Thermoplan details the opening of its new plant, unique, and how its coffee machines have helped the company to become a major player in the industry.

After almost 1000 days of construction, in June 2024 the ribbon was cut for Thermoplan’s new plant by company Founders Esther and Domenic Steiner. The building, named unique, is the latest addition to the brand’s headquarters in Weggis, Switzerland.

Standing beside the couple beneath the new six-storey building’s striking glass façade was CEO Adrian Steiner, a driving force behind the company’s success to date, ready to greet unique’s first guests. Inside, visitors got a first look at the spacious, light-filled entrance area housing the company’s café, also named unique, where guests and employees can enjoy Thermoplan’s coffee.

“The café space fits around 40 guests and has a relaxed atmosphere that can be used for welcome drinks, informal meetings, or creative discussions. With our Black&White4 machines, we promise coffee lovers a first-class experience in the staffed café,” says CEO of Thermoplan Adrian Steiner.

With the introduction of the new plant, the family business aims to represent its openness to innovative technologies and focus on sustainability.

“unique stands for the strong commitment of all those involved to achieve the best possible success together. The new building is one of the first sustainable construction projects in Switzerland to be certified in accordance with the globally recognised Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standard. Only renewable energies are used to power the building”, says Steiner.

“The growth of the automated coffee machine industry and the increasing global demand for Thermoplan coffee machines led to an increased need for more space. With unique, which spans over 14,000 square feet, we now have six additional integrated production areas, further logistic facilities, and office spaces.”

Thermoplan entered the international market in the late 1990s and continues to operate on a global scale, increasing its number of employees from 35 to around 550. 

According to Steiner, the company not only takes pride in producing high quality coffee machines but also highly trained talent. At the new plant, it has multiple amenities to provide a healthy and progressive environment for its staff.

“This investment in physical and mental health is invaluable not only for employees, but also for the company. After an intense day at work, we have the opportunity to reduce stress, strengthen the body, and feel refreshed at our fitness studio. Interactive meetings or workshops can also be held in the fitness room and contribute to creative food for thought, the promotion of team spirit, and more motivation,” says Steiner.

Since its foundation, Thermoplan has focused on refining and developing its range of coffee machines for use in various segments. One sector the company has been particularly interested in is self-service, including convenience stores, petrol stations, hotels and offices.

Steiner says the brand’s Black&White4 and Black&White4 compact machines offer numerous advantages for this segment. These include lockable bean containers, under-counter refrigerator and flavour modules, automatic spouts with cup detection, user-friendly touch displays, and remote access for location-independent first-level support.

Part of the Black&White4 range, the Competizione model was selected by the Specialty Coffee Association to be used in the World Latte Art Championship (WLAC), which took place in June 2024 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

“As a company with 50 years of experience in the coffee industry and a pioneer in innovative milk foam technology, Thermoplan was honoured to sponsor the global championships this year”, says Steiner.

To add to its list of achievements, the Thermoplan Black&White4 Competizione was the first fully automatic machine to be used in the competition’s history. The brand is set to sponsor the event from 2024 to 2027.

“We are honoured to be part of the team for the next four years and look forward to everything that lies ahead,” says Steiner.

Nine Black&White4 Competizione coffee machines were used during the Championship. This included three in the training room, three on the Art Bar, and three on the WLAC stage. The machines were used by a total of 38 competitors from all over the world throughout the preliminary round, the semi-finals, and the grand final.

Steiner also made a personal appearance to hand over the winner’s trophy to Yi-Chen Xie of Taiwan who was crowned champion.

“It was a fantastic and exciting four days at the WLAC 2024. Over 11,000 visitors attended the championships. The participants produced some fantastic latte art and we are proud of the brilliant performance of our Black&White4 Competizione,” says Steiner.

According to Thermoplan, the Black&White4 Competizione is a prime example of how its automatic coffee machines can provide a multitude of advantages to high-volume environments. The machine can be used for coffee, tea, and steam, and comes with a patented multifunctional steam wand that offers three different functions to provide consistent foam using alternative or dairy milk. It’s capable of producing up to 500 cups per day.

“The Black&White4 Competizione is truly multi-talented and has been developed in such a way that, thanks to the multifunctional steam wand, both professional baristas and people with less experience can produce excellent milk foam”, says Steiner.

To showcase the company’s commitment to sustainability, the Thermoplan Black&White4 Competizione is made of high-quality stainless steel of more than 90 per cent recycled materials. All the company’s machines are assembled with 100 per cent renewable energy, producing more than 10 per cent of its electricity needs with the plant’s own photovoltaic system.

“As a company, we have three pillars: we are respectful towards each other, optimise and reduce resources where appropriate, and improve our products for the benefit of our customers and the environment with the help of the latest technologies. Every day we strive to keep our footprint on earth as small as possible,” says Steiner.

Thermoplan remains loyal to its mission to produce high-quality fully automatic machines as it continues its endeavour to connect people and coffee.

“With unique, we have reached a very important milestone in Thermoplan’s history and added yet another plant to our home. This motivates each and every one of us to always give our best. From Switzerland, we can offer our customers the best possible quality,” says Steiner.

“Together with the team and global coffee industry we have the opportunity to evolve, improve, and make our customers’ lives as easy as possible. That’s our duty, and I look forward to celebrating many more achievements in the years to come.” GCR

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