Switzerland-based Schaerer is internationally renowned for its professional coffee machines, which it has been manufacturing for 90 years. Nolato has been working closely with them for many years and to date has manufactured one million advanced brew units for these machines.
Nolato is a Swedish publicly listed group that develops and manufactures products in polymer materials for leading customers within medical technology, pharmaceuticals, telecom, automotive and other selected industrial sectors.
Schaerer coffee machines are designed to brew coffee in professional environments such as restaurants and bars, as well as for use in more public environments such as petrol stations and waiting rooms.
This not only places stringent requirements on the reliability and robustness of the coffee machines, but also on them brewing great-tasting coffee day in, day out.
So a key component of the coffee machines is the brew unit, which is produced by the plant that Nolato acquired in Switzerland last year, Nolato Treff.
Complex brew unit
“The brew unit is a highly complex product consisting of 58 different components. Twenty of these are plastic and are manufactured by us,” explains Nolato Treff’s Managing Director Guido Vollrath.
“The remaining 38 components, which are mainly metal, are purchased in by us based on Schaerer’s specifications.”
The manufacturing process takes place in three phases. The plastic components are first injection-moulded, and then some of the components are fitted together using ultrasonic soldering, after which final assembly takes place.
Small tolerances
Small tolerances are needed to ensure the individual components fit together perfectly, which requires highly stable processes.
“We also have to use specially selected raw materials to keep to the specifications,” explains Nolato Treff’s Managing Director Guido Vollrath.
Food hygiene
All production takes place in clean zones, with special rules on clothing and working conditions, as it involves components that come into contact with foodstuffs.
“Following our meticulous production regulations means we can guarantee food safety and maintain our ISO 22000 certification,” comments Guido Vollrath.
To date, Nolato Treff has manufactured 1,000,000 brew units for Schaerer in close cooperation, which has intensified since Schaerer became part of Germany’s WMF Group a few years ago.
