Trip down memory lane: collaborations for the cheese industry.

In our previous retrospective about the history of DERO GROEP, we shared how we once started in the cheese industry. This week, we continue our cheese trilogy and explain how various collaborations and acquisitions formed the basis of our current product portfolio.

From the beginning, DERO has collaborated with various companies, including to cater to the cheese industry. “We may have had an understanding of robots, but that was not enough to properly serve the cheese industry,” says Maro Dedel, CEO and founder DERO GROEP. "Because to properly operate in a market you need to understand the product, the application and the technologies to be applied. When, as a startup in a market, you want to serve this market optimally, it is not easy to master it all. That is why we strongly believe in working together, even if it is sometimes the hardest thing to do." Over the years DERO has therefore had collaborations with various parties, which later partially became part of the DERO GROEP.

Collaboration with ELTEN

An important partnership was that with ELTEN. Thanks to previous collaborations with the RO-groep and Doeschot DERO had grown into a serious competitor of the established company ELTEN, at that time part of BMA and market leader in the field of cheese treatment. After years of competition, in 2009 a collaboration was established. From that moment on, all cheese treatment projects and new developments were undertaken together.

An ELTEN cheese treatment line.

In 2012, ELTEN hit hard times, just when DERO was ready for the next step of growth. Maro: "That's when we took the leap to acquire ELTEN. In terms of knowledge and expertise, we complemented each other perfectly." It was a combination of the best of both worlds. Peter van der Heijden, a former employee of ELTEN, remembers the transfer to DERO well: "The acquisition of ELTEN by DERO was an important step. It made us a lot better together and really created a synergy."

Addition of Hendriks

Later that same year, Hendriks filed for bankruptcy, a company that had focused on cheese processing. The inner circle of that company joined the new DERO ELTEN. "I already knew the people at Hendriks, because we thought along with them about robotic solutions in inquiries," Maro explains. "Our way of working and the fact that we had/have a lot of knowledge about robots really appealed to these new colleagues. And because we had a similar vision of building that kind of machinery based on robot technology, it clicked right away." So this decision was mutually quickly made.

This marked the beginning of a new era. Through a combination of expertise and innovation, the company grew rapidly and its product portfolio for the cheese sector expanded enormously. "From Hendriks, we mainly had solutions for pre-processing the cheese for packaging," says Stevin Steunenberg, project manager at DERO GROEP. "Because we were given the opportunity to use robots at DERO ELTEN, we were able to make great strides with our de-bagging machines and slicer feeders."

Over the years, DERO GROEP's product portfolio for cheese has continued to expand.

Complete whole thanks to BOSGRAAF

Due to the success in the cheese industry, DERO ELTEN was overflowing with work. Maro: "We basically couldn't keep up with the growth anymore. So when BOSGRAAF was struggling in 2014 due to an overly one-sided view of the market and an unwillingness to invest, we approached their shareholder, initially asking them to participate in BOSGRAAF. Full acquisition followed a year later, including the facility in Joure."

With BOSGRAAF added, the product portfolio and opportunities for cheese expanded even further. "Whereas BOSGRAAF was active in wet cheese up to and including brine, DERO ELTEN focused right on the process behind it," says Alfred Hoks, manager of controls at DERO GROEP. "A perfect extension."

Not only did the acquisition of BOSGRAAF further complete our product portfolio, but our combined knowledge and strength also grew enormously. Suddenly we also had essential knowledge of hygienic design and CIP cleaning at our disposal.

Last addition: Doeschot

Even though we now had a very extensive product portfolio and customer base due to acquisitions and our own innovations, one part was still missing: the semi-automatic standalone machines for shelf cleaning, plastic coating and waxing. When Doeschot hit hard times in 2017, we did not hesitate for a moment and eventually acquired the company completely.

Curious about the specific innovations we have developed for the cheese industry over the years? Or about our collaborations outside the cheese industry? Then keep an eye on our website, LinkedIn or Instagram!

// P. Mulder - Synergy Food  //