In May, Bühler relocated its Biscuit Business Unit and Nordics Services & Sales (SAS) organization to state-of-the-art offices in Copenhagen, Denmark. As part of the change, Haas-Meincke A/S, which was acquired in 2018, was renamed Bühler Denmark A/S, to reflect its complete integration into the Bühler Group. Morten Riisager, Head of Business Unit Biscuit, Bühler Group, and Managing Director, Bühler Denmark, shared his thoughts about developing solutions for the production of biscuits.
Catalina Mihu: The new offices were recently inaugurated. What was the strategy behind the decision to relocate the Biscuit Business Unit and related services to Copenhagen?
Morten Riisager: As things are starting to settle in our offices, we are finally starting to enjoy the efforts we put into this move, and the new environment. It is a project we worked on for a very long time and a significant milestone. We embarked on this project for two reasons, mainly: first of all, the biscuit business, including the Meincke brand, would have its own dedicated space; and, secondly, we have the opportunity to merge with the Bühler Nordic sales and service office that was previously based in Malmö, where it had been located for over 100 years. Since we we have been working closely together for around six years, the decision to merge the two made sense. Synergies were created, as we share some of the same functions. It also brings us a bit closer to the market, because we, as the business unit, are the ones who supply the next solutions to the market, and to do that, we need to ensure we can develop the right solutions for our customers. The Nordic region business is very close to the customers themselves, on a daily basis. We need to be very close together when we reach out to the customer, so the synergy stemming from working under one roof further emphasizes that we are Bühler, one organization with a reach that extends beyond just biscuits, to the entire process chain. We are a complete solution provider, from grain handling up to the finished product. And this is a synergy we are creating by being under one roof.
As for the reason why we made this change for our biscuit business itself, it is because we need to be prepared for the future. The move will help us ensure that we are able to adapt as the world is changing and the market develops. The new office can support our needs for the future. I firmly believe that our physical environment affects our mindset and the way we work; coming from offices styled by the trends of the ‘80s, with separate spaces for each department, into the new environment, which is a modern, open space, the fact that we are able to see each other every day reinforces our sense of belonging to the same team; we work together and have immediate opportunities to collaborate, between departments, within one department and personally. Especially in light of having other Bühler in-house, the new space invites us to cooperate more closely, which we do need.
Thirdly, we saw the need to create a new environment not just for our own employees, but for our partners as well – our suppliers and customers, and for institutions we work with, such as universities. We now have a space where we can come together to solve the various challenges in our path, from efficiency and process-related issues coming from our customers, to larger-picture goals we need to work towards, such as managing our inevitable environmental impact. We need to come together and solve such challenges, and we want to do so in an inviting environment. Our new spaces emphasize supporting cooperation. We created different spaces in-house that can attract new employees and potential suppliers – as a way to prepare ourselves for the future. We are creating a powerhouse, a collaborative space that will enable us to become an even more attractive supplier to the industry.
And not least, we are literally in an extraordinary position here, in Copenhagen: Lund University is only about 55 km from here, just on the other side of the sea, in Sweden. Malmö University and Copenhagen University are also very close by, and so is the Danish Technological Institute. We have so many institutions around us where people from around the world come to enroll.
Mihu: Are you collaborating with these universities
already?
Riisager: First of all, we want to attract new potential employees – students from these academic institutions for the future. And, we see it as a need, to cooperate more closely with them, to bridge the gap between academia and the industry. That’s the way forward, in our eyes. And we are situated in the middle of this space. We need and we can benefit from this proximity, which is why we created this space where people would immediately feel they would like to come and spend time.
Mihu: The new Copenhagen headquarters has offices and meeting spaces for a staff of around 240 people. What did the relocation entail, and what steps were involved in the move?
