Collaboration goes beyond partnership

Sismatic supplies a broad range of high-quality machines for the food industry, but was lacking a partner in the field of processing and preparing food. Schomaker supplies those machines and has found an ideal partner for the Benelux market in Sismatec.

Sismatec from Almelo integrates various machines from purely top brands for the preparation, processing, portioning, filling, dosing, weighing and packaging of mainly food. Thanks to their approach, the entire process from preparation to packaging of food can be integrated into one long production line. “We link the various process steps to each other”, Egbert Roerink, sales and marketing manager at Sismatec, explains. “This optimises the process, increases the output and makes it so that fewer hands are needed in the process. As a result, the valuable personnel can be used in other places and a company can continue to grow.” Egbert Roerink sees that in practice, it is becoming increasingly difficult to recruit good personnel in the food industry. The process lines Sismatec puts together are mainly intended for the food industry in the fruit and vegetables, bread, meat and fish, game and poultry, and dairy sections. “And a little bit of pharmacy”, he adds. “Thanks to the collaboration, we have become an even broader supplier. The big advantage for customers is that they deal with a single point of contact and a single technical department.”

Gas or electric?

With the machines from Schomaker Technik, Sismatec can also further optimise its processes in the field of food preparation. “It is a welcome addition. We now offer a product group in the field of cooking, deep-frying, soaking, breading, seasoning and baking”, Egbert sums up. “We can use all kinds of heat sources for that. We look at the availability of energy with the client in order to produce as efficiently as possible.” He mentions the example of a cooking line, an oven, that can of course run on gas. “That is currently the most favourable in terms of cost, but in the long term, given the situation in the Netherlands with the gas tap in Groningen increasingly closing, this can change. We offer electric cooking lines to companies who anticipate this. Just across the border in Germany, the food industry receives a subsidy for gas, so there is quite a bit of policy discrepancy in Europe”, he notes. “In consultation with the client, we look at what the optimal scenario is based on their vision. We make it discussable what will happen with gas in the future.” Some companies have greener hearts than other, he says. “You see more and more companies who take the CO2 footprint into account and want to make a positive contribution to the climate issue”, says Egbert.

High service level

Schomaker Convenience Technik has been active in the field of machines for the food industry since 1999. Initially, they focused on refurbishing, adjusting and selling used machines. “My father and mother built the company step by step over the past 20 years and developed into a specialist production company in the field of wrapping machines, seasoning and marinating systems, breading systems, deep fryers and cooking ovens and cooling and spraying systems”, says Dennis Schomaker. Slowly but surely, Dennis is taking over from his father Herman. The family company is located in Hilter am Teutoburger Wals, near Osnabrück. “We make high-quality machines and offer a high service level to our customers”, Dennis explains. “For the Dutch market, we were looking for a strong partner that could offer the same service level. We found that partner in Sismatec, because they have an excellent service department that is quickly accessible throughout the country.” So the collaboration goes far beyond a partnership for sales in the Netherlands and Belgium. “Our service engineers are trained by the engineers at Schomaker. Partly in the Schomaker production hall, but also by ‘learning on the job’”, Egbert elaborates. 

Cut to size

Finding technical personnel isn’t easy, but Sismatec has no problem with it yet. “We are a recognised training company and simply pick out the technical gems from the interns”, he says. “We have short lines and a flat organisation. Our engineers like that. They work independently and have a lot of freedom. That comes with responsibility. They not only need to be technically skilled, but they also have to be socially competent and able to think in a customer-oriented way.” The service department of Sismatec is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. “With us, customers can rely on professional service, because we know how important this is to production companies”, Egbert explains. “The maintenance we carry out is often preventive. This is possible on request, but also according to a ‘cut-to-size’ service agreement.”

www.sismatec.nl
www.schomaker-tec.de