{"id":1676,"date":"2019-01-22T03:00:46","date_gmt":"2019-01-22T13:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/2019\/01\/22\/the-making-of-a-master-inside-the-technivorm-factory\/"},"modified":"2019-01-22T03:00:46","modified_gmt":"2019-01-22T13:00:46","slug":"the-making-of-a-master-inside-the-technivorm-factory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecurbkaimuki.com\/2019\/01\/22\/the-making-of-a-master-inside-the-technivorm-factory\/","title":{"rendered":"The Making Of A Master: Inside The Technivorm Factory"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"technivorm<\/p>\n

Only five people in the world, I\u2019m told, possess the lapel pin: a golden hexagon with block serif letters split over two lines. One is the person whose dark glen-plaid blazer buttonhole I\u2019m inspecting right now under institutional lighting in Amerongen, the Netherlands. His name is Frans van Cooten. His title nowadays is director and owner of Moccamaster Sales EU<\/a>, one of three independent entities overseeing the majority of sales for the manufacturer known as Technivorm<\/a>\u2014which is also the word, shining in relief, on Van Cooten\u2019s lapel.<\/p>\n

2018 was a momentous year for the factory that created the world\u2019s most enduring, stylish, and reputable home filter coffeemaker: the Moccamaster KBG 741. The year began sadly, with the passing of the machine\u2019s inventor and Technivorm\u2019s founder, Gerard-Clement Smit. In January, the engineer died at age 87. Years ago, he had given Van Cooten, his son-in-law, the Technivorm pin\u2014although the first to receive one was Ina ten Donkelaar. She is not wearing it on the bright morning on which she tells me who is in the circle of pin-possessors, but no one doubts how close the brand is to her heart. She was Smit\u2019s partner. Currently, Ten Donkelaar is Technivorm\u2019s CEO and has been with the company, established in 1964, from early on. She remembers when Smit rented a workspace in the tiny village of Elst, in the province of Utrecht, initially producing stepladders and stacking shelves, followed by his first patented coffee grinder in 1965. She recalls when, in 1967, Technivorm moved to the neighboring village of Amerongen, right into Smit\u2019s backyard, which was convenient, yet rough on his prune trees.<\/p>\n

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An original 1968 Moccamaster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The rerelease of Technivorm\u2019s first-ever coffeemaker made 2018 more celebratory. Developed in 1968 but launched a year later, the Moccamaster 69, named for its debut year, is smaller than the 741 (brewing up to eight, rather than 10, cups). With a round-edged hotplate tray and a circular heating tower and water reservoir, it very much appears to be of a curves-embracing era. Called the \u201968 Jubileum, the rerelease retains those features, making it an unblinking fit into all the mid-century modern design resurrected of late. The limited-edition model has been available in Europe since March 2018. North America has had to be patient, as it is only scheduled for purchase there starting spring 2019.<\/p>\n

Ten Donkelaar and Van Cooten receive me at Technivorm\u2019s headquarters and factory in Amerongen. No longer occupying the family\u2019s former garden, they have been situated in an industrial section of town since the late 1980s. Still, in the Netherlands, it\u2019s hard to ever really get away from the pastoral; trees surrounding the premises are lush and across the road, I catch a couple of ponies grazing. In traditional Dutch office etiquette, a receptionist promptly offers drinks. White demitasses arrive, filled with a medium-dark roast provided by two-centuries-old Dutch roasters Smit & Dorlas<\/a>. When I ask, perhaps a bit insipidly, if a Moccamaster was used, Van Cooten answers with an amiable \u201cJaaaa<\/i>.\u201d Downstairs, he volunteers, professional-line Moccamasters brew fresh batches for the factory staff. An 11 AM coffee break is another Dutch labor institution, but the punctuality of a koffiepauze<\/i> is crucial when a production line is at stake, stresses Van Cooten. A bell goes off to let the workers know when it\u2019s time for, as Ten Donkelaar puts it, \u201cdrinking coffee, getting a little baked good, and enjoying a smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ten Donkelaar and Van Cooten<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But upstairs, we are in what seems to be part boardroom\u2014upholstered conference chairs tucked under laminate tables\u2014and part museum. Exhibited in, on, and around glass-cased shelves are decades\u2019 worth of artifacts: various models and iterations of home and commercial coffee machines, blade coffee grinders, hot plates, water boilers, and dispensers. Plus, there are samples of Smit\u2019s pre-Technivorm inventions from when he was, essentially, a freelancer; highlights include a box of hot rollers and a sn<\/i>ijbonenmolen<\/i><\/a> (a string bean slicer, once considered a Dutch kitchen staple). The walls are like an open scrapbook, decorated with vintage corporate posters and multi-language ads from the past. On a stand of its own is a quilt: the batik-effect fabric with images of cups and beans features a dozen blocks, each with a uniquely hued 741 machine. It was occasioned by Technivorm\u2019s golden anniversary, and the quilter was Kathleen Bauer, COO of Moccamaster USA<\/a>, a second of Technivorm\u2019s three related entities. Bauer is another pin-holder, and her craft brings some palpable Americana to the functionalism-driven European environs.<\/p>\n

Moccamaster\u2019s internal functions were uncovered by Popular Mechanics<\/a> in a \u201cdisassembly report\u201d detailing all 137 parts that are elegantly engineered into a single 741. The 2017 review praised it as \u201cmany coffee snobs\u2019 brewer of choice,\u201d though the machine\u2019s appeal has undeniably broadened. The MoMa Design Store<\/a> has sold it since 2016, and in June 2018, \u201cnew brides and brides-to-be\u201d among Good Morning America\u2019s staff ranked<\/a> it their #1 wedding gift.<\/p>\n

