Graco appoints dedicated marine manager

Graco has named Louis de Hillerin as marine manager. Mr de Hillerin has held various management positions at Graco over the last 22 years, a Graco statement said.

“One major trend in the marine industry is to use new technologies to make jobs safer, easier and cheaper. Another trend is to take greater consideration of the protection of the environment. We are responding to both these trends by devoting a percentage of our turnover in R&D to develop new products that are easy to use, increase productivity and safety, and that meet the increasingly stringent environmental requirements,” Mr de Hillerin said.

In addition to the appointment, Graco said it is continuing to expand its network of dedicated and accredited marine distributors to shore up its position in the maritime sector.

“This has important consequences,” Mr de Hillerin said. “It allows us to give demos of our equipment virtually anywhere in the world upon request. No matter where a vessel needs a unit or spare part, we have a distributor who can deliver. And it enables us to provide after-sales support of these products worldwide.”

The company said it is also focusing on enabling more maintenance to take place during sailing and increasing the safety of onboard maintenance operations.

“All Graco equipment is safety approved and has been tested and approved to comply to the specific conditions of use on board,” Mr de Hillerin said. “Moreover, all Graco units come with easy-to-understand guides so that non-English speaking seafarers can easily use the units.”