In this Rexfab Experts interview, Raphaël Proulx shares how nearly a decade of engineering experience has shaped his approach to technical support, customer collaboration, and problem-solving.

What do you do at Rexfab?

I’m an engineer and I’ve been with Rexfab for almost ten years. Right now, I’m a Resale Technical Expert, working mainly with the equipment from the partners whose products we distribute.

But I’m still very connected to the different roles I’ve held at Rexfab. I’ve been a Project Manager, Technical Coordinator, and Product Manager for the Depanner and Pan Inverter Cleaner. I’m still involved in servicing those pieces of equipment, and I’ve built relationships with the customers who use them.

As a Resale Technical Expert, why would you say it’s important for Rexfab to have someone in that role?

I think you need someone who isn’t caught up in the day-to-day pressure of delivering projects, so they can support service and engineering, retain that knowledge, stay available for training, and also train service technicians. In a way, it creates a central point for technical knowledge.

What are the three main things you do when working with customers during the design process?

One thing that came to mind with that question is from when I was a Project Manager. Once a quotation has been submitted and we have a PO from the customer, the project is defined. But when it reaches engineering and we get into the system details, the designers sometimes come up with ideas to improve the concept.

As a Project Manager, I never hesitated to bring those ideas to the customer. It might involve an upcharge, but if you’re going to have the system for 25 years, you may wish you had added something like a lift-up conveyor for better access. During the design stage, there is still time to change your mind.

For me, one way to involve the customer in the design process is to have them approve, for example, the project’s sequence of operations. During engineering, when we define in detail how the conveyors will behave, I would present that document to the customer: “This is our detailed understanding of what you requested. Any questions? This is what we’re moving forward with. Are you comfortable with it? Perfect.” I like to go back to the customer regularly so everything is clear to them.

The last major example I had of a customer being directly involved in the design process was a customer who came to the Rexfab plant because they wanted to purchase a new Pan Inverter Cleaner / Pan Inverter. They spent a day and a half in a boardroom proposing improvements. They already had one, so they knew the product well. “I’d rather have this type of switch on the doors. Instead of this fixed panel, I’d like it to be a door. I’d like this sensor moved,” things like that. Those were improvements suggested by the customer that we were able to integrate into their equipment. We like working that way when we can get direct customer input. It helps us improve our equipment, and the customer is more satisfied with the product they purchase. It was a very rewarding experience.

Can you talk a little about some of the main problems you’ve faced in the past and what they taught you—new knowledge or new ways of doing things? Were there any major challenges that taught you the most?

That goes back quite a while. One example would be the first time I did a startup on a depanner, in New York State. I had designed depanners before, but I had never installed one at a customer’s facility. The customer had tried to do it themselves and hadn’t been able to get it working. The first loaves were coming out of the oven, and we had to adjust the machine so it would work.

There was no other option. I remember there was a lot of pressure. We succeeded, and it was very satisfying. After you’ve done that once, you’re much better equipped to adapt your future designs and concepts.

What specifically did you learn from that?

I think that was when we confirmed that we needed longer suction cups when depanning Easyway loaves from Hardway pans, for example.

We had tested it on one pan, but in the end we changed it for all of the pans. That allowed me to validate the concept.

What would you say is the difference between a Resale Technical Expert and a Product Manager?

At the time, the Product Manager role at Rexfab was much closer to mechanical design. We were the ones doing the sizing and creating the 3D equipment models.

As a Resale Technical Expert, I’m less involved in projects and less involved in design. On paper, my role is mainly focused on our partners’ equipment. However, I remain involved with other Rexfab equipment as well. As a technical expert, I’m usually brought in when there is a problem.

That’s really the challenge. Normal design stays within engineering. A normal installation stays with the installation team. But when there’s a difficult issue and we don’t really understand why something is happening, that’s when people can call on Raphaël.

That’s very important, right? Yes.

Because it’s the customer’s problem.

Yes. At that moment, you’re the most important person because the customer is waiting for an answer.

Yes.

That’s interesting. In your role as a Resale Technical Expert, can you give a few examples of your experience working with customers?

Yes. I’m thinking of a customer who was having trouble with the Clipping Units in their Baggers. At the time, I don’t think our service technicians had received much training on those units. I had been trained in Germany.

So I was the one who went in and adjusted the Clipping Units.

We were able to adjust the equipment successfully. When I left, the equipment was running. Since I was already on site, I also trained the customer’s operators and maintenance technicians.

I even left notes inside the machine explaining what different components were for.

Was the customer happy? What did they say to you?

I’m trying to think of an actual customer quote. Once in Pennsylvania, we did a startup on a Bread Pusher Lane. We were having trouble separating the rows of bread.

When we finally got it working, I remember the corporate Project Manager was there and was very satisfied. He told me, “Thanks a lot, my friend,” or something along those lines.

He knew we could solve his problem.

Attention to detail matters because it helps make the solution work, document it properly, and share detailed processes with others. What do you think of that?

That’s true, and it makes me think about the difference between when I go to a site and when a service technician goes. Sometimes the difference is in the type and depth of reporting that’s expected. If a piece of equipment needs to be repaired and the failure is already known, we’ll often send a service technician.

But when there’s a problem with a slicer—for example, the slices are coming out strangely or the machine is damaging the loaves—and we don’t know what the solution is, that’s when I go on site.

I can look beyond the equipment itself: the bread temperature, cooling time, moisture in the product, and product dimensions, all in an effort to formulate a solution. Because I’m an engineer by profession, I tend to be more methodical and prepare more detailed, in-depth reports. That’s not meant to diminish the work of our service technicians.

Methods, organization, and documentation are very important. I think those things matter a lot.

That’s why customers have told you, “Good job, my friend.”

That wasn’t the same example. That situation was more of an installation, so there was less documentation involved.
In my role, especially when we’re talking about our partners, I may go to a customer’s site, gather the information, organize it, and send it to our partners. That saves them from having to travel to the site themselves.

Often, the customer has difficulty explaining exactly what they need. They might say, “It’s not working properly; it’s not clipping the bread.” Once I’m on site, I may be able to identify that they’re actually having trouble adjusting the Gathering Arms, for example. I can then pass that information on to our partners or propose a modification to a component.

Gathering and synthesizing information is a significant part of my work.

Good, Raph. Is there anything else you’d like to add?

What that made me think about is that the best way for equipment to have value in the customer’s eyes is for it to work well. In my opinion, the long-term value of the equipment depends heavily on the quality of the service—the after-sales support.

Even within my current role, I still do a lot of that: answering questions by email and taking calls from customers. That applies to our partners’ equipment, but as I mentioned, I’ve held several roles at Rexfab in the past.

A lot of customers know me from those previous roles. I never refuse to help customers when they contact me. I refer them to the right person at Rexfab, or often I take care of the issue myself, even if it goes a little beyond my formal responsibilities. That’s why I remain connected to the equipment I’ve worked on in the past.

What do you do to support customers when problems arise?

Of course, on a normal day I have regular projects to work on. But a customer request—especially when a production line is down—is always our number-one priority. The first step is to understand the problem.

It doesn’t help when the only information we get from the customer is, “It doesn’t work.” We usually try to speak with the maintenance technician who actually saw the problem and ask them to record a video of the equipment so we can provide remote support.

I’ve provided remote mechanical technical support before: adjust this, move that screw, change the timing of a particular component.

The second step is a short-term solution: fix the immediate problem. Can we rush-ship a replacement part?

The third step is a long-term solution to prevent the problem from happening again. Do we need to improve operator or mechanic training? Do we need to modify the design to strengthen the part?

That’s more or less how we approach it.