The world of industrial equipment brokering is not for the faint of heart. It demands a savvy and seasoned salesperson to adeptly handle the myriad details with equal measures of tenacity and tact.
And for us at CoffeeTec, it’s a relationship-heavy role that requires a huge time investment in our clients’ lives — getting to know them, their business goals, and what they’re looking for or trying to sell. We see ourselves as a matchmaker of sorts — and sometimes we have to work extremely hard to make the perfect match. We’ve learned time and again that persistence pays off. Yes, for us, but mainly for our valued customers.
It’s not hard to find an instance that illustrates this idea. In fact, we recently brokered two enormous Probat sales in two different countries that put almost every industrial equipment sales skill we had to the ultimate test in order to bring our buyers’ roasting dreams to life.
In November 2021, we signed on to sell this impressive Probat GG90 roaster and mini-plant. We learned about it through our network (this happens more often than you’d think), and before we could get it listed on our website, we had identified a potential buyer. We knew we had to work quickly because the seller was selling the building the GG90 mini-plant was in, and if the building sold before we sold the equipment, it would go with the building.
Despite our persistent work with the potential buyer — they were just about to get on a plane for a test roast — the building (along with the mini-plant) did sell, seemingly bringing this story to a close.
But, this isn’t how we operate.
We knew this wasn’t necessarily a done deal. We patiently waited a few months for the building deal to transact, and then we contacted the new building owner. Fortunately for us, they weren’t in the coffee roasting business. They wanted this coffee roasting plant gone by the end of June so that they could remodel the building to support their current business operations.
Once again, we started canvassing our client roster to find just the right match. And, we found not one, but two, potential buyers. We worked with both interested parties to negotiate and transact the sale, but unfortunately, both buyers ultimately weren’t able to commit and we were back at square one.
So, we sent out a targeted, custom e-blast to our database of opted-in customers to promote this incredible deal. Two weeks before our sales deadline, we heard from a new potential buyer who had seen the e-blast. And, this mini-plant was precisely what he wanted to expand his roasting operations.
From there, our team was in “go mode.” We negotiated the sale, going back and forth a couple of times to ensure both the buyer and seller got a good deal, and set up our buyer with financing through our private lending network. We then handled the transaction and “paperwork followed immediately by swiftly working to disassemble and remove the roasting equipment from the building. It was then crated and sent on its five-day journey from the West Coast to its new home on the East Coast. And, here’s the ringer… The transacted equipment was removed from the building the day before the deadline! WOW!
Yep, we take care of all of it, folks.
But that’s not the end of the story!
The afterburner that came with the sale ultimately would have incurred additional installation expenses for the buyer due to its size. So we came up with a new solution using both a catalytic and thermal afterburner set from our manufacturer Clean Stream Afterburners and also consulted with the buyer to identify a new, improved footprint for his roastery to accommodate the new roasting equipment. (And guess who gets to sell the original afterburner that didn’t work?)
We also have our tech team ready to go for set up and commissioning the equipment when the buyer is ready. This whole process took about six months, due to several months of waiting for the building sale to close. Once we could proceed with listing the equipment in March, we were able to sell it within about eight weeks.
Our next story involves an international sale of this roasting monster: a 250-kilo Probat R1500R.
CoffeeTec’s European branch located this roaster (which we do continually). When they sent this equipment set over to us, we knew we had something very special on our hands.
The acclaimed R1500R is one of the most unique roasters in the world because it’s a recirculator — which means the hot roast air recirculates through the roasting chamber for additional consistency, greater energy efficiency, and reduced emissions — all adding up to increased savings in the roasting process. And, we’ve got experience selling and installing them, including to Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea (best known as Disney’s official specialty coffee) and Canada’s Paramount Fine Foods.
Soon after we listed it, two interested customers contacted us. However, despite working with them, both parties hit roadblocks that killed the deal.
Employing our trademark persistence, we adjusted our marketing strategy to give this roaster optimal visibility. This type of machine requires just the right buyer, and just two weeks later, we found them.
The buyers run a large coffee roasting operation with a collection of impressive Ambex roasters: two 120k’s, two 60k’s, and two 30k’s. Now, this 250-kilo big boy will helm the roasting fleet, allowing the buyers to dramatically increase their output of coffee that gets shipped all around the world.
You might wonder why we’re including this story about what might appear to be an easy sale. We invest a lot of time and effort into each connection we make with potential buyers. So, to work with two such buyers at the same time, only to have neither one be able to close the sale, is — to be frank — frustrating. But this comes with the territory, so we quickly regrouped to get this roaster in front of the right people and make the sale.
This transaction also involved a lot of logistical planning, including working with our European contact to decommission, disassemble, crate, and then ship the roaster to the US. Just look at that thing! It’s a MASSIVE job! Once it arrives at its new home, CoffeeTec will be there to install and commission it, consult with the buyer on the optimal plant layout to accommodate this roasting beast (another huge job), plus provide training to the buyer’s roasting team.
Why do we share these stories with you? Selling such large roasting equipment gives us an opportunity to show off our full slate of offerings. We’ve got all hands on deck to orchestrate the many details involved in such a complicated sale.
But we also want you to know that whether we’re selling an IR-12 to a buyer one state away or an R1500R across the world, we handle it all!
The classic line from Ghostbusters describes how we approach our sales: “Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, no job is too big!” Okay, so our office isn’t open 24/7 but we consider ourselves to be constantly on the job — and always on the lookout for the equipment our customers want. Literally, no job is too big for CoffeeTec.
Are you looking for a roaster or need to sell one? We’ve always got a rotating selection of used and new equipment, and we take time to understand what you’re looking for to keep your roastery running. We can also advise on your roastery plans and logistics in light of pandemic supply chain disruptions.
And, if you need financing support, check out our Roaster’s Choice Lending Program, where our private network of the nation’s top lenders with your own designated point of contact will help you find the best financing deals available. To get a sense of the monthly payment amount and start the financing application process, just find a roaster you’re interested in (with a value of $2,000 or more) and click the green “Finance It” box for details.
Let us help you build the coffee roastery of your dreams. No matter the roaster size, we can handle it all for you. Our established track record of persistence is proof.
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