Melitta

Melitta Professional Coffee Solutions global key account manager Oliver Welschar reveals how his company helps the hospitality industry

When was your company established?

The history of the Melitta Group goes back to 1908, when Melitta Bentz invented the coffee filter and laid the foundation for modern coffee preparation. Melitta’s equipment and service divisions for coffee in the horeca trade go back to 1936, when the first coffee filters for cafés and restaurants were launched.

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How many employees does the firm have?

As of 2013, Melitta Professional Coffee Solutions employed 693 people.

What is the company’s annual turnover?

Melitta Professional Coffee Solutions earned 125 million euro (US $141.96 million) in 2013.

What do you think are the latest trends in the coffee industry?

The trend is for quality. Guests have increasingly high standards when it comes to coffee. The quality in the cup must be right. This has been our trend since 107 years, and this is what is essential for customer retention.

What is your best seller to the global hospitality industry?

Supplying professional coffee machines, made in Switzerland, backed up with local technical service teams, which are skilled and committed to support the customer. This package has been our best seller.

Can you tell us what new products you have launched recently?

Our MelittaCafina XT 6. The motto of this fully automatic machine is: “Coffee perfection in every cup”. I know that with this slogan we aim high, but the XT6 was designed for horeca businesses dedicated to superior coffee quality but also seeking greater performance and contemporary design at the same time.

What other news can you share coming out from your company?

The new fully automatic MelittaCafina CT8, designed to meet even higher requirements with regard to performance and ease-of-use. The machine’s high hourly capacity ensures the fastest and most efficient order processing even during peak periods — alternatively, it can also be used in self-service mode. The extra-large touchscreen display provides an even clearer overview, while the easy-to-use menu enables users to break down products into various cup sizes.

What’s the main challenge for the hospitality industry when it comes to coffee and how do you help overcome this?

“Overcome” is not the right word, because challenging customers is the reason why a high class coffee machine manufacturer like Melitta is able to experience such a success story. We are enjoying the tasks our customers confront us with, because this is what separates the sheep from the goats. The challenges for the professional coffee business are greater than ever: our customers want consistently high quality, drink variety, incredible speed, indestructible reliability and total safety — for example, with regard to milk hygiene. They want professional technology that can offer all of this, while at the same time being easy to operate, and with the footprint of a shoebox. By combining all these characteristics in our “MelittaCafina” machines, we are helping our customers.

How do we contact you?

Tel: +49 571/50490
Email: professional@melitta.de
Web: melitta-professional.de

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