Rademaker develops and provides solutions for the food processing industry, specifically the bakery sector. The company’s expertise manifests itself in highquality automation, engineering, hygiene and performance of its delivered machinery. Joris Mulders (Sales Director UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia & New Zealand) let Hannah Barnett in on the secrets of the company’s success.
According to Joris Mulders a lot is changing in the bakery machinery business. With ever increasing labour costs comes higher demand for automated machinery. Covid played a part too.
“ The pandemic was a catalyst for even more automation,” he said. “I think the vulnerability of the whole industry became apparent because people were getting sick and had to go into lockdown. Availability of workforce resulted in problems for production capacity. In addition, a shortage of labour arose in many countries. The outcome of these situations is a higher demand for automation.”
The facilities
Founded in 1977, Rademaker was one of the first companies to specialise in the development and supply of innovative solutions for the bakery industry. These days, annual turnover exceeds €100 million and the company is one of the front-runners in its field.
Rademaker is recognised for working at the cutting-edge and manufacturing high-end equipment. Besides that, there is a global presence which provides a service that goes well beyond the delivery and installation of bakery production lines. “We are
known for our innovations and are capable of creating customer-specific solutions,” Mr Mulders explained. “We discuss with customers about how we can transform their traditions into an efficient production solution to suit their needs.”
The company headquarters is located in Culemborg, the Netherlands, but Rademaker has sales offices worldwide including Germany, the UK, the USA, France and China. With more than 570 employees, the Dutch headquarters has approximately 400 personnel. There is also a production facility in Slovakia which employs an additional 160 workers.
There are two dedicated technology centres, where clinical trials are conducted: one in the Netherlands and the other in China. “The Dutch facility is run by a group of 16 highly experienced technologists and master bakers,” said Mr Mulders.
New equipment
The Radini production system is one of the company’s most recent developments. It offers the possibility to partly or fully automated production. This means automated functions can be combined with manual process steps such as dough supply, fat application,
offline resting and cooling, as well as additional shaping steps for specialty products.
“Radini is a new product portfolio that we designed and developed five years ago,” said Mr Mulders. “It provides a solution for bakeries that need equipment with a capacity between 400 and 1,000 kilogrammes per hour.”
In comparison, Rademaker’s high-capacity customers, some of which the company has been working with since 1977, require production lines that can reach up to 10,000 kilogrammes per hour. The Radini meets the growing demand in the market for smaller scale production, because besides the labour shortages, companies also want to produce more efficiently.
“They have a lot of manual labour in those semi-automated bakeries,” Mr Mulders explained. “And that is expensive. It's not that they are going to fire people by introducing automation, but they want to dedicate them to specific products. The Radini offers a more efficient manner of production, that lowers costs and improves margins overall. Radini production systems have an operator friendly HMI and are designed according to the latest hygiene levels.”
The heart of industrial bread
Another exciting piece of equipment is the Rademaker Wax Double Chunker Sheeting System (DSS).
Due to the increase of raw material prices, bakers are returning to traditional methods. This means high-quality, healthy breads with great taste, soft internal crumb and crispy crust. It requires dough with a high-water percentage and a long pre-fermentation time.
Mr Mulders explained how Rademaker anticipated this development: “We keep an eye on trend cycles alongside our international sales offices, so we have a very good feeling of what is upcoming and what is declining. We still see a big trend for artisanal bread, which means long pre-proves and high-water content.
“The Wax DSS pre-sheeter is specially designed for bread lines which process dough with a high-water percentage. It has a better weight accuracy and higher water content compared to its predecessor. The Wax DSS also has a very light dough handling. The dough needs to be handled as gently as possible to make sure that the quality is optimal, just as a customer expects.”
Partnership in Rwanda
In 2017, Rademaker and The Women's Bakery, based in Rwanda, joined forces. The intention of the partnership was to improve process and product quality at local bakeries, established by The Women’s Bakery.
“This is a unique collaboration, which allows us to reach some ambitious goals,” explained Mr Mulders, “like to provide nutrition-rich and affordable food for the most vulnerable in society. And this is also the backbone of our mission and vision. We want to make sure that we are helping the whole world access affordable food and the means to produce it.”
Under the scheme, bakeries are built in the areas that need them, to be staffed by women from the community. Demand meet s supply on a local scale, with all ingredients sourced nearby. The bread produced is crafted to be highly nutritious and affordable, with bakery skills taught to locals.
Rademaker assisted practically and financially in this endeavour. “Several colleagues have made an on-site visit,” said Mr Mulders, “and we've sent a couple of technologists out to train the women about the equipment and how to operate that sort of bakery. It’s not an industrial bakery, these are four artisan craft bakeries. We have proudly been part of the project for over five years, and by the looks of it, we're going to keep doing it for a long time.”
A future vision
Rademaker is a company focused on both how it runs and where it’s going. As Mr Mulders put it: “we are a no-nonsense organisation, and we operate transparently.” He is certain that one of the things the company is best known for is customer service.
But it has ambitions to continue to grow further, with expansion ongoing at Rademaker’s HQ in Culemborg. The company has been modifying its facilities heavily since Covid afforded the opportunity with an overhauling of the sales offices and a heavy investment into the production area. Mr Mulders revealed it is intended to be completed by Q3 of 2023.
Rademaker is a highly competent and flourishing business, but for Mr Mulders it is more than a job. It is in his genes: “I come from a genuine bakery family,” he concluded. “My parents had a craft bakery which was also located here, in Culemborg. So, from a young age, I was present in my dad’s bakery learning and, of course, eating. I am educated as a master baker as well.
“For me, the three pillars of the business, bakery, sales and the technical side, combined with the international aspect of Rademaker, are all really exciting. And of course, it helps knowing the bakery background. It’s so valuable to understand exactly what the customer’s needs are.” n
