COVID-19 has brought challenges that no-one could have anticipated. In the manufacturing industry, adjusting to the ‘new normal’ has required new safety, sanitation and hygiene measures. It has also meant keeping all employees safe and production lines moving, all while adapting to supply chain issues.
Even more, these necessary changes brought forth additional costs and oftentimes, lower anticipated volumes, which has resulted in tight liquidity even when sales demands increase. It’s quite the predicament – and that’s putting it lightly. But even through this challenging time, Electrolux Professional (Thailand) has fared well.
It’s something Managing Director Christopher Dineen humbly chalks up not to his empowering “hands-off” leadership style, but to his employees’ dedication. “What’s been most important through all of this has been our team,” he says.
“The culture of our business is fundamental to delivering not only the goals of the global operations but of the entire business. And only through a culture underpinned by teamship, transparency and openness can we truly realise this.”
With this steadfast belief in its people, it comes as no big surprise that Electrolux Professional’s number one priority during this unprecedented time is ensuring the continued wellbeing of its entire workforce.
“In the global pandemic working environment that we find ourselves now operating in, the safety of our employees is a key point of focus,” Christopher says.
It’s all about making our customers’ work life easier, more profitable and truly sustainable every single day.
“We’ve put in place numerous countermeasures which include social distancing, mask wearing, hand sanitising and thermal scanning. These are proving sufficient to maintain safe continuity of production. We can proudly say that, thanks to strict adherence to this rigour, we have had zero lost days during the pandemic.”
As a result, Electrolux Professional has, without question, fulfilled its commitment to being “number one” for its many customers. “We aim to be the one provider of all needs for the hospitality industry across food, beverage and laundry systems,” he explains. This is a somewhat unique proposition, according to Christopher.
“We have plenty of our competitors who are equally based in Thailand’s manufacturing industry who don’t provide the entire one offer.” They also don’t provide predictive maintenance features either, something Electrolux Professional prides itself on.
“We can offer our customers reliable, pre-emptive service in terms of foreseeing any potential failures from their IoT connectivity. Even before the customer knows there’s an issue, we are able to predict and then offer something at a value that our competition can’t,” he points out.
Dating back more than 100 years, Electrolux has been able to lean upon generations of knowledge as well as its longstanding reputation while capitalising on modern-day innovation to present the full package to its customers.
“It is all about trying to make our customers’ work life easier, more profitable and truly sustainable every single day,” he says.
“We have four pillars identified to realise this mission, and the first is growth. This is about expanding the business by developing sustainable, low-running-cost solutions and setting the pace of industry innovation in sustainability and energy-efficiency, all while providing a connected, digital platform for meeting our customers’ needs.”
‘Expand’ is the next pillar, Christopher continues, which speaks to strengthening the company’s global footprint and market position, both organically and through mergers and acquisitions.
Its third pillar, ‘boost’, is all about customer care in aftermarket sales and enhancing product performance and the ownership experience. And finally, rounding out the four, is ‘leveraging the one approach’.
“We want to strengthen our position as a full-solution provider within the food, beverage and laundry sectors to cater to all of our customers’ needs under one global brand, making their lives easier in a world of connected appliances,” Christopher reveals.
“Even during the uncertainty of the pandemic, product innovation included an upgrade on the Line 6000 range of washers and dryers. It saw the launch of a new SP Ultra Frozen Beverage Dispenser with UV lighting for improved sanitation. Innovation in all areas from product design up to digital transformation continues to be our lifeblood.”
For a company to make it in the modern world, it’s vital to work continuous innovation into its strategy. The moment one becomes stagnant is the opportunity for competitors to take the lead.
As a company with more than a century of respect under its belt, Electrolux Professional is well aware of this fact, weaving the latest and greatest into every single fibre of its DNA. Together with its steadfast reputation and visionary leadership, it’s abundantly clear that the organisation is set up for success in its next 100 years.
“We are a company that delivers on its promise. When we say that we operate sustainably, we have the proof. When we say that we take into account the 360-degree picture from acquisition to service, we can show you,” Christopher insists.
“We have a network in professional services that is second to none in terms of its commitment to the IoT and cloud-based predictive maintenance that we offer consumers. And we are also a business that has seen great success in terms of our cash flow management.
“I feel a great sense of pride and achievement in being part of our global team. And, looking forward, I’m excited by the prospect of a recovery in the hospitality industry, which will undoubtedly lead to increased production demand for both laundry and beverage lines, and will continue to drive the profitable growth of the business.”
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