Marco Pesce, Regional Head South East Asia and India, Electrolux Professional, is overjoyed by the fact that exhibitions are back on track. In an exclusive interview to Sanjiv for WOH News, he talks about India’s significant recovery in the last few months, faster than many other countries in Asia. Riding on new developments and growth, Electrolux Professional has moved to a new and modern office in Delhi near the airport, and will soon open its new Innovation Centre in the country.

There is a sense of positivity with exhibitions taking place like GulFood (Dubai; recently concluded) and the upcoming World of Hospitality (Bengaluru, India). Hospitality is busy identifying the best approach to take for 2021 and business networking is back on track. How do you read the current situation for the growth of the commercial hospitality equipment market globally and in India?

I am so happy to hear about several exhibitions that are opening in the coming months. This is for sure a positive signal. We miss having the physical meetings as we have been communicating with our partners remotely and mainly online. It is good having these positive signals in 2021, although there will be some challenges for our industry as international travelling is yet to open up seamlessly. We and our clients are more prepared about this situation, so I have good expectations from 2021. We are happy that India has started to show a significant recovery in the last few months faster than many other countries in Asia. This is very positive for us as India is an important market and we are expecting a good year.

Did you change your market/R&D/etc., approach in 2020 and how will the change of approach pave your way forward?

In terms of go-to-market, we must adapt to a new norm where travelling or physical meetings are not anymore possible. In the beginning, it was little bit uncomfortable as we needed to adjust to this new way to interact; however, once we got familiar, we have been able to generate significant number of webinars, training (both commercial and technical) and live events. There were new opportunities offered from the new situation which we took advantage of quite well. What excites me now, going forward, is that we have recently moved to a new and modern office in Delhi near the airport, and soon we will open our new Innovation Center in India. We were the first company to open a live facility in India way back in 2010; now we will open a new one where our clients would be able to experience the latest technologies – fully connected and in working conditions which are suitable for the Indian market.

There are not many changes in term of R&D; we continue to innovate and even managed to launch new products during lockdowns, keeping everything on track. The production was not affected; we have been accepting and delivering orders as usual. The company continues to invest in efficiency and sustainability to keep developing new products, as always. What has happened in the last year has also accelerated our digital transformation which has become one of our priority in terms of new investment.

What are the unique HoReCa-related innovations lined up for this year?

Last year, we came up with two new important products lines: one is our SkyLine range, our new combi oven and blast freezers. Our second product line is Line 6000, the latest laundry solutions, with great value for the hospitality industry.

They represent a combination of how this technology can help the industry with the new challenges, in terms of reliability and efficiency. This year, we plan to strengthen the distribution of our beverage range, which is now available under one brand – Electrolux Professional. These were two major introductions that will continue this year to complete the final range. In addition, we have a new range of dishwashers specifically manufactured for the Asia market, a new and extended refrigeration line that we have just launched.

There has been a substantial emphasis on green and clean ware washing by your company. Tell us about it and how the hospitality segment can benefit from this?

Our latest hygiene & clean dishwashers have the unique feature to provide excellent results in washing and disinfecting utensils, with low consumption of water, energy and detergents. Our equipment is easy to use and maintain. Today we are able to satisfy a demand for ware washing equipment, specifically able to disinfect, sanitise accordingly to the standards that help reduce the risks of exposure to dangerous pathogens, making sure customers and employees stay safe.

More than ever, the concerns of the businesses are on the bottomline. Where do you see the role of your kitchen equipment in addressing their concerns?

Our mission is to make customers’ work-life easier, more profitable and truly sustainable every day. To do that we provide equipment with high productivity, low maintenance costs and, most importantly, low running costs. In India, we will expect a big increase in utility costs: gas, electricity and waters in the coming years. We can help our clients improve their bottom line by reducing those increasing costs. Our next development with connectivity will permit the managers or the owners to have more visibility on the performance in the kitchen or in the laundry, finding areas where productivity can be improved, helping them implement corrective actions to reduce inefficiency.

Our strength is that we are the only company to provide full solutions in our industry – kitchen, laundry and beverage under the same brand; that said, I am not referring only to equipment, but also in terms of maintenance package and future possibility to get them connected under the same platform. This is a big saving for our clients because they do not need to handle different suppliers, having to learn and operate all the different systems which can be daunting for operators. The aim is to offer ourselves as one partner to take care all of their needs.

What are your mid-term plans considering that long-term plans are susceptible for myriad changes with each passing month?

Customer care, which for us means post-sales support, is a key priority. Some existing customers may decide to postpone investment in new equipment, so we have a programme (and plans) with dedicated kits to support and maintain their existing equipment. We do not neglect our new clients, specifically those who decide to change business model. We have a wide range of offers and we would like to partner with them in their business transformation, providing relevant, efficient, innovative and lower running costs solutions.