“Most of us do our learning on the job, and with all the complexity and diversity in process analysers, the task of learning is never complete. The best of the mentors in my career taught me to distill all I had learnt, and to try and deliver useful and manageable chunks of information and knowledge – never try to regurgitate everything you have been taught, it will always be overwhelming. Make it fun and always remember we all started from zero once. “
Today we will talk with our VP of Business Development and our Analytical Chemist Guru “Stuart Simmonds”, who will share with us his views on the development of the process analytical industry, the challenges customers are facing and how he sees Novatech as a true solution provider.
Q. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what got you into Process Analysers?
I found my way to the process analyser industry, as so many of us do, by chance. But somewhat unusually I am an analytical chemist where most in the industry have engineering related qualifications. This suited me perfectly as I was not destined to be working in a laboratory. The industrial processes were far more my speed.
Q. Can you describe your role as VP of Business Development at Novatech?
My role at Novatech is somewhat a culmination of all the years working in the industry, with particular focus on the analytical technologies themselves. Day to day work consists of technically supporting the sales efforts, whether that is with application support or with training and presenting the analytical solutions. The BD department also acts as liaison between principal manufacturers and the Novatech teams and we continually review the market for future business opportunities, market developments and/or legislative changes.
Q. What kind of challenges are your customers facing and how does Novatech help to address those challenges?
Most industries are continually asked to do more with less, and that would also be true of the process analytical end users. In this case, Novatech helps to fill those voids by providing the complete technical solution to our customers. We like to consider ourselves a complete analytical solutions provider, not just offering exceptional engineering designs, world class products, and top-quality service support, but by also providing applications knowledge, training and process analytical expertise.
“The overriding challenge for end users always seems to relate to support. Process analysers by their nature can be complicated beasts and we ask of them to work under very grueling and demanding conditions, over lengthy periods of time. Without continuous support even the best of them will fail in the end.”
Q. From the Business Development point of view, what unique technology does Novatech have in Analytical measurement?
The process analytical industry is dominated by a number of key analytical techniques. These provide the foundation for the large majority of process measurements made. However, the industry also has a very broad array of niche orientated products to suit specific critical applications and resolve certain measurement requirements. Novatech strives to have as many of these products in our portfolio as possible. Our aim is to be able to provide all solutions to our customers in Canada.
Q. What is the difference in process automation today compared to years ago?
The key factors for change relate to the length of tenure and specialisation in the industry. The work force of today is much more transient and more generalist than it had been in the past. At the start of my career, both the manufacturers and the end users, had long tenure employees who had dedicated their careers to process analysers. This meant there was a large concentration of experts at both ends of the supply chain and technology advancement was commonly done by committee between both. This is still done today but there is less opportunity for it as the end users ask their teams to move around departments and take a more generalist approach to the work.
Q. What gives Novatech products an edge over its competitors?
Novatech strives to offer best in class manufactured analytical products with unrivaled engineering expertise providing a complete solution to the end users.
“I have been very fortunate to have worked with and been mentored by some of the very best in the industry and my personal motivation lies in trying to live up to the standards they instilled in me. We are an intellectually generous industry (as one such mentor often told me) and being able to pass that knowledge along to the various people in the industry is very rewarding.”
Q. What are some of the day to day challenges that you face in your role and how do you overcome it?
Like many industries, it is very hard to come into process analysers with any pre-existing knowledge. Most of us do our learning on the job, and with all the complexity and diversity in process analysers, the task of learning is never complete. The best of the mentors in my career taught me to distill all I had learnt, and to try and deliver useful and manageable chunks of information and knowledge – never try to regurgitate everything you have been taught, it will always be overwhelming. Make it fun and always remember we all started from zero once. That is the endless – but enjoyable – challenge in the work.
Q. From your experience, what is the most common concern among customers?
The overriding challenge for end users always seems to relate to support. Process analysers by their nature can be complicated beasts and we ask of them to work under very grueling and demanding conditions, over lengthy periods of time. Without continuous support even the best of them will fail in the end. So, the concern for the end user is in knowing those of us that provided the solution will also be on hand to help support the analysers and sample systems through their life cycle in the plants.
Q. The world is completely changing these days, some sectors are slowing down while other sectors and industries are booming; where do you see Novatech in this changing world? Can Novatech provide any solution for the rising sectors / industries?
We work hard at Novatech trying to peer into the crystal ball and predict where the various parts of the industry are headed. From a macro scale many process industries remain relatively consistent which helps with our future planning. However, on the micro scale there are always changes being made, changing legislation to be considered and new industries or applications to review. Novatech, by design, has a diverse and broad reaching product portfolio which allows us to easily adapt to the changes. Changes always bring opportunities, so we welcome them at Novatech.
Q. What motivates you everyday?
Motivation is easy to find in the process analytical world. It is vast and complex and offers up an endless source of new material to learn. For any folks with an inquisitive mind this is the perfect place to exercise the brain. I have been very fortunate to have worked with and been mentored by some of the very best in the industry and my personal motivation lies in trying to live up to the standards they instilled in me. We are an intellectually generous industry (as one such mentor often told me) and being able to pass that knowledge along to the various people in the industry is very rewarding.