Advaton Ltd and SAS Eurotandem: combining Swiss and French cheese-making expertise to serve customers even better in future

Advaton Ltd (Advaton Group) in Lütisburg, Switzerland is taking the next step in its Buy & Build strategy by entering into an agreement with SAS Eurotandem (Eurotandem) based in Saint-Just France. Advaton Group, consisting of Kalt Maschinenbau AG (specialist in cheese, dairy and process technology) and Staedler Automation AG (provider of industrial automation solutions), has thus gained an important partner of equal standing in the French-speaking region. Advaton will now be able to offer solutions for small local cheese farms to international industrial facilities. Advaton thus serves a wide range of customers. This milestone strengthens the group’s position in Europe and promotes sustainable growth. The current Eurotandem management team, Albert, Olivier and Yann Berthier, become shareholders of the Advaton Group and strengthen the management team and know-how within the Advaton Group.

SAS Eurotandem is a young and innovative company. Eurotandem’s core competences are the development, manufacture, installation as well as the maintenance of production lines for dairies and cheese factories with a focus on semi-hard and hard AOP cheeses. Backed by 33 years of experience in the cheese-making world, Albert Berthier and his son Olivier founded Eurotandem in 2015. Since then, Eurotandem has rapidly developed into a major cheese-making equipment manufacturer in the French market. Customers particularly appreciate Eurotandem’s products and excellent understanding of customer needs. “Since we founded the company in 2015, it has always been our ambition to turn Eurotandem into a world-class company,” says Olivier Berthier. Eurotandem and Kalt have known and respected each other for a long time. So a merger with Advaton Group seemed like a natural choice. “Joining forces with such an innovative and successful industrial group marks a significant step forward in the expansion strategy of Eurotandem,” Olivier Berthier adds.

Advaton and Eurotandem have a complementary product and client portfolio and a complementary geographical reach. Satisfying customer needs will remain the focus in the future. Lukas Staedler, CEO of Advaton Group, particularly welcomes the partnership from a client perspective: “Advaton Group will be able to offer solutions to the full range of customers, from small local cheese farms to international industrial facilities, from hard and semi-hard cheeses to soft and specialty cheeses. In a niche market like ours, such a combination of offerings is invaluable.” Smaller customers can profit especially from the cooperation, as they can expand their production and change their equipment to larger capacities with the same supplier.

Thomas Anderegg, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Advaton Group and Managing Partner at CGS Management Ltd, explains: “Ultimately, what Advaton Group will offer our customers in future is a convergence of Swiss and French cheese-making heritage – an expertise that is acknowledged and celebrated by cheesemakers worldwide.” Advaton and Eurotandem have both noticed increased interest in European cheese-making equipment from the US and thus share a vision to access that market in future. Eurotandem fits perfectly into the defined Buy & Build strategy of Advaton and will thus be a strong contributor to the future international success of the group. Thomas Anderegg further emphasizes: “We are particularly pleased that the Berthiers are highly motivated to contribute their experience to the group in the future. By combining Kalt, Staedler and Eurotandem under the Advaton umbrella we are unifying traditional Swiss and French cheese-making expertise to the delight of our customers.” The Berthiers especially look forward to working with the likes of Lukas Staedler and Thomas Fäh as they have a similar entrepreneurial background. “We are thrilled to be working alongside Lukas Staedler and Thomas Fäh, people who, like ourselves, have worked hard to build and grow their business, placing the utmost priority on the quality of their products and the satisfaction of their customers. We are convinced that, together, we can carry on the growth of recent years and further position Advaton as a leading player in cheese production worldwide,” Albert Berthier adds.

The Berthier family has a significant minority share in the group, together with CEO Lukas Staedler and CTO Thomas Fäh. Advaton Group thus remains in entrepreneurial hands. Swiss investor CGS has a majority share in the group.