Riisager: The Bühler Nordic office was very close to the Haas-Meincke office and factory, with roughly about 35 km between them. It didn’t make sense to keep them separate. A big part of the process was integrating the Bühler Nordic sales and service departments into the new environment we created. Logistics-wise, the building itself and spaces were set up very quickly. We reached the decision at the beginning of the year, in January, and we were lucky enough to find the right facility just across the street from where we were. This is why we were able to establish the new office in only three months: we rebuilt the interiors and decorated the space according to the standards we have at Bühler so that it reflects who we are as a group. And, we still have the old facilities, where our Biscuit Application and Training Center is located, only 200 m from here.
“This relocation is a significant milestone in our company’s development. It creates a Bühler powerhouse in the Nordics, lays the foundation for advancing our biscuit business globally, and reinforces our presence in the Nordic countries.”
Morten Riisager, Managing Director,
Bühler Denmark and Head of Biscuit Business Unit
Mihu: Will it still be in use there?
Riisager: It will definitely be used until a new application and training center in connection with our new office building has been completed, which is expected to be by mid-2025. Our Application Center is virtually the heartbeat of our company, because this is where our customers come to see our solutions and we can showcase how the machines perform. Here, they can get help to develop their next recipes, and perfect the next products to be released on the market. It is always fully booked, often months in advance.
Mihu: Could you give us a quick guided tour of the facilities at the new headquarters now?
Riisager: First of all, we made a much more welcoming reception area. We consider it important, as it is the first point of contact when arriving here. In addition, we want to show that we are not the old Haas-Meincke anymore, we are Bühler. This is what the change is all about, to show that we are a part of Bühler and have effectively become so, including the use of the global facilities and the global service network that we have within the Bühler organization. The first message when entering is a sense of ‘this is Bühler’, with everything that the group can provide. This is the message we showcase in the branding room, which is connected to the reception. Here, we can tell the story of Bühler and how everything is correlated within the organization. On top of this, we have our sales, customer service, engineering, project management, portfolio and marketing, R&D, and the administrative departments working in house.
The Haas-Meincke integration
Mihu: As the integration of Haas-Meincke is now complete with this move, which included its name change to Bühler Denmark A/S, what was the role of the acquisition in Bühler’s long-term development plans?
Riisager: The Meincke brand complements the Bühler business; it connects how we, as a business, support the biscuit industry, from the moment the ingredients are received, then mixed, followed by shaping and baking the product. Bühler provides all the knowledge ahead of the processes covered by Meincke: all the grain handling, and ingredient handling including chocolate, starting from cocoa beans until the finished chocolate product. By having these fully integrated, we can now provide a full-service package, complete solutions. In addition, we also have a global service network set up; by integrating Meincke, it gained access to this global network. This means a lot to our customers since any solution provided will require service. We have a much better foundation for supporting and developing a better relationship with the customers. In this way, the strategy of the procurement and integration of Meincke into Bühler makes perfect sense. This is why we need to tell this story clearly to our customers, and we have started doing that by steering away from the Haas-Meincke name and transforming it into Bühler Denmark.
Mihu: Just as the welcoming area, the brand presentation is also how first impressions are made. Did the benefits of the integration in this way outweigh the value of the name Haas-Meincke had established for itself, before the acquisition?
Riisager: We still keep the brand Meincke on our machines, which reflects the technology itself. In turn, Bühler reflects the organization and the entire global setup we have. Simply put, that is what the customer is buying, the Meincke technology and full access to the Bühler organization and products.
Mihu: So, in this way, the name of the technology is still here, and its brand?
Riisager: Exactly! And that is precisely what we need to tell the world, and our customers – that it is now a part of the Bühler organization, which is much more powerful than what Haas-Meincke used to be. That’s why it would have been wrong to keep the name of the company, as it doesn’t reflect who we are anymore. We are Bühler, with Meincke technology.
Mihu: And the expertise that is already established.
Riisager: The expertise is already established and known, that is correct. That is why the center of competence for biscuits is in Denmark. We can channel the expertise we need here, from the other industries we specialize in, from flour to chocolate, or mixing. By having representatives from our other business units here, we do have a link to the world, directly in our house.
New in biscuit production
Mihu: So the biscuit HQ is in Denmark. From this hub, what are Bühler’s latest developments in biscuit production today?
