Meiko Green Waste Solutions GmbH: startup matures into evergreen business.
Fresh, new, and GREEN. Just under six years ago, Meiko launched a new startup, Meiko Green Waste Solutions GmbH, to market and proved to the industry that leftovers and organic kitchen waste are not cumbersome refuse but valuable raw materials. This startup is now a leading provider of purposeful, innovative food waste management and a pioneer in the world of small-scale biogas plants for food service businesses. As of the beginning of March 2024, Meiko Green Waste Solutions is now an integrated part of the Meiko Group.
Hannes Braun explains why this restructure is important. He is an expert in wet waste technology and food collection systems and will head up the Professional Business Unit Meiko Green at corporate headquarters in Offenburg.
Why is the little startup now being integrated into ‘big’ Meiko? What is the strategy here?
We changed the structure of the business within MEIKO Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG, founding four Professional Business Units in early October 2023. Meiko Clean, Meiko Care, Meiko Protect, and Meiko Green. It was just timely to go that extra step since we have such clear overlaps with warewashing technology, one of Meiko Clean's core competencies. Management of leftovers and kitchen waste must be planned in any dishwashing area from the start if we are going to provide the ideal solution. Yet, until now, we were separate companies with different structures and processes.
What will change for customers?
Nothing! The people to contact are staying the same and existing projects will run as planned. Technical service is still guaranteed for existing systems. We will work together more closely and more efficiently within Meiko and we will be able to use our synergies, giving us quicker response times. Our customers can only benefit!
Our aim is to improve the profitability of the dishwashing area. We want to make it possible for smaller kitchens, too, to establish a profitable food waste management system without impractical financial barriers.
What will happen to the people employed by Meiko Green Waste Solutions?
These employees have particular expertise relating to Meiko Green, making them an important contingent within Meiko Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG and Meiko Deutschland GmbH. Patrick Hoffmann, previous Managing Director of Meiko Green Waste Solutions will take up the position of Head of Global Business Development & Sales Excellence at MEIKO Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG.
What is the specific focus of Meiko Green's solutions?
The focus is people. We create ergonomically designed, safe workspaces with automated processes for the people who handle food waste. For the operator, we facilitate efficient, profitable solutions. And, finally, there is a reason we are called Meiko Green! We also care about the planet.Our technology facilitates a kind of treatment that just makes sense. In an ideal case scenario, the operator has the opportunity to recycle the waste into energy in a biogas plant.
Mr Braun, to be quite frank, nobody could pull all of this off alone. So, who do you have with you?
The task of the Professional Business Unit Meiko Green is essentially to support our market organisations and their markets. We do this by providing the best products and solutions that most benefit our customers. That means that I also have strategic and operational product managers and market managers on my team.
