Smilde Foods & Hago Food & Industry

For many years, quality, flexibility and safety have been Hago Food & Industry’s recipe for success in providing effective cleaning services to Smilde Foods, and the contract was extended recently.

Previous performance is not always a guarantee of future success, so Smilde Foods issued a tender to consider the current offerings of all potential suppliers. “In the tender we focused on quality, safety and price,” says Jeroen van Dijk, Plant Manager at Smilde Foods. “The supplier with the best proposal in terms of those three aspects was Hago Food & Industry, so we were more than happy to extend our partnership for a further three years.”

Jeroen van Dijk continues: “Hago Food & Industry’s quality couldn’t be better. Ever since 2011, we’ve been very satisfied with the service they provide, and particularly with their flexibility. Our production level fluctuates, often unexpectedly, such as due to the weather forecast. That demands rapid responsiveness and the ability to scale up or down smoothly. For us, it’s essential that a cleaning company can adjust seamlessly. In that respect, Hago is closely in tune with us.” According to Twan Voets, Business Unit Manager at Hago Food & Industry, the key to success is the effective communication between the two companies at various organisational levels. “We know what we expect from one another, we align our plans carefully and we keep each other informed. That’s a very pleasant way of working and it enables us all to do our jobs well.”

People make the difference
The driving force behind Hago Food & Industry’s quality is the (mainly female) team that have been working at the Smilde Foods factory for as long as they can remember. “They know the factory and the company inside out. They really are part of the process and they feel a huge sense of responsibility,” states Twan Voets with pride. Another advantage which both he and Hago Food & Industry benefit from every day is that Hago has given its employees on-the-job training in the factory, according to Jeroen van Dijk: “They will go the extra mile both for each other and for Smilde. There’s always a strong team ready and able to support Smilde’s processes.”

www.hago.nl