Riisager: To start by mentioning something that is not new, but especially relevant today: we’ve had electrical ovens, for years. We recently developed a new version of our electrical ovens that we are offering to the market, which aims to provide a more energy-efficient solution; it was launched two years ago. On top of that, we launched the Meincke Turbu E in May this year, a zero-emissions baking oven, a fully electrified oven as well as a retrofit kit enabling the change from gas to electricity. As a mixed energy solution, we have launched the Turbu M: this oven has both gas and electrical heating modules, so the customer can have the choice to make use of both, meaning that the energy sources support each other in the baking process, or the customer can shift between gas and electricity, depending on which energy source is more convenient to use. This is our latest development, in line with a growing request for electric ovens, especially after the energy crisis from two years ago, and with a focus on using more sustainable energy sources instead of fossil fuels. I truly believe in the mixed, hybrid solution we developed, because it makes the oven much more versatile: it helps with sustainability targets and, at the same time, lowers baking costs. To help the customer with their energy savings, we can test the module in our Application Center on their products to see whether recipe changes are needed when using it, how to adjust the oven and the lines, and how to develop new recipes using this technology with the correct settings.
Bühler’s biscuit business strategy
In line with Bühler’s commitment to optimizing and renewing its production footprint, the production of ovens for biscuit and cracker lines in Denmark will be consolidated into one location in Roedkaersbro, approximately 240 kilometers from Copenhagen.
The equipment used in production for processes ahead of baking will be manufactured in Leobendorf near Vienna, Austria, where production facilities were tailored to maximize efficiency, Bühler says.
The Application & Training Center in Copenhagen will continue to support customers in developing and scaling innovative biscuit and cracker products, including the use of new electric ovens.
Johannes Wick, CEO of Grains & Food at Bühler Group, emphasized the strategic importance of this development for the company: “The investment in this new infrastructure reaffirms our commitment to Denmark and our expertise in the biscuit and cracker segments. It also strengthens our capabilities in the Northern European market, where we see significant growth potential.”
Mihu: Expanding on the topic of technology solutions, from the perspective of the biscuit maker, what is the added benefit of working with a fully integrated system provider, such as Bühler? In addition to the biscuit-specific expertise, what other advantages are available to them?
Riisager: We look at our customers’ needs beyond the work of handling the dough, or shaping and baking a product. We need to understand the entire business and all its challenges, starting with the type of grain/flour they use. In addition, a big component of the biscuit industry is chocolate, for which specific technology is required. Understanding both upstream and downstream challenges is important when aiming to be the right partner for a customer, in my eyes. The better we understand our customers’ challenges, the better we can optimize our solutions for them. I wholeheartedly believe that having a deeper understanding of the customer’ business, the better we can develop ourselves in the future, to be the right partner for them. Having the technology understanding is one thing, and knowing what the producer’s pain points are is another.
Mihu: Because you focus on new solutions for energy efficiency, including electric ovens, what is an image of the requests in the market, from your work with your customers? To what extent is this type of oven technology adopted?
Riisager: It is coming. Over the past two-three years, we have tripled our sales in solutions powered by electricity, more or less. So, we do see a lot of requests for it. But, we also see challenges for the industry.
Mihu: Such as?
Riisager: The challenge is to be self-sufficient when using electricity. It is more related to the infrastructure (than the technology itself), in many countries. From the perspective of the governments, it is clear that they would like to increase the adoption of more sustainable solutions, backed by a powerful electricity grid. But, if the infrastructure of the electricity lines going into the factories is poor, then the step cannot yet be made. It’s all connected. We see that many of our customers who want and need to use electricity cannot implement it yet. The opening to use electricity is definitely there. While producers are working on this with local authorities or even at higher levels, they face challenges because they simply cannot get the power they need. Without pointing out a specific country, this problem occurs in several markets, locally or at a national level. It all depends on the location of each factory.
But, this is where the mixed module comes in: with it, you can supply the energy you need. If the full amount of electricity cannot be supplied, it can be used partially and mixed to meet the needs of the baking process. The CO2 footprint is still improved, in this way.
