Know-how, versatility and precision that make our products valued in Europe
The winning formula that enables Tecnopool to operate in the markets of industrially mature countries is a combination of the flexibility to adapt its technologies to different needs and a high level of competence and specialisation.
This adaptability should not mean approximation but rather a synergy between the potential of the products and the flexibility of those who design and install them, confirming competence and precision.
Marco Mier, Tecnopool sales manager for Central & Northern Europe and Israel, summarises the dynamics that allow a company in the food industry to gain a solid position in its target markets:
“I deal with German- and French-speaking countries as well as Scandinavia and Israel, which to a certain extent have more or less similar needs and preferences. With the exception of Israel, which is more international, German and Scandinavian customers are similar in terms of precision and have detailed, precise and technically well-defined requirements.
All this should not be seen as an obstacle though. If a company is well prepared and can positively respond to customer demands, the customers themselves will recognise its merits and objective qualities. Once it has proven its worth, an Italian company has an extra edge, this being the friendliness that us Italians are commonly known for.”
For these reasons, those who supply equipment and systems for industry cannot do without a good dose of concreteness, even in business relationships. This applies both prior to the actual relationship, with the public and prospect customers, and when the customer-supplier relationship has been established.
In essence, a large part of the trust and confidence that customers look for in a company is based on everything that the company is able to put in place, starting with references, which show how many and which industrial settings already use our products and our collaboration with satisfaction, as well as direct inspections through company visits.
“I know from experience,” continues Mier, “that for European customers, being able to meet the people directly and see the production plants with their own eyes is an important step in consolidating their opinion of the supplier and, consequently, their confidence in its service.”
For the same reasons, despite the many opportunities for contact that modernity offers us (and the current moment with fewer meetings in person), being present at international events and trade fairs is crucial. Tecnopool’s constant work and investment in trade fairs in the last few decades has created a reputation that continues to bear fruit.
“It’s not just a question of visibility,” explains Mier. “Tecnopool boasts excellent employment longevity and at each trade fair attendees can find and recognise the same faces and people. This describes the solidity and professionalism of the company better than any brochure; if there are people who have been working for us for many years, it means that the company is stable and the working environment is healthy – both factors that are held in high regard abroad, particularly in Central and Northern Europe.”
Obviously, once the first contact has been facilitated, the relationship with the customer must be enriched with substantial elements that for Tecnopool include customer satisfaction, the merits of the product and its performance, service-friendly maintenance, and a lower rate of equipment wear.
Another aspect that certainly benefits a company in the food industry is the ability to customise systems. The food processing sector is a very diverse world, ranging from bakery products to frozen food, fresh products and ready meals, as well as more niche processing. Clearly, in such a multifaceted world, being able to count on a technology that can be applied to different areas means benefiting from know-how and experience gained across all food segments.
As regards the ability to adapt to the customers we work with, a company like Tecnopool finds itself operating in very diverse settings, from the automation of small businesses to the first industrialisation of growing artisan companies and the upgrading of plants of seasoned food giants. Tecnopool responds to this dual variability – of type and size – with the flexibility of its layout in highly customisable systems.
“The examples of systems we have built over the years, whether for bread, bakery, vegetable and fresh fruit products, or pasteurisations of meat and dairy products, are pretty astonishing in their diversity,” says Mier. “I have seen us design pasteurisations for prunes for the largest European dried fruit group in France – 4 tonnes per hour, 24 hours a day, with 2 spirals and 1.5 km of conveyor belt. We have created meat processing systems for pasteurising and then cooling meatballs for frying, and others for pasteurising sealable trays of spreadable meat, with the spiral belt under water showers at 80°C which is then given a cold shower. We designed a system in Finland that cooks soups packaged raw and in 90 minutes of steam at 95°C produces soups in trays, already cooked and cooled to fridge temperature.
Clearly, having one standard product with an operating range of -40 to 110°C, or up to 300°C if for baking, allows us to respond to any requirement.
Our system is so versatile that in some extreme cases – and these are quite amusing anecdotes – we have even built wood seasoning or veterinary tablet drying plants with our technology.”
The development process made possible with Tecnopool solutions allows the Padua-based company to work directly alongside the customer in meeting their specific needs. Think of the advantage of a spiral that condenses long thermal processes in confined spaces or the flexibility of the spiral that can be designed with both, infeed and outfeed in low position or infeed and outfeed in high position, avoiding in this way the need of elevator or descendor conveyors.
“Obviously, many customers, especially those from Germany and Northern Europe, have well-prepared representatives who make negotiations easier,” concludes the sales manager. “We are convinced that the other side of the coin, with respect to flexibility, is specialisation. Being analytical and highly professional when dealing with customer requests is advantageous in terms of closing deals. Long-standing, mature and technically high-performing markets look for this specialisation and being able to include it in a wide range of applications has certainly been the most valued feature over the years. The secret is always to sell only what you excel in.”