In our latest interview, Éric Deschênes, Mechanical Engineering Coordinator at Rexfab, shares his perspective on the value of understanding the people behind each project, working as a team, and finding solutions that truly make a difference.

How do you approach the process of understanding the client’s needs?

First of all, behind every client, there is a real person. Whether it is a small or large bakery, our direct contact is usually the project manager, but above all, they are a human being with their own background, experience, and skills. They may come from maintenance, sanitation, production, or even a completely different field. You have to get to know that person and understand where they come from in order to know how to work with them and successfully bring the project to completion.

The client may come to us with a very precise idea or, on the contrary, with a vague idea or a simple wish. Our role is to go further, to uncover what they may not necessarily have thought about. We need to fully understand the system, the process, and the equipment involved in order to provide a QUALITY solution.

My role as coordinator is to be the bridge between our project manager and our engineering team. I become involved in new projects near their beginning. This allows me to understand the context, the discussions with the client, the constraints…

My job is to break all of that down and pass the information on to engineering clearly and completely. Sometimes, projects end up looking nothing like what we started with — and that is okay, because it is a sign that we have done our job well in uncovering the real needs.

What helps tremendously is involving all of the client’s stakeholders, because they are the ones living with the equipment every day. By including them in the thought process, we avoid many downstream problems. They are a valuable source of information for delivering successful projects.

What are the three main things to consider when working with clients?

Deep experience
Within our team, several people have between 10 and 25 years of experience in the field, and that makes an enormous difference. When you have seen countless projects, you often recognize issues before the client even formulates them. That experience is shared among colleagues and carried from one project to the next, allowing us to bring real added value right from the start.

The strength of a multidisciplinary team

With our systems engineering group, we are never alone when analyzing a project. Different points of view change everything: someone will always think of something that might have escaped me. We have also documented a list of common questions — items that come up in almost every project — which allows us to be thorough without losing the flexibility needed to meet each client’s specific requirements.

The human relationship

Clients want to feel that there is someone on the other end of the line. Not a robot or a phone menu with ten options, but a real person who understands their reality and is there to help. At Rexfab, when a client calls, someone answers. That is service. And it brings us back to the starting point: above all, we serve a person, not just a client account.

What is the real value you bring to clients?

For me, the real value lies in responding to their true needs, not just their initial request. Sometimes, what the client asks for and what they truly need are not exactly the same thing. Our role is to dig deeper, ask the right questions, and understand the problem as a whole before proposing a solution.

Finding good solutions requires creativity, and that creativity can come from anywhere. I remember, for example, a maintenance team that had improvised a setup to clean their equipment. At first glance, it seemed unusual, but when I reflected on it through the lens of my experience, it inspired ideas that we were able to integrate into our own designs. Without that direct connection with the people on the plant floor, we never would have seen that. That is exactly where the value lies: not limiting ourselves to what already exists, seeking alternatives, making connections across different experiences, and coming up with solutions that make a tangible difference. Or that leads us to INNOVATION.

How do you handle client issues?

Client issues are the moment of truth…! That is when we show who we really are, and for me, that is always the number one priority. When a problem arises, I am the first to respond and the first to go back to the drawing board to find a solution.

It is also at that moment that we prove Rexfab’s COMMITMENT to our partners and clients, and that we are not simply an equipment supplier. We do not always have an immediate answer, and that is normal, but we always come back with solutions. We take the time to speak with the production, maintenance, and sanitation teams, because to solve a problem properly, you first have to understand it properly. That requires listening and collaboration.

I sincerely believe that service is what sets us apart the most. We live in a time when service is gradually disappearing, both among retailers and manufacturers. We have experienced it ourselves when trying to get support from other suppliers, and it is extremely frustrating. So when our clients call and reach a real person who is available and involved, it makes all the difference. Some clients even contact us to get ideas and guidance for solving problems with equipment from other suppliers. In my opinion, that says a lot.