CASE STUDY: Fracino


By  establishing strong working partnerships between  designers, engineers and marketers , Fracino has been able to build and maintain a strong profile in a fast-growing, incredibly competitive market.

Best practice in: High performance workplace
Sector:           Manufacturing
Size of firm:     18
Location:         Birmingham
Website:  www.fracino.co.uk


Objectives

When, in the 1990s, coffee drinking in many European and North American cities advanced from being an unremarkable, everyday habit to the epitome of style, the Fracino team set out to add a new dimension to its existing business..

Founded in 1964 to import espresso machines, it started manufacturing them in 1990. But in 2000 the company set off in a new direction when it launched the Roastilino, a counter-top coffee roaster that responded to customers' demand for a product that would permeate coffee shops with the aroma of coffee beans, enhancing the experience at the heart of the new coffee culture.
 

Solution

Company founder Frank Maxwell and his close-knit family business developed a new method of fresh-roasting the beans in a glass chamber, which was visually appealing and produced a great aroma. Frank saw that the appropriately named Roastilino machine could become a dramatic centrepiece for cafes - which emphasised the experience of coffee drinking as much as the drink itself. 

As well as coffee shops, the Roastilino is found in delis and provides the domestic connoisseur with a high-end roaster for home use.

To break into a competitive market, the company realised it needed a perfect blend of form and function. "Unless we'd come up with something that was clearly different from our competitors' machines, we just could not have competed with the mass producers," explains Commercial Director Angela Maxwell. 

The company decided to create project teams of designers, engineers and marketers who could work together at all stages of the process to assure the quality of the final project. Now, a three or four-strong team sees each project from original concept, through prototyping and testing, to component supply and assembly. This creates real dedication and focus and means that modifications can be made quickly and seamlessly. 

The company also involves key customers in the prototyping phase to make sure the final product meets their needs.







Results

The result has been a range of products that have proved a great success at home and abroad. Fracino machines are being installed nationwide in  a major UK coffee  chain and the company has a comprehensive export programme to 12 countries. In addition, the Roastilino machine went on to win a Design Council Millennium Product award and gave Fracino a reputation within the trade for innovation as well as quality. 


Challenges

Angela Maxwell admits that the company struggled at first with exports. "Exporting is seriously hard work - you have to put up with many disappointments," she says. However, the Millennium Product award in 2000 proved a milestone. "After receiving the award, doors began to open."


The last word

The ways of working that Fracino adopted weren't just geared for short-term success: they were intended to keep the company ahead of the game by generating a stream of exciting products. As Angela says: "To stay competitive the company has  adopted and sustained a policy of 'continuous improvement'. "


Fracino - draft 1