In the latest in our talking heads series of conversations with members of the Total Lubmarine family we chat with Jacopo Zanetti – Country Manager for the Nordic Region – looking at the global, environmental and regional factors that are influencing and shaping his work and what he likes to do when he is not representing Total Lubmarine.
Q) Tell us about your background at Total and what your current role is.
I love the close collaboration we have with our customers and the way we work together and deliver measurable results to their operations.
Q) How has Covid Impacted Your Role?
Pre-Covid a lot of my role involved travelling to meet and see customers face to face – which I really enjoy doing. Clearly Covid has impacted on that from a travel perspective. However, that direct customer liaison remains vital and through online meeting platforms we are still able to retain that face to face approach.
We are all adapting to this new way of working but the close customer contact remains and that’s important and what I enjoy.
Q) What do you like about working within Total?
We are a family. Yes, we are part of a multi-national operation but there is a family feel. We are part of a team and we are all important and working together.
The approach flows into how we work with our customers – with a focus on communication and collaboration with them. Here the culture is to be open and cooperate and communicate together.
In a word of increasing digitalization – which undoubtedly has significant benefits - the human aspect of communicating and working together is recognised as being vitally important and I really like that.
Q) Are there particular things about working in the Nordic Region that stand out for you?
Being where we are, we are dealing with a lot of organisations involved in the offshore sector so there is an emphasis on this market and how our products and technical services can support customers.
The Nordic countries are also very engaged in environmental issues and see this as an increasingly important part of business. I would say there is a great environmental emphasis here across the Nordic region.
They actively want to know how we are positioning ourselves from an environmental perspective and how we are diversifying our product and services offering to reflect this.
So, it is good to be able to demonstrate and highlight through our continued R&D and investment in technologies – for example our development as a leader in the global LNG market, our membership of ‘Getting to Zero’ and through our growing investment in solar and wider renewables technologies – that we are proactively looking at our environmental footprint and ways to improve what we do and what we offer our customers.
The region is also very forward thinking in terms of diversity and equal opportunity. So, for example the shipping industry has long been a male-dominated sector but there are increasing numbers of female Chief Engineers, which is great as I believe it brings new energy and new approaches to the sector.
Q) Is this more-environmentally focussed approach reflected in your work with customers?
Yes – certainly we are seeing an increased use of LNG vessels and discussions around emerging fuel technologies and how this will impact from a lubrication perspective.
Clearly through IMO2020 and heading towards 2030 and 2050 we are able to demonstrate how our products and technical services, along with our proactive approach to R&D can help our customers tackle and meet new environmental legislation. This is really important from a customer perspective and we work with them collaboratively to support them.
As an example, IMO2020 initially put the focus on fuels, but what we are highlighting is that the critical point is the choice of lubricant when it comes to low-sulfur fuels. We have seen through the 2020 Fuel Survey Quality and Safety Survey the problems that have been arising and how the right lubrication combined with technical support services such as Drain Oil Analysis and the support of Marine Lubricant Engineers can not only address these issues but prevent them. Products such as TALUSIA UNIVERSAL demonstrate just how good our R&D is. This is a product that was ahead of game and is perfectly positioned and proven to provide an effective lubricant solution for IMO2020.
We are now talking about the wider benefits an effective lubricant solution can have on the health of the engine in terms of preventing damage, reducing the impact of wear and tear and extending its lifespan. Clearly this can have positive knock-on effects because if you can extend the life of the engine because it is in better condition you can save time, money, spare parts and maintenance which has a strong environmental argument as well as a commercial one.
Q) When you aren’t working, what do you like to do in your spare time?
Life in Denmark is great, it’s great biking around and when winter comes the hygge* atmosphere is everywhere.
I play guitar and play in a band with a colleague. I’d describe the style of music as Funk.
I am also part of a running club and run together with friends.
And I also like to surf. There isn’t much surf in Denmark (or at least any “warm” waters) so when I can I like to head off to locations like Portugal which has some great surf.
*Danish recipe for happiness, positive state of mind