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Wales confidently. He will use his role in this segment in
future to help create a broader basis to ensure that ever
more customers receive adequate spare parts, cus-
tomer service, and technical and sales support. ‘We must
be able to keep pace with the strong growth in new
installations and adapt our service accordingly. There is
definitely still room for us to optimise the content of our
technical customer service and expand it by continuing
to add services which meet future needs. That is a
challenge which especially appeals to me.’ In his role
as head of customer service, Jenkinson sees himself
as responsible for all areas positioned downstream of
sales: setting up and commissioning new systems,
supplying spare parts, carrying out all assembly activi‑
ties and repairing, overhauling and reconditioning used
mixers. ‘My job as manager is thus wide-ranging – but
at the moment I am primarily concerned with establish-
ing a good customer service team for Great Britain,
mostly due to the fact that our customer service net-
work is continuing to grow throughout the world.’ The
53-year-old is married to an author of children’s books
and has two sons aged 14 and 16. Jenkinson lives with
his family in North Wales. The family loves nature and
they regularly spend their holidays hiking in Scotland.
Ali Akbar – works in the automation
department at Harburg-Freudenberger,
Freudenberg, Germany
After completing his degree in Pakistan, Ali Akbar moved
to Stuttgart to enrol on a Master of Science programme –
after which he joined Harburg-Freudenberger in the
Siegerland region where he currently works in the auto-
mation department. He is thrilled with the opportunity
to be able to get involved in product development with
a high degree of customer contact. ‘I really like my job,
because it gives me a unique chance to hone my tech-
nical expertise and social skills in equal measure,’ says
the married Pakistani from Lahore. His specific job is to
attune products to the special needs of the customers,
enhance them on the customer side and train custom-
ers how to use them. ‘Any machine is ultimately only as
good as its operator,’ says Ali Akbar with a wink. ‘It’s an
incredible amount of fun being able to support the
users to ensure that they get the best out of the equip-
ment.’ In addition, the 30-year-old is also involved in
enhancing the increasingly more efficient control soft-
ware, and it is something he does with passion: ‘For
me, passion means continually working on producing
the best products and services for our customers,’
says Ali Akbar. He has a clear opinion on the various
companies coming together to form the HF MIXING
GROUP: ‘There is often no clear concept when com-
panies merge, but at the HF MIXING GROUP the big
plan is discernible, although perhaps not yet in every
little detail. Naturally such processes always involve
change for some departments and individuals, but in
the case of most mergers there are ultimately benefits
for everyone, evident in aspects such as being in a
stronger competitive position, saving money as a result
of synergies in technology, procurement and capacity,
and when it comes to product development and secur-
ing the long-term success of the company. The bene-
fits can already be seen in the case of the HF MIXING
GROUP.’
Ali Akbar, automation specialist at Harburg-Freudenberger, Freudenberg.
