Marcos Novo, a senior engineer technician at Surdry, has just celebrated his 24th work anniversary. He is a reference for retort equipment engineering and has traveled the world to ensure customers are operating machines at their peak performance.
Marcos Novo is an expert on all Surdry batch retort models. Based in Bilbao, Spain, he has spent the last 24 years as a Surdry engineer technician assisting countless customers worldwide — from Japan to Argentina and Greece to the U.S. Novo serves as a reference for newer colleagues and customers, offering training in troubleshooting and maintenance procedures and actively contributing to the development of new technologies. He also participates in machine testing and commissioning processes.
In this interview with Surdry North America (SNA), Novo discusses his technician training, his role at Surdry and what keeps him motivated to work with retorts.
What regions do you cover?
I’m based in Bilbao but have served machines all over the world. In the U.S., we collaborate with the Surdry North America team to provide local support and visit customers when needed.
How did you become a retort technician?
I studied electronic engineering at the Sorromostro Training Center in the Biscay province in the 1980s. At that time, IBM PCs started becoming commercialized, which opened a whole new world for me. The internet didn't exist in those days, so most of my learning was self-taught. This combination of electronics and programming helped me understand how to navigate new technologies.
What does your job at Surdry entail?
I help develop control system software, commission and test equipment before shipping it to customers. I also ensure that our customers’ retorts are running at the highest efficiency levels and educate local staff members on the importance of preventative maintenance. We offer training courses to equip those in charge of the retorts with the information needed for troubleshooting and establishing effective maintenance plans.
While our retorts are extremely reliable and require minimal maintenance, occasional issues are inevitable with thousands of machines operating across the globe. I help ensure these machines are quickly restored to their peak capacity.
What is the most exciting part about your job?
I am passionate about machine engineering and really enjoy traveling for work. Exploring new countries, meeting new people and learning about their traditions and cuisine is fascinating. However, in recent years I have been assisting customers remotely more often, which has worked very well.
What distinguishes Surdry’s technologies from competitors?
Customers understand that one of Surdry’s largest advantages is our flexibility and how easily we can adapt a retort to meet any demand. Unlike larger companies, we don’t have multiple internal departments to mobilize when making changes to a standard model. This allows us to customize a retort for a specific project more quickly and easily, resulting in a more efficient production line.
Additionally, Surdry retorts are highly reliable and robust machines! Most service requests from our customers are for simple things, like a sensor that stopped working. Some of our customers have 30-year-old retorts that are still operating incredibly well. In fact, they are so robust that a common request for these older models is to upgrade the Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) to a more modern, automated version. Some control systems are so outdated that even the manufacturers no longer produce replacement parts.
What are the most common issues encountered when servicing a retort?
Most problems are related to inadequate parts installation, which is why training is so important. Poor preventative maintenance also accounts for the majority of issues. Parts like the door gasket, for example, have a limited lifespan and need regular replacement. Otherwise, this leads to problems down the line.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I appreciate spending time with my loved ones and learning about new technologies.