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\"technivorm<\/p>\n

These days, the brand has distributors worldwide. Nevertheless, all Moccamasters continue to be constructed by hand and individually tested in the Netherlands. The manufacturer prides itself in using, whenever possible, recyclable or fully degradable materials sourced from within Europe, if not the Netherlands itself. New machines come with a five-year warranty, though tend to last far longer, being easy to repair or spruce up with replacement parts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get lots of emails from customers asking, \u2018Does the jug for the new 68 also fit in the old one?\u2019 And they\u2019re very happy to hear that it does,\u201d says Van Cooten. The rerelease has a few technical updates, but \u201con functionality there is no difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the first ’68 model, back then called the \u201869,\u2019\u201d Ten Donkelaar specifies of an antique machine being stored behind glass. \u201cWe sold 769,473 pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Jubileum \u201968<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In 2010, after selling off a local horse feed business inherited from his father, Van Cooten founded Moccamaster Sales EU. The move was steered by having agreed with Smit to find new markets for Moccamaster upon joining the enterprise of his spouse\u2019s family. Clementine Smit, Van Cooten\u2019s wife, once worked at Technivorm herself, though now is more likely to be found accompanying Van Cooten to coffee shows and festivals, he says, adding, \u201cshe know the product very well\u2014she knows everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Cooten and his team concentrated on Germany, Central Europe, and the UK. Scandinavia was not part of their remit because Technivorm had, since the early 1970s, been exporting to the region. It has remained the company\u2019s biggest market for the last 30 years. Moccamaster Nordic<\/a>, a third entity in the trio, handles these operations. Those strong ties are veritably sealed in a seal. Found on all Moccamasters is a sticker reading \u201capproved\u201d along with the name of the European Coffee Brewing Centre<\/a>. Founded in 1975 in Oslo, the ECBC is an offshoot of the Norwegian Coffee Association, and testing brewers is its raison d\u2019\u00eatre.<\/p>\n

Van Cooten explains: \u201cIn the Scandinavian countries, everyone knows about the ECBC, and our whole range passed this certification of brewing the perfect cup. For the ECBC, it\u2019s not about the quality of the machine or the expected lifespan of the machine\u2014they only certify based on achievement of the best brew, to reach the best extraction out of your coffee.\u201d <\/p>\n

To illustrate just how omnipresent, if not ho-hum, the Moccamaster is in the Nordics, Van Cooten asks if I\u2019ve been tuning in to Dutch TV\u2019s Detective Month<\/a>, which airs crime series.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you watch the Scandinavian shows carefully,\u201d he says, \u201cprobably at least once a week, you have a shot in the kitchen, no matter where the crime scene is, and they pour coffee with a Moccamaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The younger of Van Cooten and Clementine Smit\u2019s two children seems on track to wear a pin one day too. Rob van Cooten recently completed his third year of business school and has already done sales and marketing work in his father\u2019s office. The elder Van Cooten says his son is interested in pursuing the family trade after graduating and getting some experience abroad. Daughter Floortje van Cooten keeps busy as an Amsterdam-based fashion blogger, though in a recent Father\u2019s Day gift guide took the opportunity to call a Moccamaster the \u201cbest present there possibly is.\u201d Her post<\/a> spotlights a shiny stone gray KBG 741.<\/p>\n

As Ten Donkelaar likes to say, the 741 is \u201can evergreen.\u201d Developed in 1974, it hit the market two years later and today is the most iconic model. The Moccamaster remains one of several select home brewers<\/a> certified by the SCA, reflecting its esteemed status among, to quote a Sprudge article on the brand\u2019s Cup-one<\/a>, \u201cprosumer appliances.\u201d It is true that Technivorm and specialty coffee have been friendly for decades. In 1988, the Dutch company became a founding member of the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe, and fast-forward to World of Coffee 2018<\/a>, the Moccamaster stand was showing off the 741 in its latest colors: pastel green, pastel yellow, pastel blue, and midnight blue.<\/p>\n

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Globally, Technivorm and Moccamaster have about 200 employees. Amerongen hosts around 150. In August 2017, the European Coffee Trip<\/a> published a cheerful video<\/a> taking viewers inside the factory, profiling workers, and zooming in on the production line.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope to build our 10 millionth this year,\u201d Van Cooten said in that interview.<\/p>\n

When, 11 months later, I follow up on the stated projection, he replies: \u201cYes, we did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Turns out, the 10 millionth coffeemaker was handed to Gerard-Clement Smit during a company celebration that coincided with the last birthday he lived to experience, in September 2017. The machine is a black<\/a> and white Jubileum \u201968. It is displayed in a hallway on an encased stand, with mini-spotlights flanking the keepsake. Above is a classic portrait of Smit, raising a cup to his smile. Below is the milestone, its numbers printed larger than all the other text, the Technivorm logo included.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just wanted to do the rerelease as an honor to Gerard,\u201d Ten Donkelaar shares.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the second 10 million will not take that long,\u201d she continues, returning to the brisker pace of business talk. \u201cWe are doing some internal movements to get more space for the production line. Last year, for the first time, we realized more than 500,000 machines\u2014that was a lot of coffeemakers. And this year we will even sell more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karina Hof is a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam. Read more\u00a0Karina Hof on Sprudge<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

The post The Making Of A Master: Inside The Technivorm Factory<\/a> appeared first on Sprudge<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Source: Coffee News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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