For many people, there is a contradiction between mechanized and traditional work. With the mechanization and scaling of production, the artisan trade was lost. This has happened in many industries since consumers appreciate the fact that products are available on a wide scale and for a reasonable price. Yet, many people at the same time regret the loss of that special quality that belonged to the traditional craft. Quality may sometimes suffer from large-scale production, but is the contrast between mechanized production and traditional craft that black and white? The contrast is absent, for instance, in Van Hessen’s supply chain for natural casings. For years now, artisan quality and mechanized processing have been going hand in hand in the sausage making industry.

That is remarkable when you realize that the natural origin of the casing presents quite a few challenges. When casings are not soaked according to the instructions, they may be too stiff so that holes appear. If you don’t take the gradual change in caliber in account, the sausage machine will not produce beautiful sausages. And yet, sausage machines are successfully used in the industry. They produce traditional sausages. This success is the result of Van Hessen’s choice to play a key role in the complex interaction between sausage maker, machine supplier and casings supplier.

Intensive Cooperation

Globally, Van Hessen collaborates with several machine suppliers, notably Handtmann and Vemag. Together, these companies have been joining hands for many years to tackle reoccurring issues on the side of the sausage maker to produce top-quality sausages. Traditional sausages targeted at local markets are the result.

Oscar Soster, Sales Supervisor for Van Hessen Brazil, explains how Van Hessen collaborates with the sausage machine suppliers: “Of course, we don’t buy these machines since we don’t make sausages, but our customers, the sausage makers, do. For that reason, we need to make sure that our casings perform well on these machines. We approach this in two ways. First, we work with our customers. When they buy a machine, we try all our casings on their new machine in every possible way. We then advise that customer on the right practice and the right product. We also have our people visit our customers to make sure the sausage operators are using the appropriate caliber casings. Our second approach is to work very closely with the sausage machine suppliers. We are, in fact, in continuous conversation with them. Together, we test samples of casings, so we can see the results with our own eyes. We then determine which casings work better for which machine.”

According to Oscar, there are plenty of challenges involved in creating the right conditions for the perfect sausage. “First, we need to match product and machine. That is something we can work out with our suppliers like Vemag, Handtmann, Risco and Incomaf. Secondly, we also need to convince our customers that higher investments result in machines that will work better with our natural product with its typical natural variation. A third challenge is that no matter how good your advice is, in the end, the quality of work on the production floor determines the success of the product. So, we strive to monitor, advise, and communicate and do everything necessary to make sure the knowledge of our specific industry is applied and retained across the entire supply chain.”

Workshops and Training

To bring all parties into the conversation with one another, Van Hessen and its partners organize masterclasses, workshops, and training sessions where all stakeholders have a hands-on experience of what it means to make the perfect mouthwatering sausage. The machine suppliers themselves also take action. They provide training to Van Hessen’s account managers with the introduction of new machines or when new models are brought to the market. The machine suppliers also visit the sausage makers, often together with Van Hessen, especially when there are issues to be dealt with. Good cooperation is a precondition to being successful. To facilitate this, Van Hessen supplies the machine supplier with discounted casings to be used as demo product. Even though nowadays sausages are produced by machines, sausage making is clearly still a craft.

Oscar Soster is involved in organizing the annual Technology of Packaging and Food Conservation conference (TECA) in Brazil. TECA is a 2-day event that brings Van Hessen, machine suppliers, seasoning producers, and sausage makers together to review technology and processes. Day 2 features an entire day of workshops where attendees get hands-on experience both making sausages and testing the packing process. TECA has proven to be an event that stimulates conversations, provides a venue for attendees to ask questions and share valuable feedback and strengthens the relationships of everyone who attends.