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CONCRETE PIPES AND MANHOLESwww.cpi-worldwide.com CPI %u2013 Concrete Plant International | India Edition %u2013 1 | 2026 49Industrial automation, %u201cprobably first focused on batching and making concrete,%u201d Witte said. Today, data collection and automation drives nearly every aspect of production. %u201cIt%u2019s expensive, you need more technical staff, and you need a market that justifies the investment,%u201d Witte said. Those factors started coming together in recent years. Taking Care of the MachinesTaking care of the machines is at the core of the Afinitas Alliance Service Partnership. The mission is to move from a reactive service model to a proactive one, according to Keith Cole, North American Service Leader. Cole joined Afinitas in 2023 after 28 years in the technical services field at Illinois Tool Works.In moving from the %u201cbreak-fix%u201d reactive model to the proactive preventive maintenance approach, Cole is building a team of service technicians that are strategically located throughout the United States, rather than dispatching service technicians from a single Afinitas location in Mediapolis, Iowa. %u201cIt has to be very agile, so we%u2019re looking to have remote field service resources,%u201d Cole said. %u201cAt the same time, I%u2019ve found that the most successful approach is to partner with the customers. You do that through a robust services program.%u201dThe Afinitas Alliance Services approach offers three tiers of service: a basic maintenance plan; an intermediate plan that blends general maintenance with some plant optimization services; and a premium plan that includes full maintenance services plus more extensive optimization services.If it Ain%u2019t Broke %u2026While there is a longstanding philosophy among some manufacturers that %u201cif it ain%u2019t broke, don%u2019t fix it,%u201d that ethic starts to disappear when the Afinitas team works with a customer to analyze the cost of lost revenue during unplanned downtime versus preventive maintenance throughout the lifecycle of the equipment. That%u2019s why offering service partnerships is growing in importance in the industry among equipment manufacturers, Cole said.%u201cI think it%u2019s transformational, and through benchmarking and optimization we can show that they%u2019re going to make more money with this approach than by running their machines into the ground. We%u2019re perfectly positioned to lead this effort. We%u2019ve got the infrastructure. We%u2019ve got the vision. And we%u2019ve got the team.%u201dParts: Integral to the PlanAfinitas also has the parts, which are an integral component to any service plan.Zach Vail, Global Aftermarket Leader, sees the parts component of Alliance Partnerships as an opportunity to strengthen relationships with customers. In fact, in his previous position as leader of the Afinitas Curing Team, ensuring parts availability was key.Keith Cole, Afinitas North American Service LeaderWith the premium plan, %u201cwe look at all the Afinitas equipment. We can also look at the concrete delivery, the mix chemistry and the plant layout,%u201d Cole said. %u201cWe%u2019ll look at how their operators are being assigned to different stations. We take the entire picture and then partner with our customers in making recommendations on how they can improve their business. Then we%u2019re going to benchmark it to give you an estimate of where you are,%u201d he added. %u201cAnd when we%u2019re done, we%u2019ll do another benchmarking exercise to demonstrate the return on investment, not only for the equipment, but for the service visit and the partnership plan.%u201dZach Vail, Afinitas Global Aftermarket Leader%u201cEverything evolves as time goes on,%u201d Vail said. %u201cTraditionally in our parts business, we%u2019ve been very reactive.%u201d Afinitas team members have always been focused on customer support, but now they are taking it to an even higher level.%u201cSo now we have a responsibility to do what I%u2019m calling a wellness check,%u201d Vail said. %u201cWe%u2019re reaching out to our customers to see if there%u2019s anything they need from us.%u201dAfinitas on-site service is geared toward extending the life of equipment.