Who would have thought that a manufacturing plant in Azpeitia, a tiny municipal town in the Basque Country of Spain would rise to such prominence and end up distributing to over 100 countries fifty years later?
Sammic is a group of companies whose activity is centred on the development, manufacturing and commercialisation of equipment for the hospitality and F&B industry. Over time, Sammic’s offerings have widened – today, they supply an extensive product range: ware washing, dynamic preparation, food preservation and sous-vide, snack barpizzeria and many more.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
The company was founded by local entrepreneurs and started its activities as Fammic in 1961 in Azpeitia, Spain – a town close to its current headquarters. The change of name came about two decades later, after the decision to star t a separate company for Fammic’s commercial branch in 1971. Fammic became the factor y division, while the name Samic was chosen for the commercial side. In 1982, Samic changed its name to Sammic. However, the companies merged again due to organisational reasons and it was decided they would keep the name of the commercial branch.
Fammic’s first ever product was the humble potato peeler, followed by other food preparation equipment. They soon expanded their range of products due to the rapid growth of the foodservice and hospitality industry in Spain. The rise of the industry was mainly thanks to the tourist boom that was taking place in the region.
The small towns witnessed an influx of people, as a hotel boom unfolded on the Mediterranean and the nearby Balearic and Canaries group of islands, which also explains why the first ever equipment offered by Sammic – potato peelers and vegetable slicers, were catered to the Mediterranean diet. In 1968, Sammic star ted to manufacture commercial dishwashers, and later in the 90s, they produced vacuumpacking machines. The company’s first ever clients and end users were hotels situated in the coastal areas of Spain and its products were sold through distributors.
A RISING STAR
In January 2008, Sammic started its operations in their modern facilities situated in Azkoitia, Spain. At the new headquarters, its production capacity trebled in volume and size. Situated in a 16,000 square metre plot, the 11,000 square metre industrial unit is split into three floors. The production unit consists of stainless steel manufacturing, machining and assembly lines, together with highly efficient logistic units.
Today, the entire Sammic team consists of 170 people working in production facilities at its headquarters in Azkoitia, Spain and around its sales offices worldwide. Sammic has its own subsidiaries in France, UK, Italy, Portugal, USA, Middle East and South East Asia. Apart from these, Sammic has importers and distributors in over 100 countries all over the world. This led to the company’s hundreds of thousands satisfied end-users worldwide.
Sammic attributes its sustainable success to their extensive rapport and close kinship with the company’s clients. This was complemented by keeping a close watch on commercial kitchen trends which helped them to determine products that must be developed, or improved upon. It was through following the market’s movements that Sammic began venturing outside of dynamic food preparation equipment.
Until today, Sammic is constantly innovating and launching new products, along with new generations of previously manufactured products. Their global sales force and their effective marketing team also play a big role in their wide distribution networks. Sammic’s competitive R&D team tirelessly develop solutions according to industry insights and in anticipation of new needs that crop up in the market. When it comes to matters of sustainability, Sammic claims that it is a basic element always at mind in the process of designing and manufacturing products.
“We try to develop solutions that offer maximum efficiency in terms of electric or water consumption. Moreover, sustainability is on top of the list of requirements when designing materials, be it in the product itself or its packaging,” said sales manager Xabier Goenaga.
Sustainability is also a decisive factor during the whole production process and is present through all workflows in the factory, from supply chain management to sales logistics.
THE SECRET TO SUCCESS
Sammic has a few main product lines, one of them being commercial dishwashers that consist of a complete range of glass washers, front loading and hood-type dishwashers, rack conveyor machines, ware washers, and cutlery drier and polishers.
They also carry dynamic preparation equipment like potato peelers, vegetable preparation machines, cutters, hand mixers, planetary mixers, salad spinners and more. Sammic also manufactures food preservation and sousvide cooking equipment like commercial vacuum-packing machines, SmartVide immersion circulators, tray thermossealers and more.
The development of the innovative SmartVide immersion circulators was the first product used in partnership with Sammic’s resident Corporate Chef, Enrique Fleischmann, who was brought on-board in 2014. Fleischmann collaborates with Sammic’s R&D department and truly provides them with valuable insights that benefit their end-users.
Prior to this, Sammic collaborated with Michelin 7-star chef Martín Berasategui. They wanted a chef who would not only be involved in haute cuisine, but also popular restauration in the various restaurant concepts which is what Chef Fleischmann specialises in.
At the end of the day, Sammic owes its success to its clients. They take their end-users very seriously and the reason why they’ve done so well for themselves is largely due to their willingness to get up close with the client and to know and anticipate their needs. Combining this close attention and rapport with clients, in addition to Sammic’s brilliant and technically competent R&D team enables Sammic to launch extremely successful solutions in the market.
Sammic adapts seamlessly to the needs of the market. They aim to not only offer a good product, but also to provide the best service to distributors, end-users and consultants. To do so, the organisation considers the requirements of all said agents, and offer value-added solutions to each of them. They count on the counsel of their corporate chef who helps the various types of agents choose their respective solutions and the process that best suits their needs.
ADDING EXTRA FLAVOUR
The company also offers as many solutions as possible via the Sammic website. In fact, in recent years, the website has become one of their main tools in communicating with the market. On their website, Sammic provides solutions adapted to each agent involved in the purchase and service of foodservice equipment.
Moving for ward, Sammic’s latest innovation has been the development of unique content for different segments of end-users, expected to be operative this month. The content will include a selection of equipment for each type of user. Sammic has also developed exclusive access for consultants and prescribers, where information and content of interest is published specifically for this sector.
There can be no doubt that Sammic will only continue to grow from strength to strength, much like their offerings that has evolved since the days of the potato peeler. With a simple yet strong premise which consist of easy to use and reliable appliances, an ear to the ground listening to clients and responding to the market, surely Sammic cannot go wrong.
