Rancilio is preparing for the future, improving its environmental footprint and the services it offers to the global coffee industry.
Ruggero Ferrari, CEO of Rancilio Group, says it’s more important than ever that businesses think about the environment and the impact they have on it. Sustainability is woven into the very fabric of the Italian coffee machine manufacturer’s business model, characterising every step of the value chain and representing an essential factor in the company’s long-term success.
“For Rancilio Group, sustainability is a responsibility that involves each and every part of our business worldwide,” Ferrari says.
“As a cornerstone of our vision, it will be a crucial factor as we define a new development model capable of balancing economic, financial, environmental, and social interests.”
For years, Ferrari says Rancilio Group has pursued a rigorously eco-friendly course of action and, in line with the main international standards, establishes new targets for efficiency and constant dialogue with its main stakeholders every single year.
Rancilio’s commitment to protecting the environment takes many forms. It includes investment in the responsible management of natural resources and the reduction of energy and water consumption, the construction of energy-efficient production systems, and the use of alternative energy sources to reduce its CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
The manufacturer’s production facility is equipped with a photovoltaic system for the production of renewable energy, which covers a surface area of more than 8000 square metres.
Furthermore, as of 2020, a 100 per cent renewable energy supply will cover the energy requirements of the Rancilio Group headquarters, certified through the Guarantee of Origin scheme.
At Rancilio Group, all waste is sorted – separated into iron, copper, brass, aluminium, plastic, and paper. Each year, more than 1000 kilograms of coffee grounds used to test Egro and Rancilio products are recycled and used as natural fertiliser for the company garden.
The issue of sustainability is also at the forefront of the Group’s mind in the development of each new product, starting in the research and development, purchasing, and production departments.
For Rancilio Group, developing reliable, long-lasting products that are energy efficient and completely recyclable is a daily challenge, and a matter of quality and transparency. To obtain these kinds of results, research focuses on studying new technologies to improve the products’ energy efficiency and seeking out innovative materials with low environmental impact.
One of the future goals of the Rancilio Group is to embark upon a path of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for each of its products to identify and measure the environmental impact resulting from its manufacturing and over the course of their entire life.
Governed by ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 international environmental standards, the LCA methodology analyses and optimises every single process. It then draws up plans of action for reducing the areas of impact identified, and contributes to the development of new, increasingly eco-friendly product lines.
This focus on sustainability will guide Rancilio into and through 2021, but it’s not the only move the global coffee machine manufacturer has made to prepare itself for a year of growth.
To maximise its international after sales and customer support services, Rancilio Group has announced the establishment of its Digital Training Centre.
Dedicated to products in the Rancilio, Egro, Rancilio Specialty, and Promac lines, the remote training centre provides Rancilio Group’s clients the opportunity to engage their technical assistance staff in a series of e-learning courses, all free of charge. Clients who sign up for the Digital Training Centre’s programs can consult with their dedicated Customer Support Manager to customise the training course and plan their schedule to suit their needs.
“We have transferred all of our technical courses online, making them available on demand for all of our clients,” says Davide Beccaglia, Head of Customer Support at Rancilio Group.
“We are one of the first coffee machine manufacturers to offer certified training courses remotely. We have decided to invest in people, training a vast network of highly-skilled technicians spread across the world”.
All the courses take place in the form of webinars and are led by technical training managers from the Rancilio and Egro Training Centres. The courses are organised into several interactive modules which cover both theory and practice. They are designed to illustrate how products work, and how to adjust and maintain them, with a step-by-step approach. Alongside this, the Customer Support team is working on a series of video tutorials. These will be made available in the near future for registered users to watch in the Rancilio Group video library.
“We have created a set to put on webinars in our Training rooms, and we work closely with the finest technical trainers and a specialised film crew,” Beccaglia says.
“In these webinars, we show off our products – including shots of the internal components – and share teaching videos and materials. Everyone can interact with the trainer at any point and discuss the topic freely with the other participants, just as they would during in-person courses.”
Those interested can attend the webinars live, but they can also be recorded and made available only to the Rancilio customers who have attended them, so that the participants can go back and rewatch them at a later date.
Rancilio has also strengthened the in-person support is can offer in several regions, starting with developed markets Australia and New Zealand. Partnering with the longstanding foodservice equipment distributor Moffat Group, Rancilio has established Rancilio Group Australasia to streamline its service to customers in the Asia Pacific. Both companies are part of the Ali Group, one of the largest global leaders in the foodservice equipment industry,
Paul O’Brien, a long-time representative of Rancilio in the region, will continue to lead Rancilio Group Australasia as its General Manager.
“Rancilio and Egro have been around in Australia for about 35 years now. It’s been a great history with a number of partners over the years. Now, we have full control over the brand and can serve the market directly,” O’Brien says. “Moffat are an amazing business with outstanding reach and resources. It’s exciting to see where its resources can take Rancilio, and in such a short time, we’ve already achieved some amazing things.”
Moffat Group joined the Ali Group in 2000 and has extensive distribution, service, and dealer relationships, supported by corporate offices in all major cities across Australia and New Zealand. O’Brien says the new business structure will enable Rancilio to move from an ex-works-style model to something more supportive of its partners and distributors.
“We’re passionate about growing the Australian market and now we can do that directly with our existing and new partners,” O’Brien says.
“Our business is built on loyalty and partnerships. Being here locally means everyone can have the same level of service, for the large equipment distributors to the ‘mum and dad’ coffee roasters.”
For more information, visit www.ranciliogroup.com