Liebherr manufactures refrigeration and freezer units for the hospitality sector, among others. What distinguishes the company from its competition in this area?
Nick Cooper: Liebherr’s products are renowned for their outstanding build quality and energy efficiency. Reliability, sustainability and the maximum use of available space are the key design factors. The combination of these aspects results in products that are long-lasting, quiet and excellent value for money. Furthermore, we continuously strive to improve every aspect of our products to the benefit of our customers. Liebherr implements a long-term programme of product rejuvenation and development, in relation to new technologies, changing market requirements and gaining customer feedback.
Liebherr’s latest refrigerators and freezers now include remote connectivity. What are the benefits for hotel managers when it comes to food safety and running their kitchens?
Our new connectivity system provides a number of useful benefits for hotel managers. The web-based dashboard is available on hand-held appliances from anywhere in the world. The system provides the option to monitor existing refrigeration appliances – irrespective of the brand – and the dashboard is designed to give an overview of all the connected refrigeration units in a manager’s portfolio, which could be spread over multiple locations, with a simple indication that shows if everything is working within the defined parameters or not.
Beyond monitoring temperatures and storing data, Liebherr’s system also provides analytic functions that can help to identify operational issues or alarms for when an erratic function is registered. These all work together to make the hotel manager’s job more efficient, in addition to improving overall food safety.
What measures has Liebherr introduced to become environmentally sustainable for producing the company’s refrigeration and freezer units?
Sustainability is part of Liebherr’s DNA. The company was among the first of the larger manufacturers to introduce environmentally friendly hydrocarbon refrigerants in its entire standard professional range. Additionally, within the production process, heat energy is reclaimed and plastic materials are recycled. A considerable part of the distribution from the factories is by rail, therefore reducing the environmental footprint. An ISO 14001 environmental management system has been in place for many years in all of Liebherr’s refrigeration factories.
What after-sales services do clients receive?
Liebherr has branches or sales-and-service partners for refrigeration products in 38 European countries and in more than 40 countries outside of the EU. For example, our service network in Russia spreads across more than 40 cities and regions. The global service network is continuing to expand and continuous training programmes are in place to improve the quality of our service, with appliances becoming more sophisticated. Liebherr is in a strong position to support its products with multinational hospitality customers. The company goes to great lengths to ensure the availability of spare parts, mostly well over ten years after production has ended. The spare parts and service documentation,which is available online to our service partners, is exemplary and covers products going back 20 years or more.
On 20-24 October, Liebherr is exhibiting at HostMilano. Where will clients be able to find you?
During Host, customers will find Liebherr in Pavilion 9, stand P15 Q18. The company looks forward to welcoming visitors, and discussing the features and user benefits of a wide selection of products and services that interest hotel managers.
Alongside existing products, we will be gathering opinion on future ideas for the hospitality and food retail sectors. Gaining customer feedback is important for developing new products that will satisfy the future needs of our users. Liebherr, therefore extends a warm welcome to attendees to visit the stand at Host to share their ideas.
