A global solution provider

Wiesheu GmbH celebrated its 45th birthday this year. What once began with ovens to bake meat loaf is today a global player and market leader for instore ovens throughout Europe.

+The iba trade fair in Munich last year was an important event in Wiesheu GmbH’s business year, but by no means the only one. The company exhibits at numerous trade fairs around the globe. Wiesheu’s CEO Marcus Gansloser says: “We are represented at all the key European trade fairs, e.g. at the Modern Bakery in Moscow. In the USA we collaborate very closely with Bizerba, and also do so at trade fairs. In South America we exhibit at fairs in Mexico, Brazil and Columbia. An endless amount is happening in these countries, the sector is developing at a rapid pace and they are ‘bread countries’.

Trade fairs have an even higher priority in such countries, since they are the place where all those who cannot/don’t fly to the IBA can find the information they need.”

Using active demonstrations, this exhibitor from Grossbottwar in Swabia presented a broad spectrum in Munich, from entry level variants to the latest generation of instore ovens. According to CEO Marcus Gansloser, the development focused on providing maximum capacity with a reduced energy demand. Gansloser says: “We are well-known as a manufacturer and developer of instore ovens, but our customers’ needs and requirements go further and change constantly. We endeavor to present ourselves as a solution provider and to help our customers shape their businesses even more efficiently.”

In addition to the oven itself, this also includes a fully-automatic cleaning system that starts and works without any help from the operating staff, an automatic loading system that reduces loading and unloading times, and increasingly often the networking of oven controllers as well.

According to Gansloser, such systems that think for themselves are an important help not only in countries where there is a lack of staff but also where, for example, employees speak a variety of very different languages. Irrespective of these problems, Gansloser says these systems ensure consistent quality over time, as well as across entire chains of shops, a vital component in brand management. Wiesheu takes a two-pronged approach when working on this topic. As well as networking at the level of a company’s own in-house oven controllers, the entire data process can also take place on the customer’s premises. Gansloser: “As Wiesheu, we can now give the complete system into our customers’ hands on request. We install into the customer’s IT infrastructure, and he thereby gains full access and thus data sovereignty, not just data transmitted to him by us.” According to the CEO: “What is decisive for us is that the systems used and the information obtained by using them

Even going beyond Big Data, networking has been used for many years to support servicing and to achieve the fast analysis and remediation of malfunctions, even with machines installed at very remote locations. Gansloser says: “Markets are changing very fast. There are staff shortages in some countries, but the quality of frozen products in others is trending upwards so fast that it is bringing a quite new dynamism into the markets. Reliability, service and a supply of spare parts are enormously important topics in this respect, regardless of whether the plant is in Europe, Asia or South America.”

About the company

Wiesheu supplies bakeries, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, convenience shops and filling stations in more than 50 countries. Ovens are produced at the German sites in Grossbottwar and Wolfen. Raw materials originate largely from Europe. Via its own subsidiaries, Wiesheu operates in the markets in France, Poland and the USA. Moreover, the company cooperates with the German trolley manufacturer Bizerba in den USA. Wiesheu has handed over sales and marketing in Asia to Kolb Ltd, Hongkong. According to Gansloser: “Kolb has been very successful in Asia for decades. Sales and marketing, including service, are organized regionally in a very similar way to Germany. Wiesheu is in the portfolio in the premium ‘Made in Germany’ range in the Asia region.” The previous parent company of the partner business, Kolb Holding AG in Switzerland, sold the producer of Atollspeed hybrid ovens and the Austrian sales company, Atollspeed GmbH in Meiningen, to the owners of Wiesheu in 2017. Wiesheu and Atollspeed have been sister companies since then, and cooperate in selected regions. Wiesheu GmbH employs 500 staff, and earned worldwide revenues of EUR 120 million in 2017. +++