Mihu: For a map of Bühler’s production facilities, we now have biscuit ovens in Denmark. What equipment is produced near Vienna? How was Bühler’s production footprint optimized with the latest changes?
Riisager: In Vienna, we have all upstream solutions – including equipment dough handling and product shaping. Our ovens themselves are all manufactured here, in Denmark. We are also expanding our manufacturing capabilities in Vienna, in addition to our Denmark site. On top of this, we have production facilities in India, where we produce ovens and will soon expand to some of the upstream equipment for the Indian and other markets. It’s a matter of being close to the customer.
Mihu: When a biscuit manufacturer comes to Bühler for a turnkey solution, how will the project be managed?
Riisager: The project is managed in Copenhagen. Bühler’s global network gathers expertise from different markets for specific projects, in cooperation between customers and experts in Denmark – from project managers to technicians. Our HQ team defines the settings of the lines in close cooperation with our expert teams from different regions of the world.
Testing makes perfect: Aplication and Training Center, Food Creation Center
Mihu: What are some of the tests that are frequently requested at the Application and Training Center? What kinds of tests can be carried out there?
Riisager: The Center is truly at the heart of our work, because this is where we see “the proof is in the pudding”, it’s where we can test the customer’s requirements. We might have specific projects, such as a customer testing its own products on a line they are buying. By carrying out various tests, we define the exact baking profile of the product, which they can bring home and input the settings when the machine is delivered. Or, when customers have ideas for new products, they come to the Center to test them with our help and tweak the recipes and/or the settings of the oven. They bake samples and taste-test them as they prepare to bring them to market. We frequently work on this kind of project at the Application Center.
Mihu: You mentioned that it is fully booked. If a manufacturer calls today for an appointment, when is the soonest appointment availability?
Riisager: It is hard to say, but we will find a solution! To put it this way, it is occupied 8 out of 10 days, at least. It is seldom that it is empty. We have two lines running here – a cracker line and a biscuit line, so we have the opportunity to test plenty of products and ideas. We also have a Food Creation Center in Uzwil, which was inaugurated just before the end of 2023, where we can test products and integrate solutions with technology from our other business units. There, we can link biscuits to chocolate and mixing, in terms of types of technology available.
“Every time we update our lines, our goal is to improve energy efficiency to reduce consumption by at least 10%. We have been able to do this and we aim to continue on this journey. We have done this with the electrical oven, too.”
Morten Riisager, Managing Director,
Bühler Denmark and Head of Biscuit Business Unit
Mihu: The Meincke section of Bühler tradeshow stands usually features product innovation ideas and many samples. Will this setup be continued at exhibitions?
Riisager: Yes, it will. It helps to illustrate our work at the Application Center and the services we can provide to our customers, as well as the additional benefits coming from the integration of the brand. For an example of a sustainable product, chickpeas are a high-protein ingredient that can be considered in some countries. We can help develop such products with our customers. Finding new ways of making products or testing new ideas is what we can do for them at the Center, including developing trendy, healthier products and recipes using local ingredients, as well as indulgent, luxury creations, for instance. We see more and more requests for these categories and they will continue to grow over the next 5-10 years, I believe. This is clearly the trend.
Production-wise, sustainability will remain high on the agenda, ours and that of our customers alike. This is why providing sustainable solutions is important to us, and being able to assess the carbon footprint of a line. Being in control of the process is key to optimizing it, which is something we have been focusing on for at least 10 years, starting with our ovens, as the most energy-consuming part of production. Every time we update our lines, our goal is to improve energy efficiency to reduce consumption by at least 10%. We have been able to do this and we aim to continue on this journey. We have done this with the electrical oven, too. Its CO2 footprint is obviously smaller, and, on top of that, we still aim at lowering its energy consumption needs.
In addition, it is our goal to significantly reduce not just energy, but also water consumption and to minimize waste. We can only do this together with the industry, which brings me back to why we developed this new, welcoming space. Here, we can attract employees, specialists, and host the industry to solve these challenges together.
