FreshPlaza interviewed Angelo Benedetti, Chairman and Managing Director of Unitec.
Unitec is a global leader in the manufacture of machineries and plant for the processing of fruit and vegetables. Which were the most significant innovations in this technology segment in the last ten years?
AB – During the last 10 years there were many steps forward in our industry particularly in the field of the quality selection. The determination of the internal quality of fruit was definitely one of the most important innovations: with the ability to analyse and estimate the quality not only outside but also inside the fresh fruit, this technology has opened a new world in the fruit and vegetables sector. We started looking at new values such as sweetness, acidity, taste and ripeness of fruit. This research originates from the need to have good fruit in a market where demand is often less than supply. To be successful in sales it is necessary to focus on the product quality. In reference to this need, Unitec created a brand ‘I’m good’ which sums up this consumer’s need to have a guarantee about quality of the purchased products. The technologies developed by Unitec for the selection of internal and external quality also go in the direction of lower labour costs as well as reducing the needs of highly specialized labour for the fruit grading. The selection of external quality, with the ULTRAVISION multiple systems (each dedicated to a specific type of fruit), offers a significant reduction in processing costs, providing a significant improvement in the quality of the packages presented to the consumers. In this way the uncertainty which derived from manual selection is eliminated. Unitec was the first company in Europe to create systems for the selection of the internal quality of fruit and now we can offer a very wide range of technologies to better serve this type of task (QS ONLINE, QS 300, ULTRAVISION, UNI FLY). We can, in fact, respond to all customers who are sensitive to the internal and external quality, in almost all varieties and types of fresh fruit, and in many cases also for nuts (walnuts, chestnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, etc.). Another significant innovation of this decade, is the computerized management of the packing stage. Today you can program your processes, thanks to a software like Lotmanager much more efficiently than ever before and more in line with industrial processes. According to the arriving orders, you can enable computer systems that help operators to manage the whole process of packaging and processing. This is definitely a step forward towards the containment of costs as these technologies increase the efficiency of processes.
Providing fruit and vegetable companies “skilfully done” technological solutions requires significant investment in research and development. How does Unitec act from this point of view? Do you have partnerships with the Universities?
AB – We are a company very oriented to technological innovation in order to help our customers to grow. The research and technology development is a company area in which we have invested greatly in recent years. Till now we have already the know-how and an organization that allows us to find innovative solutions in our industry and in neighbouring areas, such as dried fruit and food industry. We have been cooperating with some Universities for twenty years and the relationship is becoming more open and constructive in recent years. It is positive to combine the skills and knowledge of the business world with the academia. The partnerships often lead to the creation of technologies and patents and this is certainly a benefit for both of us.
The Unitec mission is “We work for your results”. Can you explain to our readers the importance of the “mission” for the strategy and the organization of your company?
AB – Our reason to exist as a company is to help our customers to take steps forward in their organizations, both for the containment of their costs and the improvement of the quality of their work. Our technologies are not designed and built to be cheap and to seduce the customer with a low price: our aim is to let the companies earn a lot after the purchase, with a daily use of a tool that is well designed and built with all the necessary care to be an added value which generates profit for the company. Our motto is “We work for your results”: this is not an abstract slogan but the way in which we work, from the design of a technology to the post-sales service. Everyone who works at Unitec helps clients to improve their performance. On several occasions, we were able to help our clients to become a world leader in their sector and this makes us all proud about the work done. The only one law in the market is: competitiveness. You must compete at your best and this is true both for us and for our clients. Often we see on the face of our client a full and sincere smile of satisfaction for the investment made with Unitec and this encourages us to give our best everyday to again see the smiling faces of our new customers.
Unitec has direct experience with the professional sector of fruit and vegetables worldwide. In your opinion which are the countries that are showing the greatest dynamism in technological and processing innovation at the moment?
AB – We work in many countries and we can find different rates of approach to technological improvements. In some countries like Italy, the investment in technology is too often seen as a cost and so the people think that the lower the price, the better; other countries, however, are looking for technologies that can allow a quality leap in processes or in terms of quality or productivity. In the latter case we are able to give our best because the investment will work for 15-20 years in the fruit and vegetable factory, if well designed and well built, will pay back quickly with the real benefits it will bring. Too often the logic of the immediate business (being careful with the money at purchase) leads to wasting resources by investing in technologies that do not bring the benefits that will make the difference in time. Then this puts the company in serious difficulty, in terms of competitiveness.
Did the crisis in North Africa, and particularly in Libya, cause consequences for your business?
AB – I would say no, but for countries that were on the point of taking off with their business, this situation is certainly no good omen for the future. Our presence in these countries is not conclusive and that is why it does not affect our order portfolio particularly. Every year you experience new dynamics on the global markets; my hope is that 2011 could be a good year for fruit and vegetables, after years of no brilliant returns for producers, particularly in countries with high labour costs. We will be fully satisfied if we can help people who want to build their success by investing in new ideas, new projects and new technologies of Unitec. Angelo Benedetti, Chairman and Managing Director of Unitec Group, has lead the company since 1993. In last two decades Unitec has been completely renovated, both in terms of technologies and in terms of organization, always oriented to bring tangible improvements to its customers.
Source: www.freshplaza.com