Expert Spotlight

Meet Nagesh Goel, Chief Service Officer at GEA Heating & Refrigeration Technologies. In an exclusive interview, Nagesh sits down with us to share insights into how GEA's service solutions are shaping the future of industrial sustainability, enhancing customer performance, and driving innovation across the heating and refrigeration sector.

Welcome, Nagesh. GEA's service offerings have become an integral part of the company's business model, helping customers not only maintain equipment but also enhance performance and reduce costs. How do you assess the current role of services in delivering added value to customers?   

Nagesh Goel: In the last few years, we’ve embarked on a journey to transition into a more proactive and value-creating service organization. We strive to be the Performance Partners of our customers, providing them peace of mind, trust and top-quality service. Our service offerings are designed to maximize the availability, productivity, and sustainability of our customers’ plant operations. We ensure that our performance-focused approach not only helps in maintaining the equipment but also drives innovation and continuous improvement in our customers’ plants.

What are the main benefits for customers of using GEA's service solutions, such as data-driven maintenance or predictive analytics?  

Nagesh Goel: By leveraging data, digital technologies, and our expertise, we can unlock multiple benefits for our customers. Firstly, it maximizes machine uptime by diagnosing problems, identifying measures, and implementing them well ahead of unexpected shutdowns. Secondly, it ensures optimal performance by fine-tuning control parameters. Lastly, it unlocks savings potential, such as reducing energy costs or CO2 consumption for the plant.

What are the most significant results achieved so far through the digitalization of GEA's service solutions? 

Nagesh Goel: By the end of 2024, we have successfully connected over 150 customer machines to the GEA cloud. This connectivity enables us to monitor plant conditions and performance, including incoming alarms. As a result, we can provide our customers with specific actions and recommendations to reduce the risk of unplanned downtime and proactively manage their plant operating conditions. So far, we have managed to reduce the energy costs of our customers' installations by up to 25%. Additionally, during the commissioning of installations, data analysis has allowed us to identify potential problems in advance, thereby saving time and resources.

Can you provide an example of a specific project where GEA's service solutions significantly improved customer outcomes?

Nagesh Goel: I can quote one of our German utility customers, Uwe Weber from Stadtwerke Lemgo:

"Last year, we achieved 7.000 operating hours in one go without any malfunctions. We have never had anything like that before, and I consider this to be a very good result.”

Stadtwerke Lemgo is a prime example of how we help our customers improve their business. GEA InsightPartner® Blu-Red Care enabled Stadtwerke Lemgo to efficiently utilize renewable heat as a utility, achieving a record 7,000 hours of operation without malfunctions over a year. Looking ahead, the customer expects to benefit even more from partnering with GEA, as the growing number of connected devices will allow GEA to optimize the digital value further.

Long-term operational efficiency and cost predictability are crucial for many of the customers. How does GEA ensure that its customers have the tools and strategies needed to minimize unplanned downtime and optimize equipment performance over the years?

Nagesh Goel: We have developed an excellent tool for this, known as the “SAM Plan” (Service & Asset Management Plan). It integrates all relevant service offerings into a single investment plan suited for each customer’s plant. Consequently, SAM Plan ensures that customers can fulfill their operational needs while also providing them with clarity and predictability regarding their expected total service costs for up to 10 years.

Can you share a project example and the outcome?

Nagesh Goel: I would like to share an example from South Africa, where the local service team visited a chocolate factory. During this investigation, they identified high water temperatures that were traced back to the inefficient Plate Heat Exchangers (PHEs) on water chillers.

SAM plan helped demonstrate the benefits and convince the customer to start a replacement program, executed by GEA. This replacement plan improved the functionality of the PHEs significantly and saved the customer about 10% in energy costs.

Sustainability is becoming a crucial criterion for choosing a service provider, especially in the industrial sector. How does your team ensure that GEA's service offerings align with sustainability principles?

Nagesh Goel: In developing our service offering, we strive to foster circular economy as an inherent priority aligned with our commitment to sustainability. Our products are aimed to extend equipment lifetime, optimize energy efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions. Sustainability is not an afterthought for us; it is considered right from the ideation stage as a customer requirement, and we see this as competitive advantage for GEA. 

Many innovations in service are made possible by strong teams that adapt to change and implement new approaches. What qualities do you value in your employees, and how do you foster a culture that drives innovation in service? 

Nagesh Goel: To excel in service, we need top-notch skills as well as a strong service mindset.

For skills, it’s all about continuous learning. We invest in trainings, promote learning days, and offer certification programs to foster a learning culture in our organization.

For service mindset, ‘Customer Orientation’ and ‘Ownership’ are key. This means commitment to exceed customer expectations by going beyond the comfort zone, asking difficult questions, learning from successes as well as failures, taking responsibility for outcomes and always thinking of the Customer first.

What are the key areas of development you foresee for GEA's Service offerings in the coming years? 

Nagesh Goel: Two words – ‘Performance Partners’ – describe our development areas as well as our ambition for GEA service. We need to align our offerings and business models more with our customers’ goals. If customers succeed, we succeed and other way round - like a true partner. This means further innovation as well as risk taking flexibility in our business models like as-a-service offerings. 

Thank you, Nagesh. We wish you and your team continued success in advancing GEA's service offerings, helping customers not only maintain their equipment but also improve performance, boost productivity, and drive sustainability.