Tim Nevius is driving to Jacksonville this morning. As a service engineer for Voith's OnCall Mobile Service he carries out inspections and maintenance and repair work on paper machines within a 250-mile radius. The two most important factors for his work: Experience and a high tech utility van with the latest special equipment as well as the most important parts.

Under the hood of a shut-down system Nevius stands on a steel step and inspects the heads of a DuoCleaner. Most Voith machines are calibrated to exact specifications. "Thanks to my years of experience I have developed a good eye for these tiny tolerances," he says.

Nevius repairs a leaky pump that regulates pressure. An external firm doing maintenance had used hoses made from a material that can corrode. In turn, this caused leaks – a safety risk for the system as well as the employees: “A leak in a pump cabinet at a pressure of 300 bar can have the effect of a waterjet cutter," outlines Nevius.

While walking through the factory he explains how the systems are checked and setup and employees get the chance to learn something from him in passing. The plant manager is certain that service engineers like Nevius help to minimize production shut-downs. He says additional downtimes would be needed to get basic know-how about the machines; and that the Voith technicians can work faster. “We need people with expertise who come to our factory to take care of repairs," he said.

In the afternoon, while the paper web runs through the system at a speed of 670 m per minute, Nevius walks alongside one of the machines and shines a flashlight under the hood. Part of his job is to identify areas that can be optimized. With the help of a 3D scanner located in the transporter, which creates large and detailed illustrations of machinery and equipment, Nevius also solves problems for products from third-party manufacturers.

Nevius' job covers many different specialty areas – technology, sales, personal customer relationships, training and maintenance. And all play an equal part in his day-to-day work: “We provide the excellent service that customers always want to have."