TP Food Group

INVESTING NORTH AMERICA

The TP Food Group is a European designer and manufacturer of bespoke food processing equipment with a new US arm: TP Food Group - North America Inc (TP-Inc). President of TP-Inc, Nicola Menardo discussed the company’s product line and plans for growth, in conversation with Phil Nicholls.

With thousands of food processing systems sold and hundreds of customers in five continents, there is no wonder the TP Food Group achieved a 2021 revenue exceeding €100 million with room for further growth.

The products in the group’s portfolio are designed and manufactured in Europe to meet the needs of artisan bakers and the requirements of a wide array of industrial food processors.

In North America, a pervasive low-temperature food supply chain together with increasing demand for automation and flexibility, create a natural interest for the products in TP Food Group’s industrial portfolio. In this region, over the last ten years, the TP Food Group has sold more than 120 industrial food processing solutions in various food segments – from single cooling spiral systems for cheese to complete industrial bakery lines.

Despite the good market share achieved so far, meeting a market demand which is not experiencing setbacks requires being closer to the customer base. This is the reason behind creating TP-Inc and hiring local managers in sales and customer support roles: showing prospects that the TP Food Group is committed from the first conversations to aftersales support.

3 brands for thermal treatment

TP-Inc serves industrial food processing companies and brings to the table three iconic brands of the TP Food Group: Gostol, Tecnofryer and Tecnopool.

Gostol is a perfect brand for industrial bakers looking for high rates of production, efficiency and process repeatability. Tecnofryer brings innovation to the industrial fryers’ sector, thanks to a series of design features meant to streamline operations. Tecnopool is known for tailor-made designs of spiral systems available in multiple configurations.

Thanks to a product portfolio that covers various thermal treatments (i.e., freezing, cooling, proofing, pasteurising, frying and baking) in a wide temperature range (from -40°C to +300°C), TPInc can help customers across the food industry, including those specialising in bakery, pastry, pasta, dairy and so many more.

“In North America, our spiral freezing and cooling systems are in high demand for bakery, proteins and prepared meals, among other segments,” said President of TP-Inc Nicola Menardo, “The success of our systems results from the layout flexibility that we offer. We are also experiencing a surging demand for our diathermic spiral ovens: this innovative oven yields product quality, reduction of waste and production flexibility, all on a limited floorspace.”

TP-Inc’s spiral oven has recently been chosen by a top US food processing company, proving that spiral ovens indeed have market potential in this part of the world.

Talking about oven technology, besides spiral ovens TP-Inc can also offer its customers the extremely well tested and reliable Gostol’s cyclothermic and diathermic oil ovens. These will soon be complemented by a new cyclothermic oven design which brings advantages in terms of maintenance and energy savings.

The Tecnofryer brand is generating interest as well. “Our fryers can integrate unusual design elements such as a moving frying pan” Mr. Menardo said “which shortens and simplifies cleaning and maintenance. We believe this concept adds value to industrial operations, especially in the long run.”

Flexible machinery

According to Mr Menardo, it is the flexibility of designs that distinguishes the industrial solutions of the TP Food Group from its competitors: “Customisation is indeed in our DNA. We develop solutions by listening to what customers ask and tailoring our design like no competitor, in our knowledge, does. TP-Inc will never have a ‘product list’. Every new project starts from scratch: we only

President of TP Food Group North America, Nicola Menardo

rely on an immense database of experience and an engineering department driven by innovation.”

TP-Inc’s range can integrate with a vast selection of machinery, placed either upstream or downstream, in the frame of complete production lines. The company understands industrial food processes, and actively ensures the smooth integration of its machines with those of third parties. Plus, more than 50 years’ experience in industrial bakery processes makes the TP Food Group, and thus, TP-Inc, a credible supplier of industrial bakery solutions.

For instance, TP-Inc can provide North American customers with the latest TP Food Group designs. This includes proposing tested solutions for applications as diverse as artisan bread and gluten-free bakeries, where Tecnopool, Gostol and third parties’ equipment are part of a single and seamless solution.

The importance of aftersales

TP-Inc believes aftersales support will help intercepting growth and ensure its great technical solutions can fully deliver their potential. Specifically, North American users of the Tecnopool, Gostol and Tecnofryer solutions can already benefit from a US-based customer support department that can offer, among other things, monitoring services and timely onsite support to solve any issue which might impact productivity.

Mr Menardo is excited to play his part: “Knowing that we can help the food processing industry improve their systems and lower emissions, while getting food delivered to hungry customers, is something to be proud of.

“TP Food Group North America will always blend in-house and third parties’ technologies to deliver customised solutions that can reach so many customers and in so many applications,” he concluded. “There is no way of saying ‘I know it all’. A thirst for knowledge, and willingness to see something new are two of the things that motivate me every day.” n