"We are a small family business and we value that," describes Michael Halboth, Managing Director of BASTRA GmbH, the company's self-image and great strength. "We have short paths - both internally and externally. Moreover, we are flexible in responding to customer needs." In the more than 75 years of its existence, BASTRA has earned an excellent reputation far beyond the borders of Germany. As a result, the systems are distributed worldwide beyond the main markets of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Wide Range of Products

With its systems for smoking, cooking, air conditioning, and rapid cooling, BASTRA serves important processing steps of butcheries and other food producers. Thus, the Classic Line with the universal cooking and smoking systems Bastramat offers tailored solutions for the processing and refining of meat, fish, poultry, and cheese in crafts.

"We completely build our systems ourselves here at the Arnsberg site," emphasizes Managing Director Michael Halboth. "We employ a large service team and offer a service network for taking care of our customers. This way, we can offer them a complete package."

BASTRA also offers the Industrial Line. Here you will find industrial plants that are tailored exactly to the specific requirements of industrial meat, sausage, and food manufacturers with regard to capacity, technology, and equipment. A highlight in the BASTRA range is the multifunctional BASTRA SMART500 device. This device can be integrated into various shop fitting concepts and allows for hot and cold smoking, as well as roasting, reddening, drying, cooking, and steaming. The product range is rounded off by various cooking kettles, all of which are distinguished by their durability, highest quality, and optimal functionality.

Focus on SMEs

"Our customers are primarily the butchers everyone knows, as well as medium-sized family-run butcher businesses," describes Michael Halboth the customer spectrum, "The very large processors are not our focus. However, we are also very interested in newcomers from the alternative protein sector. Hotels and cruise ships are also among our customers."

The current BASTRA GmbH was founded in 1946 as Bayha & Strackbein GmbH by Gustav Bayha and Theodor Strackbein. From the beginning, the focus was on developing, producing, and distributing devices and operational equipment for the butcher trade. The following decades were characterized by expansion, internationalization, and an expansion of the portfolio.

Today, the family-run SME Holding Company (MB) from Osnabrück is the main shareholder of BASTRA. Michael Halboth joined BASTRA through his connection to the MB. Before he became Managing Director at the end of 2021, he had worked for 20 years at Thyssen-Krupp and then spent seven years with an Asian corporate group. The industry was new to him, but structures and processes in machine and plant engineering are similar, as are problems and solutions.

Challenges

"There are many challenges at the moment," the Managing Director outlines the current situation. "This affects the market and the recruitment of employees as well as materials. Stainless steel is our essential product component and its price has tripled in the past two years. Additionally, we are struggling with supply chain issues."

However, sustainability is also a current topic that BASTRA is facing. Michael Halboth: "Our challenge is that smoke is an emission. A lot needs to happen in the future. The same applies to the topic of energy saving. We respond to these issues and, for example, we are one of the first smokehouse manufacturers to have brought our own patented Clean Smoke System to the market. Certain innovations, however, we can no longer manage alone. Therefore, we cooperate, for example, with the Fraunhofer Institute on exhaust gas cleaning. In Arnsberg, we also receive a lot of support from the local economic development. At the state level, the Efficiency Agency NRW advises us, for instance."

Great Potential

The company, which belongs to the top 3 in the industry, has long since arrived in the digital age, as Michael Halboth clarifies: "Modern butchers have been digital for a long time. With our Remote Service and Remote Control, we have been addressing this for years." For the coming years, the managing director has a clear perspective: "We will fill white spots on the map in sales. There is a demand for our products worldwide. Especially the American and Asian markets offer enormous potential."