. This helps them walk into any environment and provide an adequate power solution.
One of things we’ve done internally that’s new is to combine our sales teams. In the past we had separate sales teams for our ESP and SurgeX brands. We’ve now combined the sales teams under one group to better meet our customers’ needs, and to give them access to the entire suite of solutions that we offer to help expand their business.
Art: How is the image equipment dealer business for AMETEK?
Dave: Very good, it’s been a very stable steady business for us. We continue to bring new dealers on who see the value of our offerings, and that continues to be an important part of our revenue growth.
How has the acquisition helped ESP better serve its customers?
Basically, it’s the new product portfolio that’s allowed us to help our customers differentiate themselves by getting into other verticals, and giving them new revenue streams. With the level of expertise that we bring to the power environment and the products that we have in our portfolio, it gives our customers the opportunity to sell more equipment outside of imaging.
We have put together portfolios for the production print space, which is a totally different environment from the traditional office environment. The large industrial print equipment being installed can have some complex power requirements. We can help with the setup. We can be the power partner that comes in and recommends what a client of our customer would need to power and protect the equipment and improve efficiency/uptime.
Art: So, AMETEK ESP would put people on site for the install?
Dave: Yes, we would be the partner they bring on-site when the equipment is delivered and the client is asking, “What do I need to do to provide power and how do I protect my equipment?”
Art: What’s new and different?
Dave: The new portfolios and packages that we offer can help our customers differentiate themselves because they can provide new revenue opportunities in segments they already play in.
Art: I’m kind of a novice with power, are there really that many problems with power?
Dave: That’s a great question. The answer is yes. The key factor when we talk about power protection is we’re not talking about lightning strikes. We’re talking about the power environment within buildings, where 80% of issues occur.
You do have some external factors from outside the building with anomalies happening on the grid that affect the internal building environment. The clear majority of problems are happening internally from lighting/HVAC systems and other equipment turning on and off that can attribute to problems in the power environment. In addition, changes are being made all the time, such as adding additional offices and equipment. These low-level types of power problems usually go unnoticed and only manifest themselves when you start installing sensitive equipment on the power grid. Users could see data issues, error codes, and pre-mature failure of electronic boards.
Art: Can Sags in Power Damage Equipment?
Dave: It can cause damage and disruption when you have equipment trying to draw power during a printing a job. Our products not only protect equipment during those events, they also allow technicians to properly diagnose the electrical problem so it can be corrected.
Art: Where do you see the industry heading, and how will dealers be able to succeed?
Dave: In one aspect, it’s about continuing to reduce service calls, and the parts and labor costs that are associated with those calls so that dealers can stay profitable.
We’ve made our devices more intelligent using cloud capabilities and remote access to detect power issues before a call is even made or a truck is rolled.
In addition, by using the analytics collected by our devices, dealers and OEMS can interpret the power problem and recommend a solution avoiding costly calls for the same issue.
The industry must be able to move to other verticals beyond imaging equipment, and our portfolio can help our customers offer new solutions and services to accomplish that task. I see many of our customers getting into IT and the AV space, and consequently we can help them with that.
Art: Dave, this has been awesome, thanks so much for your time, do you have any questions for me?
Dave: None here, thanks for the time today!
Just a plug for ESP, you can access their web site here, better yet give them a call and learn more about additional revenue streams for your dealership.
-=Good Selling=-
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