Management and planning are essential to the success of any company, in any industry, including mechanical engineering. The role covers overseeing day-to-day operations and managing service calls so they’re handled as quickly as possible.
Not far from IFP Europe’s headquarters stands IFP-2, a branch of the main site that also houses the service control room. This is where customer service requests come in, and where solutions and answers go out.
“Staying close to customers, taking in service requests, managing them and scheduling interventions: that’s what we do every day, with the commitment of everyone on my team,” says Giulia Giacometti, Service Scheduling and Planning Manager. “I’d say the phrase you hear most often in this room is ‘do it fast and do it right’, because no customer can afford machine downtime or a production stop. We handle many of the requests that come in by email, by phone or through the ticket system on our website remotely. Otherwise, our technicians head out to the customer’s site with the spare parts, in Italy and around the world.”
An all-blue team with a touch of pink?
“I joined IFP Europe in 2018 after working in retail, where I was a store manager. I started at the front office, and in October 2023 I moved to service scheduling and planning, a team of 14 people including in-house technicians and colleagues who handle installation and both routine and emergency maintenance. I’m convinced that the efficiency of a service depends on skills, of course, and also on the rapport and understanding that develop between colleagues.
I’m the only woman in the group and I really enjoy it. Day by day I’m getting familiar with the language of mechanics: filter bags, gaskets, basket holders, oil changes, washing chambers, ultrasonics, automation. These terms are steadily becoming part of my professional vocabulary. I handle quotes and after-sales for the machines, from maintenance and spare parts to upgrades, accessories and software changes, with support from the purchasing and technical departments, as well as scheduling installations and commissioning.
The world of mechanics drew me in from the start and, in a way, fascinated me: the more I learned, the more passionate I became. Sometimes I’d like to know even more. I like having a say,” Giulia adds with a smile.
A company is a puzzle: watching it grow from the inside
“Six years isn’t long, but it can feel like a lot. I’ve been lucky enough to see the company grow steadily over these years: more customers and therefore more revenue and business volume, new professional roles, expansion in Italy and abroad. Companies are like puzzles, pieces that fall into place thanks to everyone’s contribution, and I’ve felt part of that growth too. There’s another aspect of my role I really appreciate: I deal with customers every day, so I’ve kept up the relationships that started during my front office days. I love that. Every call starts with a ‘How are you?’, and it’s always a pleasure when a customer visits us.”
Let’s rewind the tape. Looking back, what would you choose to do?
“When I started working, I never imagined I’d one day be doing what I do now, but life has a way of surprising us in the best way…
The goal is to improve things and improve ourselves. Our CEO, Giacomo Sabadin, has taught us an important lesson: people learn. They should be chosen for who they are and for their human qualities, beyond their skills alone. Then, with commitment, reliability and determination, everything follows, everything happens, everything gets built.”
