Keen for all things marine

With environmental concerns gaining traction, Sammet’s Key Account Manager for the marine industry, Mr Rami Tammisto shares his secrets for successful product development and what drives his enthusiasm for innovation.

Sammet delivered its first marine dampers, also known as dampers for scrubbers, over 10 years ago. Subsequently, it has become the foremost supplier to the marine industry. Little wonder then, that Sammet’s Key Account Manager for the marine industry, Mr Rami Tammisto, is a hard man to catch. Unavailable for the last edition of Sammet Review, Mr Tammisto promised to schedule an interview for this edition. With true Finnish honesty and a penchant for keeping promises, he appears as scheduled. His first comment is about the weather in Finland. “The unseasonable temperatures remind me that my work is important. Sammet marine dampers are good for the environment and the marine industry”, declares Mr Tammisto.

“Together, as partners, we work through customer challenges and find the best solutions” – Mr Rami Tammisto

Understanding any industry requires unwavering commitment. Despite almost 20 years of experience servicing businesses in the marine industry, Mr Tammisto looks forward to each morning because it brings opportunities to learn. The focus of his career has been customers in the Asian region and at one point, Mr Tammisto moved to South Korea to turbo charge his learning and the local sales pipeline. “To provide the best sales advice and service, I strive to understand the operational issues owners face, their operating profile and business model”, he states. Understanding the nuances of operating a business in the marine industry from an owner’s point of view provides an edge in this competitive industry and is what makes Mr Tammisto Sammet material. “Customers know they can always contact someone with extensive experience in the marine industry, starting from ship design and ending with after sales service”, he emphasises.

Sammet dampers are sold to customers all over the world. Working with a diverse range of customers requires a blend of technical and soft skills which take local habits into account. Mr Tammisto also believes in being close to the action. “Gaining an intimate understanding of a customer’s business and way of working requires direct contact”, he explains. Regular site visits are a staple and a perfect way to connect with customers. Sitting in a distant office and learning about an industry from a book or magazine is not enough for Mr Tammisto. To perfect his craft and analyse customer needs, Mr Tammisto sees his career as a continuous, real life, technical sales education programme. “Experiences gained throughout my career would be impossible to learn in a classroom”, he states.

“Experiences gained throughout my career would be impossible to learn in a classroom”, says Mr Tammisto, Sammet's Key Account Manager for marine industry. Photo: Tero Takalo-Eskola.

Supplementing personal experience with daily updates from industry experts provides vital information about industry trends, regulatory changes and new sales approaches. Armed with this intelligence, discussions with customers become more productive. Implications of changes are dissected, analysed and assessed to identify the best solutions. Take for example, the new environmental regulations aimed at reducing emissions by the marine industry. These new regulations come into effect on 1 January, 2020 but even at this late stage, some businesses remain confused about the best method of emissions reduction. Mr Tammisto looks serious and keenly offers advice based on his ample marine industry experience. “Businesses caught up in the debate over clean fuel versus damper technology to reduce emissions will benefit by selecting the latter. Sammet’s Clean Flow damper technology for marine scrubber systems is a well-known solution, works in vessels and is rather quick to install”. In retrofit cases, installation takes approximately one week.

“The best sales people have big ears. They listen more than they talk” – Mr Rami Tammisto

Researching and communicating with internal partners is also part of Mr Tammisto’s daily routine. Discussions with Sammet’s product development and sales support teams are essential for all projects. Despite unprecedented growth, Sammet’s culture of open communication and working together for the benefit of their partners (i.e the “Sammet Way”) remains strong. “Together, as partners, we work through customer challenges and find the best solutions. We do this because we enjoy solving problems together and because it helps us stay ahead of the game”, states Mr Tammisto. Sammet’s openness and partnership mindset encourages every link in the value chain to co-operatively find effective solutions. “The best sales people have big ears. They listen more than they talk. Big ears to hear with and small mouths to avoid making expensive mistakes”, reveals Mr Tammisto.

This combination of technical expertise and the ability to tune into customers seems to be paying dividends. Demand for Sammet products and services is at all-time high. Large customers are ordering multiple projects knowing they are procuring cutting edge technology and working with a partner that listens. To meet the increased demand, additional capacity has come in the form of Sammet’s newest production plant in Shanghai, China. The result has been even happier customers who are serviced by experts with intimate knowledge about their business operations and faster delivery of their high quality Sammet products.