Not just manufacturing - Angst

Angst is a Romanian-Swiss company which specializes in producing meat products and provides its customers with high quality meat delicacies. Interestingly enough, meat is not the only bent of the manufacturer –  to satisfy the expectations of the customers, the enterprise took to the production of... dairy. That is not all, as at the retail stores branded Angst one will find a great variety of food and non-food products in a whole range of price levels – all that to continue the quality and diversification focus as well as to meet the requirements of the market. More ins and outs on the history of the company, its manufacturing concepts and business values in a Manufacturing Journal article written by Aleksandra Strojek.
 
Swiss origins 
As stated before, the company has a Swiss background. The set up of the Angst brand took place at the beginning of the 20th century when the couple Fritz and Margarethe Angst started a small family business in a modest factory situated in the Swiss Alps. The business concept of that time came down to a basic principle: what is good for us, is also good for the others. The rule turned out to be more than true and based on it the little, family butchery started to come into prominence on the local market with three products solely. Consequently, expansion arrives – the company starts its first wholesale deliveries for hotel and restaurants in Zurich and takes to extending the geographical scope of its activity. As it goes abroad, Angst concludes a number of partnerships, one of them in Romania, which marks the establishment of Angst Romania. At the beginning, the Romanian branch functions in a small leased manufacturing works, whereas the scale of the production volume can be well described by the fact that the whole production of the first day was eaten entirely by the ten employees that the company would cooperate with at that time. From the very onset, the CEO position of the Romanian unit of Angst has been held by Mr. Sorin Minea, who smarty manages the company and leads it to building a new production site of 6 tons capacity just three years after the set up. Due to enormous and incessantly growing demand of the market, the production capacity of the works has been tripled within a mere decade – in 2003 it equals to 18 tons and the manufacturer is an employer to 670 employees. In fact, 2003 witnesses a number of other significant changes – the company undertakes heavy investments into corporate laboratory & equipment, computer network, weighting system, rolling stock as well as ISO and HACCP certification. What is more, the enterprise continues its expansion all over the country and opens its tenth retail store in Romania. In 2009 unit number twenty of the chain is opened, whereas in 2010 Mr. Sorin Minea takes over the majority shareholding of Angst Romania. Angst is a renown producer and one of the most famous chain stores in Romania with twenty five stores mostly located in the Bucharest (capital of Romania) and 4 of them scattered around different parts  of the country. 

Four-streamed manufacturing 
The manufacturing activity of Angst Romania takes place within four product streams: meat product,a large category of ready meal, raw-dry manufactures and diary. The meat factory produces pork, beef, chicken and mutton products. The recipes are mostly traditional, but some of them include an international flair in order to meet the expectations of fancy cuisine restaurants and other customers focused on international or connoisseur clientele. The quality focus is very high –  all the products are made of best quality raw material, the spices and flavourings used in the manufacturing process are exclusively natural, whereas the membranes are both natural and artificial. From the factory to the customers, a full series of checks is performed in order to assure the required quality standards of all products. The latter reach their final destination in a fresh state, uncut or cut, traditionally packed or in a vacuum. The range of products provided to the consumers is a complete one, from fresh meat, over take-outs to the most sophisticated boiled and smoked products. To gain an overview of the product portfolio it is enough to name just a few positions of this manufacturing segment: Vienna sausages, pate, Mediterranean ham, smoked spare ribs, pork schnitzel, pork breasts with herbs and many others. Furthermore, the quality to price ratio is balanced and represents an important strength of the products provided by the company to all categories of consumers. Still, Angst Romania is not only about meat products manufactured in Buftea. For the customers who came to have lunch, Angst always focus on an adequate supply of this type of meal. Has a portfolio of 30 products ready meals that he want him to develop in the future. In this sense, we developed a small stream production on Buftea for ready meal. The raw-dry products works situated in Sinaia can boast of long history and international acclaim. It is the oldest raw-dry sausage factory in Romania, being know even before 1989, especially for its export activity giving Sibiu salami an international reputation. Next to that, Sinaia, with its mountain air and the delicate scent of evergreens, is a perfect location for producing rawdried salami. The secret of this product’s range manufacturing process comes down to long maturation process. At Angst Romania, it takes from one to four months and is accompanied by painstaking monitoring of the temperature, humidity and intensity of air flow. The checks are carried out every day until each of the products is mature enough to be sold. This, connected with carefully selected meat and seasonings, results in a successful story of Angst salamis, considered from the very beginning a deluxe product, no matter if you purchase it in the form of Sibiu Salami, Salsicia Salami, Chorizo Sausages or Sinaia Pastrami. Last but not least, the newest achievement of Angst group is Mereni dairy factory. Using the Swiss experience and know-how in the field, the company introduced a basic range of dairy products onto the market. It was yet another step towards a diversified product range, a result of a number of market studies as well as taste requirements and specifications of the customers.

Retail counts
As far as the success of a good product is concerned, Angst believes in top quality materials and optimal course of the manufacturing process. Nevertheless, the company is aware of the fact that even the best product will not sell without appropriate distribution channel. Due to that, Angst decided to take to retail sales and based its concept of that business activity on combing the advantages of hospitality – typical for small, neighbourhood stores – with a wide product diversity which characterizes supermarkets. The concept may be synthesized to the following watchwords: intercommunication with the visitors, self-service, optimized range of products, immediate stock rotation and attractive quality to price ratio. Besides the friendly atmosphere, the customers are provided with assistance in choosing the most adequate products. The interior design of Angst stores carries out the role of promoting the retail principle crucial for the company: easy and pleasant shopping in a modern location. Having a customer-oriented, strong selling network, Angst is able to keep its promise of being number one in terms of quality. What is more, Angst attracts its customers with regularly published store magazines informing on the most lucrative offers and bargains as well as newsletters and fidelity points – once an particular number of the points has been cumulated, every eligible customer is able to enjoy discount. 
Values that succeed It is now worth to ask – is it the fidelity program, sublime products or the positive ambient of the stores’ interior that attracts customers to Angst? At Angst it is believed that the crucial factor that helped the company to achieve its nowadays market position has been the motto “The excellence makes the difference”. Every Angst employee is more than sure that these words shall describe not only the product, but also the service provided to the customers. Despite many years of business operations, the simple rule seems to sustain – it has been the principle for the past actions, it defines the company’s strategy at the current moment and gives an outline for the future.  What is more, the mission-words take into consideration the four principles of the Angst business: quality, tradition, honesty and reliability. All that allowed the company to become number one in Romania, yet not in terms of quantity, but in the terms of quality – the priority appointed at the business start-up has been then achieved. 