Mirko Zwing is based in ITL’s German office in Pinneberg and recently celebrated 10 years with the company.

I first joined ITL in 2006 as a Repairs Technician, just as the original NV10 was released. As far as I can remember, my very first job was to replace the drive belts on these NV10s but I also spent a lot of time repairing other products such as the hugely popular NV4 note validator.

Soon after I started at ITL, the company began to release more and more new products and I was charged with providing customer training for the then new BV20, BV50 and BV100. Having never given a training presentation before I was slightly nervous but I made sure I was very well prepared. I knew the products inside-out and my first training session went as smoothly as possible. Over time, I performed fewer and fewer repairs, delivering more training sessions and helping customers with phone support. I was given more responsibility in 2009 and was appointed as the first, dedicated Customer Support Engineer in Germany.

In 2012, the German Customer Support Team merged with the UK team, working under Customer Support Manager, Andy Bassam. I really enjoy being part of this bigger team and we all learn a lot from each other. Originally technical support was made up of mainly British staff, so I put my “German” stamp on things early on, trying to ensure things run as efficiently as possible.

My job at ITL has given me the opportunity to travel the globe, providing direct support to customers. Last year I travelled all the way to China to train new colleagues in our Shenzhen manufacturing facilities and get an insight into the production process. Even though manufacturing does not directly relate to my role as a Customer Support Engineer, I feel it is important to have a diverse understanding of the company’s activities, in case anything unexpected occurs when dealing with customer issues.

Last year I was promoted to Lead Customer Support Engineer. My new role means that I have more of an input in shaping the future of the Customer Support department and how we can improve the service we provide to our customers. I get to help develop new and existing colleagues as well as looking after customer support for Germany and Spain, which is one of ITL’s largest markets.

Ten years at one company is a long time, and I think this shows that I enjoy my work. Primarily, I enjoy working with my colleagues, the company has a real family atmosphere that makes coming to work easy. There are lots of opportunities to meet up with friends from other offices around the world, and socialise. I have been to various celebrations in Oldham and even a weekend in Amsterdam with colleagues. The day-to-day work is varied and although I’m always very busy, I’m never bored doing what I do. I’m lucky to work in such a great team, and I am able to constantly learn from everyone whether they are a manager or brand new to the company.