The initiative :
A complete green bean packaging line sold to the Netherlands. This is the latest (and handsome) €2.5 million contract won by Quimper-based EAMS. This discreet SME, based on the old route de Rosporden, specialises in the design, manufacture and assembly of vegetable packaging lines. The principle behind this type of production line is simple: beans picked from the fields are cleaned, stemmed and prepared for the ultimate packaging: canned in this case. In the end, impressive Meccanoes are assembled in factories.
«This line reinforces one of the largest vegetable factories in the Netherlands. It started up on 10 August, processing 16 tonnes of green beans per hour for canning», explains Gilbert Gourmelen, head of EAMS. This Meccano takes up 2,500 m2 of the Dutch plant's 7,000 m2. «It took 25 lorries to transport it from Quimper. Six of our employees did the assembly. They were on site for 5 months. It's the moment of truth when you launch a machine like this. »A production line is always tricky. Adjustments are sometimes necessary. In this case, it worked well straight away.«
Gilbert Gourmelen is proud of the technical success. But he also emphasises the commercial success. «We are already present in Belgium, Spain, Portugal, etc. But the Dutch market was even more difficult to reach. This is a first for us. The story of how this was achieved is worth telling, as it illustrates the strategies used by SMEs with limited resources. »Five years ago, I sold an installation in Austria to a competitor of our Dutch customer. Following this deal, I canvassed by sending emails to potential decision-makers. At the time, I didn't get any feedback. In autumn 2012, a manager from this new customer contacted me. He had just visited one of the plants we had equipped the previous year. EAMS was up against three competitors (Danish, Belgian and Italian). With the result that we know.
EAMS, 21 employees (with temporary staff at peak times), sales of €4 million.