This interview details Ecocool, a packaging solutions provider based in Germany. The interview is with Florian Siedenburg, General Manager of Ecocool.
What is the origin story of Ecocool?
My father, Heinrich Siedenburg, founded the company in 1999. The original concept was a light, yet durable multi-use thermo-container for grocery shops and supermarket logistics.
The concept unfortunately never really took off, however, the infant e-commerce market for foodstuffs as well as requests from larger forwarding and pharmaceutical companies generated demand for insulating packaging solutions, cooling elements and above all, thermal blankets. These were the main ingredients for our ever growing portfolio of insulating and passive-cooling packaging solutions.
What are some of the biggest challenges facing Ecocool in the future?
The biggest challenge is the transformation towards a fully ecological sustainable business model. Even though our production is largely CO2 neutral through the use of renewable energy (we operate a PV-modules with a total capacity of around 170 kWp + only purchase renewably generated electricity), a majority of our products, in particular thermal blankets are still manufactured from plastic based raw materials. Finding suitable replacements is a key challenge moving forward.
What is unique about Ecocool compared to competitors?
Our knowledge from both, the food and pharmaceutical industry creates very interesting synergies in the creation of new, highly cost efficient, yet thermally performant products. For instance, our ECO-SAFE+ thermal blanket solution offers a unique performance to price ratio among all thermal blankets on the market.
Furthermore, our production in Germany allows us to react extremely quickly to customer requests, making sure to adapt products to the specific demands. Individual formats, fast prototyping and generally short lead times are key USPs of ECOCOOL.
How do you measure the impact of Ecocool so far? (Revenue, Employees, Customer Quantity, Production Volume) etc?
Our KPIs are mostly derived from turnover, revenue, employees and customer satisfaction.
What have you learned that you wish you knew when you joined or started the company?
It is not a regret in the sense that I would have wished to know that beforehand but the standout revelation for me was how much fun it is to work as a supplier in the field of logistics. It is such a dynamic industry with very bright and interesting people involved. Also, working with a customer base that consists of a combination of extremely small and blue-chip companies creates an extremely eclectic work environment.
How can people connect with you or learn more about Ecocool?
We invite everybody to follow us on social media, we have LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube channels. And of course: You may call us!
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