The Innovator: Theobald Huch

November 28, 2023

Theobald Huch, Managing Director at CHOCOTECH stresses to Editor Caitlin Gittins the importance of having a future-oriented mindset

Theobald Huch, Managing Director of CHOCOTECH, shares with Editor Caitlin Gittins the future-oriented mindset CHOCOTECH has, which includes sustained focus on their customers and what they are asking for.

Big topics of conversation at the moment which feature in this exclusive interview, include energy efficient solutions, trends towards healthy confectionery, the advancement of digitalisation and greater automation, all of which are driving new developments in the confectionery industry.

One major example of how digitalisation can manifest includes the founding of SweetConnect, an online platform for companies to collect more data about their production, of which CHOCOTECH was a founding member.

Labour shortages, meanwhile, are driving greater automation in the form of automated machinery and solutions. CHOCOTECH’s embrace of automated solutions while looking to train new operators demonstrates a future-oriented focus.

Please introduce yourself and what you do at CHOCOTECH?

My name is Theobald Huch and I’m the Managing Director at CHOCOTECH. My profession is in machine building engineering. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked in different technical organisations and sales positions, in small and medium-sized companies. I was active in the global market, with a focus on the Asian region.

My goal is to have satisfied customers and motivated employees who are also deeply engaged and passionate about their work, contributing to a positive and productive work environment. I’m deeply interested in direct communication with our customers, understanding their goals, exploring ways to optimise, innovate and make their products more successful. Our team of high qualified technologists are able to assist our customers worldwide.

We specialise in developing the best solutions for our customers. Most of our work is to create tailor-made solutions based on the customer’s raw materials, recipes, and production needs. We offer modular laboratory machines for developing recipes and testing processes. Our emphasis is on stability of processes, hygienic design, energy efficiency, durability and minimising maintenance requirements. Our machines have long life cycles of over 25 to 30 years.

Our company is family owned and works together collaboratively to find solutions to support our customers. That’s the most important thing, alongside creating efficient processes and well-designed process technology.

What are major trends in markets such as Asia that are driving what you do at CHOCOTECH?

I believe the Asian market is growing very quickly. We’re operating in countries such as China, India, Indonesia to name just a few. Also, we are currently running big projects in New Zealand and Australia. Africa is growing somewhat but not as fast as the Asian market.

In terms of confectionery products, which we see in this market, they are different to what we see in the European market. Often, they cater to specific tastes. For example, a unique product in India might be made out of sugar, nut paste…

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