WE TALK TO THERMOPLAN ABOUT WHAT GOES INTO DELIVERING THE PERFECT CUP OF COFFEE.
A BETTER CUP OF COFFEE
PROJECT MANAGED BY: LUCY PULLING
In more than 85 countries around the world, if you want a cup of coffee, Thermoplan are the people behind that perfect cup. This company is responsible for developing and manufacturing fully automated coffee machines in professional settings for a number of well-known customers. You might buy your coffee from Starbucks, Thermoplan machines are the ones crafting that perfect cup.
We are not operating in the B2C segment. You won’t find the machines we produce in someone’s home. We are developing machines designed for high throughput for the hotel, hospitality and quick-serve market segments,” explains Fabio Beeler, Chief Operating Officer at Thermoplan.
But while the company’s product is automated coffee machines, its selling point is the human touch.
“We are developing and manufacturing coffee machines exclusively for certain customers. For Starbucks, we created a specific machine according to their needs that is now in outlets around the world. This is one of our key success factors. As a business, Thermoplan is an attentive listener, and that means we can provide our customers with the best solutions for their needs.”
A CUP OF QUALITY
While that capacity to listen is an essential competitive edge for Thermoplan, Beeler also puts the company’s success, in part, down to its production location in Switzerland. There are a lot of businesses that would think twice before stationing their manufacturing facilities in Switzerland. It is not a cheap place to do business by any means.
But for Beeler, that is exactly the impetus that helps solidify Thermoplan’s identity.
“Switzerland is our home, and from here we can deliver the very best in quality. Thanks to our investments and the top talent in R&D, we are able to create outstanding products with
Fabio Beeler, Chief Operating Officer, Thermoplan.
the best people behind them,” Beeler shares. “We invest a lot in technology and innovation. We have the biggest Research & Development department in the whole industry. It consists of 120 employees, all developing and improving our existing equipment while introducing new technologies.”
One area where these new technologies have been deployed is in bringing down the total cost of ownership for Thermoplan’s machines. This is being achieved by finding new technologies that can help its customers operate the coffee machine in a way that increases their margins.
“We are investigating new technologies like coffee extraction efficiency, which will allow us to use the required amount of coffee powder more efficiently, without any product loss, while also conserving resources,” says Beeler. “We are also looking for other technologies, such as how to make the coffee machines even more stable, with fewer downtimes.”
Breakdowns in particular are an area of special interest to Beeler.
“They are the most unwelcome thing that can happen to our customers, so we invest heavily with smart sensors inside the coffee machines to reduce
the frequency that the service staff have to come by and fix something,” Beeler explains. “We are looking for innovative and new technologies to reduce downtime and make our machines even smarter.”
BEYOND BEAN COUNTING
But the challenges Thermoplan has to overcome in its work go beyond the technical.
“From the beginning, one of our core values has been Flexibility, because in the past Thermoplan has faced challenges where our organisation’s ability to adapt or foster changing environments has been crucial,” says Beeler. “That flexibility to adapt to an ever changing environment is deeply rooted in the Thermoplan DNA.”
One example of that flexibility is the way that Thermoplan adapted to the imposition of 39% tariffs from the US. Thermoplan has always competed on the basis of quality rather than price, but those tariffs put it at a considerable disadvantage to European and Asian competitors.
“It was really crucial to find a solution, so we looked at our subsidiary in Germany,” Beeler recalls. “Germany only faced tariffs of 15%, so we looked into a solution which allowed us to send products through Germany to the US.”
“Fortunately, Switzerland now has parity with Germany on 15% tariffs, but it says a lot about Thermoplan’s flexibility that we were able to quickly devise contingencies for this situation.”
“We are perfectly suited to these moments where you need to be flexible and think differently,” Beeler says. “This is always the mindset at Thermoplan.”
FRESH COFFEE TALENT
Of course, to maintain that mindset, you need a healthy pipeline of fresh talent. That is a challenge in itself.
“We are based outside the major cities, but we actively collaborate with universities to involve students in our projects. This hands-on approach helps us identify and attract the best talent, many of whom go on to become full-time Thermoplan employees,” Beeler explains.
Thermoplan has responded to this challenge by investing heavily in its employees and their welfare. The office canteen provides restaurantquality food to all employees at no charge. Their workplace has its own gym that is also free for staff to use, and the company supports its workers’ learning, sponsoring the costs of their further education. At the same time, all employees commuting to its facilities by EV can charge their vehicle almost for free.
But Thermoplan also offers its new employees something else – the chance to participate in realising a clear vision for the future.
“It’s not just a vision anymore, we are already on the path towards it,” says Beeler. “We are doing well through the coffee machines we have with our well-known customers, but we are also looking into other industries, expanding our portfolio strategically.”
Most recently, Thermoplan has acquired Mikafi, a Swiss start-up that has developed a fully automated tabletop coffee roasting machine.
“It makes it possible for every point-of-sale to roast their own coffee,” says Beeler. “It was not easy to roast in-house. You needed roast experts with speciality equipment. But with this new technology, everyone can roast coffee at a push of a button. We serve not just coffee machines, but coffee solutions and the goal is to offer the whole bean-to-cup journey to our customers.”
And not just coffee. When we speak with Beeler, Thermoplan is expanding into a new market entirely – tea.
“In the Asian market they drink coffee, but nowhere near as much compared to tea,” Beeler says. “We’re in the early stages of developing a tea-presso machine, aiming to serve tea at the push of a button while gaining our first experiences with this new concept.”
But while the drink might change, Thermoplan’s underlying values will not.
“A lot of companies and competitors are developing good coffee machines,” Beeler says. “The distinction between good and better suppliers is in the service around the coffee machine. We are selling to the right needs of the customer, showing them how to maintain the quality of the coffee machine through its lifetime, providing after-sales services and servicing the machine in the field.”
