Product training, in association with distributors, dealers and installers, forms an essential part of Victron Energy’s product knowledge strategy. Events are held all around the world, with forthcoming training events listed on Victron Professional.
Although such events are limited to distributors, dealers and installers, joining Victron Professional is not; so even if you are an end user like me you can sign up and gain useful insights and information at: https://professional.victronenergy.com/
Victron Energy professional training
Maybe you are wondering how professional product training is organised. Sometimes Victron Energy instigates the training when a need is realised. Other times the initiative comes direct from the distributor, dealer or installer – and so it was in the case of ProWatt in Romania.
Lucian Popescu of ProWatt takes up the story:
We first thought to organise a training event when we realised that some of our important partners hadn’t purchased an Interface MK2-USB.
So we asked ourselves: How can they use Victron equipment to the fullest extent of its capabilities? The answer was simple: They cannot.
We realised that could result in the loss of opportunities and even clients, whilst at the same time making the installation process more difficult and increasing ProWatt’s involvement in such installations. This is how and why the proactive training idea grew, culminating in us deciding to propose and organise a training event.
Partner response
We put out a few feelers, to some of our partners, with our training suggestion. They replied that such training would be a great help to them, a very helpful and beneficial event.
This confirmed and validated our ideas, so we contacted and invited representatives from all our dealers, installers and larger clients, which resulted in around 25-30 people wishing to attend. We set the training date for 29 September 2016, planning a full and varied day.
Training location and materials
We chose a friendly location near Bucharest (the capital of Romania) which was not too formal, with green spaces so that we could socialise in the open air during the breaks.
With thanks to Ruurd ten Brink (Victron Energy Sales Manager covering Romania and other countries), we were able to prepare the necessary Victron equipment for the training. Ruurd also provided us with written materials, from which we extracted our presentation material.
Training in Romanian
The training was delivered in Romanian and was structured into 3 sessions consisting of theoretical and practical training.
- Theoretical – presentation of equipment hardware, presentation of new products, advantages of Victron products, recommendations for correct system sizing , etc)
- Practical – upgrade of inverters firmware, the configuration of equipment to work in hub1, hub2 or entirely off-grid, the configuration for generator start-up, Color Control GX advantages, the configuration with remote assistance, use of VE power set-up application and main menus in VRM portal.
Conclusion
It seems clear to me that this event has proved valuable for all concerned, which ultimately can only be good for the end user too. Maybe your business and customers can benefit from such an event. Do get in touch with your regional sales manager if so: https://www.victronenergy.com/contact
On a lighter note I wonder if Victron’s Ruurd ten Brink took his snake to the event, I’m sure that would have been most beneficial for trainee concentration!
Credits & Links
Thanks to Lucian Popescu of ProWatt for the information and images used on this blog.