At Serpa, we engineer our packaging machines with durability and performance in mind. We know that our customers rely on that dependability to maximize uptime, productivity — and the bottom line.
However, even the best packaging machines require regular, preventative maintenance. And, despite that maintenance, they may occasionally have configuration issues or need a replacement part. That’s why Serpa is built on a foundation of exceptional customer service.
A Legacy of Service
Before launching the company in 1985, founder Fernando Serpa already had a strong technical field service and support background. He used that knowledge to create a service-centric company based on three principles:
- An industry-leading service program offering a wide range of repair, preventative maintenance, and training options — all backed by a one-hour service response guarantee
- Packaging machines designed to minimize ongoing maintenance requirements, use readily available replacement parts, and enable faster and more cost-effective servicing
- A ‘whatever-it-takes’ attitude shared by every employee and a commitment to providing the best possible customer experience
Serpa’s 5 Star Service — Created With the Customer in Mind
Customers have a wide range of service and support requirements, and we designed Serpa’s industry-leading 5 Star Service to deliver a fast resolution to any issue.
The ‘core’ 5 Star Service plan provides customers with 24/7 access to the Serpa support team and expedited emergency parts. Features of 5 Star Service include:
- Online troubleshooting via VPN router
- Service hotline: 24 hours a day, seven days a week
- 1-hour response time for any after regular business hours telephone support
- 24-hour turnaround on emergency parts in the continental US only
- Purchased components list in machine manual including OEM name and part number
- Every Serpa fabricated part is engraved with its part number
- Hand-picked recommended spare parts list for your
machine
As well as the core 5 Star Service, Serpa offers three upgraded 5 Star plans (Silver, Gold, and Platinum) that include onsite preventative maintenance and training (up to four times per year), discounts on additional parts and services, and an available six-month warranty extension with the purchase of a new machine.
A Seamless Customer Experience
Customers calling into Serpa for service know we will proactively manage and (if necessary) escalate their issue until it is resolved. Upon calling, customers will speak with a trained Serpa technician or receive a callback within one hour if outside of regular business hours.
The majority of cases are successfully closed at this initial step. Unresolved issues are often controls related, and these cases are escalated to a controls engineer. If necessary, the engineer will log into the machine’s operating system using a customer approved online connection to diagnose and resolve the issue.
If the problem is still outstanding, Serpa can dispatch an expert field service technician within 24 hours to remedy the issue onsite. Emergency replacement parts can also be shipped within 24 hours.
Serpa’s dedicated Service Group is a highly-trained, experienced team. Currently, the shortest tenure on the team is seven years, and the least-experienced field engineer has over ten years of hands-on experience.
Machines Built to Minimize and Simplify Service Requirements
Less maintenance means less downtime, and we design our Serpa packaging solutions to reduce the frequency, complexity, and cost of maintenance:
- Sealed units are used wherever possible to eliminate maintenance for gearboxes, bearings, and other components.
- Serpa also uses lube-less linear systems that are sealed for life and don’t require maintenance.
- Lubrication fittings are outboard for ease of service and maintenance, so service techs don’t have to climb inside the machine to lubricate it.
- Air and vacuum filters are located externally or within a single guard for ease of access.
- Where possible, Serpa machines use common trade parts (such as bearings and belts) available through general industrial distributors. Customers can often save time and costs by locally sourcing these widely available parts.
- Parts fabricated by Serpa are clearly marked to simplify identification and replacement.
Our People Make the Difference
Ask anyone at Serpa, and they’ll tell you that “we’re all on the Customer Service team.” Delivering on customer requirements often means collaborating with team members from service, manufacturing, engineering, and other areas of the company. It’s all part of the ‘whatever it takes’ attitude shared by every Serpa employee.
Current events have created their own unique challenges. For instance, we have had several urgent projects related to the Covid-19 pandemic that involved specialty parts orders, equipment retro fits to existing pharmaceutical lines and complete new packaging lines. We have staffed our teams to get these projects out successfully without compromising Serpa quality.
While we build industry-leading packaging machines, in many ways, Serpa is really a service company. Service is central to everything we do, and it’s that commitment that enables us to provide our 98% uptime guarantee.
Our customers depend on it.
