Group

“The favorite part of my job is being able to visit places I’d normally never get to.”

Raphael Canonaso

Local service manager I Department: After Sales I Singapore

What do you do at KHS?

As local service manager for the Philippines, I’m in charge of the local after sales of parts and services. 

I’ve been working for KHS Asia for more than ten years now. Every day I’m faced with different challenges and opportunities. My typical working day involves answering customer inquiries and technical concerns, especially when clients are having trouble with something. I also coordinate the engineers here at KHS in the Philippines. 

I also visit our local customers regularly to ensure that they’re satisfied with our products and services and so that I can recognize their requirements early on. We aim to be a reliable partner who makes personal contact indispensable. To guarantee a high standard of service, I work together with Singapore’s Spare Parts Department to cater for local needs and with the Service Division in Dortmund, Germany, to meet demands at an international level. 

What do you like most about your job?

The favorite part of my job is being able to travel locally and abroad and visit places I’d normally never get to.  Although I’m there primarily for work, in my free time I have the chance to explore different places. I’m therefore very happy to have a job that combines work and travel. As a result, you get to know lots of people and lots of different personalities which is also quite interesting for me. 

What kind of challenges do you face in your job?

From my point of view, when you’re responsible for service, you have all kinds of daily challenges to master. It’s always crucial to find fast solutions to avoid production downtime. Especially at the weekends it’s a challenge to find qualified engineers fast who are able to solve machine issues as quickly as possible but luckily we have a committed and flexible team. With this team we can guarantee our customers fast, long-lasting solutions every single day of the week. This challenge is also the most fun part of the job because the feeling you have when you manage to solve an issue is one of immense satisfaction.

What’s your next project?

My next project is to supervise a three-year service agreement with a big company in the filling segment. This task will include audits, machine check-ups, the supply of parts as well as overhauls and the assignment of embedded engineers. This is quite a challenge and important for us because it’s the first time we’ll be handling this kind of project. I’m doing the best I can to make this service agreement a success. KHS campus, the in-house academy at KHS, also supports us by providing a large range of further training opportunities.

“The best teacher is experience.”

How did you gain your expertise and skills at KHS?

The best teacher is experience. I’ve basically gained my knowledge through years of experience working with KHS. My previous jobs were also related to food and beverages, so I was able to lay the foundations for the expertise and skills I need at KHS right at the start of my career. 

What’s more, I had the chance to gain specific KHS expertise on a KHS Sales product training day. This course was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had at KHS. I was given the opportunity to learn new things about our product portfolio which I couldn’t have learned virtually. It was also a rewarding experience to meet lots of people from different cultural backgrounds and with different personalities. Instead of only communicating via email, I was able to interact and brainstorm with my fellow colleagues in person which was great fun! 

What’s the most exciting place you’ve ever been to?

The coolest buildings I’ve ever visited are the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. They’re so tall and absolutely breathtaking that I can recommend traveling to Malaysia just to see them! Another special experience was the day I spent at the KHS headquarters in Dortmund when we took part in the Sales product training course I mentioned before. Germany is very different from the Philippines which is why this was also an extremely memorable trip.

If you had a year off, what would you do?

If I had enough money to spend in that time, I’d try to travel a lot and spend a lot of time with my family. I aim to enjoy a long and relaxing vacation soon as a reward for all our hard work in the upcoming project. I also wish to see my high-school friends and close friends again, so I’d try to manage this in that time, too.