From the Beskids to the Wide, Wide World of Gastronomy

REGION From the Beskids to the Wide, Wide World of Gastronomy In 1994, in the Wallachian town of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, five young entrepreneurs partnered together and founded the Czech enterprise Retigo s.r.o. The company is still in Czech hands and employs 210 people. It is one of the last independent producers of convection ovens in the world who specialises in steam convection ovens, focusing on outstanding quality for a good price. The company is a just and proud winner of Vodafone award “Company of the Year” (Firma roku) 2018. We asked company executives Libor Pavelka and Václav Miller for an interview to explain how an upstart Wallachian startup conquered the world. The Beskid Mountains and this region of Wallachia represent hard-working people. What inspired you to join up and start a business together? Pavelka: The story of Retigo s.r.o. began at Tesla Rožnov in the early 1990s when we were thinking of running a business together. We wanted to cash in on our experience in the electrotechnical industry, and we considered the production of gastronomic equipment very attractive. We expected a great development in services. When we learned more about steam convection ovens, the decision was made. We made our first piece in an improvised workshop in a garage. First, we ran the business as a part time job after work, with only limited capital from our joint savings. I want to make clear that our company was not founded by the privatisation of a state-governed factory, and we have never had any investor. That made the first steps very adventurous. Each of us brought something very particular into our business: one was a specialist in machinery development, another in electronics, another in economics, marketing, and sales. Your steam convection ovens are used in school canteens as well as famous restaurants in our country and abroad. How do you manage to design and improve affordable products of such exclusive quality? Miller: The principle of a steam convection oven, its multifunctionality and range, came from Germany in the late 1970s. The first steam convection ovens in the Czech Republic became usual only after the fall of socialism in 1989, firstly because international imports became possible, and secondly because our company, Retigo s.r.o., started production. Everybody has some kind of inspiration in their beginnings, and we were inspired by German products. In our own ways, we started developing similar technology. This approach has proved successful. 52 ǀ POSITIV 2/2019 Our first oven was controlled by a microprocessor; we have not made a single oven with keys or buttons. Each generation of our convection ovens has brought some novelty or innovation. Today, the sixth generation is being produced. Our innovations include a touch screen (we were the first to introduce it as the control panel with convection ovens), an original way to use waste heat to reduce energy consumption, and the special shape of door glazing, which is a designer piece that functions efficiently. We have our own research and development centre which incorporates customer demands (based on feedback from the service and sales departments) in the hardware or software of our products. The quality of our products is based on the materials used, on the precision of how they work, and on the final assembly of each convection oven. The final inspection and thorough burn-in of all products is our company’s are standard and reassurance that a faulty product will never ever leave the plant. One thing must not be neglected: without good employees, good decisions a good strategy, nothing of what we are proud of would be possible. Anybody who excels in their field or business must first and foremost be