The Blanco Professional Group can look back on a challenging 2020 financial year. A total of 693 employees and 27 trainees generated sales of around 103 million euros. This represented a decline of 14.4 percent compared to the previous year. The system provider in the B2B sector for commercial kitchens and industry was unable to escape the special conditions of the Corona year. The export share, which is traditionally important for sales, fell by eight percent in 2020 compared to 2019 due to the pandemic. This trend was instrumental in the decline in overall sales.

The Catering business unit was particularly affected by the impact of the pandemic. However, the Industrial business unit also had to face the exceptional conditions of the past year. However, this business unit in particular has been developing satisfactorily since the spring of 2021. It is well above plan. In the Automotive business unit, Blanco Professional can also look back on the first successful months in the current year 2021.

Countermeasures aretaking effect

The turnaround has thus been successfully initiated and is already reflected in figures. In the Catering business unit, for example, the new strategic focus on food serving and food distribution launched in 2020 is already beginning to pay off, as is the realignment of the sales organisation. It is further expanding its proximity to customers and making its activities and functions even more efficient in the future. The restructuring programme has thus got off to a successful start. The course for a successful future has been set.

Digitalisation plays key role

A key role in the Blanco Professional Group's orientation towards such a future is the use of digital opportunities. "We see digitalisation as a double opportunity: on the one hand, we are using digital tools to make the processes in the company much faster and more efficient than before," explains Managing Director Egon Kofler, "but we also see a strong strategic component in the digital transformation: By gearing our entire dialogue with customers towards speed and individuality, we are not only taking account of the digital zeitgeist, but also creating feel-good experiences for our customers, thus deepening our relationship with them and creating the basis for further expanding this relationship."

The new specialist dealer web shop with secure login for registered dealers, which has been available for use since the beginning of June, represents an important step in this direction. Blanco Professional is thus specifically expanding its sales in the direction of omnichannel offers in order to provide partners in the specialist trade with the optimum contact and ordering options for their respective purposes. For the Blanco Professional sales team, this will result in more capacity for service and customer-specific advice in future.

In this sense, the specialist dealer web shop is intended to be the prelude to a targeted expansion of digital services and processes at all levels. Accordingly, this sector is to be accelerated in the coming years and strengthened with further investments.

Positive prospects

Kofler sums up: "The past two years, especially the Corona Year 2020, have meant considerable challenges and also cuts for Blanco Professional and its employees. However, the bottom has been reached. Our countermeasures are taking effect and we are convinced that we have created the basis to be successful again in the medium term and in the long term."

The Oberderdingen site continues to play the central role in the future plans. Of the approximately 1.5 million euros invested by Blanco Professional in total in 2020, 790,000 euros - i.e. more than half - were invested in the company's headquarters and head office.

Blanco Professional operates in the B2B sector. The group produces high-quality capital goods for commercial kitchens and is a supplier to industry.

With 693 employees, the Blanco Professional Group achieves a consolidated annual turnover of 103 million euros (2020 financial year). The group includes the headquarters in Oberderdingen (Baden-Württemberg), subsidiaries in Germany, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Austria and the Czech Republic as well as sales offices in Switzerland, Spain and Russia.