“CESCO was created to focus on financing, design, procurement, erection, and commissioning of large industrial grain storage and processing plants, combining the high professional capabilities of the management and employees and taking good care of the customer as is typical for a family-run company. In decades of activity, Luca Celeghini has created a strong team that has gradually collected a vast experience, now transferred to CESCO.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has made us more aware of the critical importance of the grain industry. Countries dependent on imports have been trying to make large grain purchases to guarantee their national food security. Therefore, grain trade shows a substantial growth trend. And industry experts foresee the construction of large industrial grain storage and processing plants in the coming period.
There are a lot of companies in designing and supplying industrial plants for grain logistics, handling, storing and milling systems but German company CESCO EPC GmbH, formerly known as PETKUS Engineering GmbH, is among the leading companies in the sector. Mr. Luca Celeghini and his son Dr. Martino Celeghini are at the helm of the new company. Luca Celeghini serves as President and Martino Celeghini as CEO. Celeghini family is a recognized and prestigious member of the grain technology industry.
Luca Celeghini has transformed PETKUS into one of the largest companies in the industry. After deciding to go individual ways with his partner Mark Scholze, Celeghini now aims to create a new tradename that will focus even more on the design and supply of large industrial plants for grain storage and dry milling for deep processing with a complete portfolio for handling, storing, and processing systems. “Big size storage, bigger conveying capacity, and automatic control are the preconditions to support the market trend, while easy management, limited pollution, and low maintenance are the preconditions for the proper operation. The CESCO team mentality, the smart concept of the design, and the quality of the components are fully oriented to this target,” says Mr. Luca Celeghini. “CESCO is an acronym which stands for CEleghini Smart Concepts,” adds his son Martino Celeghini.
Miller Magazine has engaged in an exclusive interview with Luca Celeghini and Martino Celeghini to learn a bit more about the company’s mission, future plans, and evolution of the industry.
I would like to direct my first question to Mr. Luca Celeghini (LC). You have a successful career. Your company has become a global player in grain logistics, grain and food processing. What triggered your ambition for this inspiring success journey? What is your philosophy as an entrepreneur?
LC: I have been passionate about the design of grain storage silos and handling equipment as basic infrastructure in developing countries since university time, and later as a technical manager, then the managing director in the family company in the early seventies. When I moved to Germany in the nineties as co-investor in the privatization of the former DDR state company PETKUS, I have contributed to modernizing the company structure and expanding its product portfolio with conveying equipment, silos, steel structures, and continuous dryers based on my previous experience and technical knowledge. Finally, taking over the silo manufacturing company SIMEZA in 2016 the challenge was to improve their products to cater to the top level of the market, as well as to develop the industrial design of components and to increase the degree of automatization in manufacturing in order to be competitive with the world leader in the branch. Quality and reliability of the components, as well as the architectural design of the industrial plant, was always the scope of my work, whereas transparency and frank cooperation with colleagues and clients was always my natural attitude.
Petkus has become one of the largest seed and grain technology companies in the world under your and your partner’s leadership. Now, you decided to go individual ways. Why was such a decision needed?
LC: Today’s business runs at high speed and requires strong specialization to deal with complex projects. The original strategic vision and the operative approach dating back to 1994 when I took over PETKUS with my former partner, are no longer valid. The design and the performance of an industrial grain terminal, particularly of a port grain terminal, as well as of a deep processing plant, have little in common with the design and the performance of a seed processing plant, therefore, we decided to split the company accordingly. CESCO was created to focus on financing, design, procurement, erection, and commissioning of large industrial grain storage and processing plants, combining the high professional capabilities of the management and employees and taking good care of the customer as is typical for a family-run company.
SMART CONCEPT, EASY OPERATION
The next question is for Mr. Martino Celeghini (MC). Petkus Engineering GmbH has rebranded itself as CESCO EPC GmbH. You have a new name and a new logo. How would you describe your new identity?
MC: Having decided to go individual ways, we wanted to avoid confusion on the market using for both groups the name PETKUS, which is mainly known for the seed processing and conditioning equipment. Hence, we decided to create a new brand for the part of the former group which will focus even more on the design and supply of industrial grain storage and processing plants: CESCO. CESCO is an acronym which stands for CEleghini Smart COncepts.
Celeghini as a tradename clearly refers to the extensive knowledge and experience in the design and realization of grain plants of the co-investor and the long-time CEO of PETKUS Technologie and PETKUS Engineering, Luca Celeghini. In decades of activity, Luca Celeghini has created a strong team that has gradually collected a vast experience, now transferred to CESCO.
As far as Smart Concepts are concerned, throughout the years of operation in the business, we have realized that the key for the successful operation of the plant lies in understanding clients needs at the very beginning of a project and in creating in close cooperation with the client a tailored, smart concept of the plant. That is also why our motto states: “Smart Concept, Easy Operation".
What will be the mission of CESCO? What areas will you focus on? Please give us a brief background on CESCO’s services?
LC: We are focused on the design and supply of large industrial plants for grain storage (inland and port) and dry milling for deep processing with a complete portfolio for handling, storing, and processing systems.
Our products are: conveyors, namely chain and belt conveyors, bucket elevators; silos, namely cylindrical, and prismatic, flat and hopper bottom up to very large capacity silos, with all accessories; process equipment, namely pre-cleaners and filters, dryers, and MMW milling equipment; steel structures for process dedicated buildings and structures for industrial plants in general, such as machinery towers, bridges, walkways.
MC: We offer a complete service starting from concept and detail engineering, procurement and manufacturing, erection and commissioning for new plants, or refurbishing and upgrading of existing plants. Our engineering and management offices are based in Germany and work closely with the procurement office in Italy and the manufacturing sites in Germany, northern Italy as well as with our participating companies in Spain (SIMEZA) and Serbia (PPC).
Rebranding is a challenging process with a lot of aspects. What challenges do you encounter in this process? Could you please tell us the ongoing evolution of your new brand?
MC: Everything starts with a name and a logo. This has been the longest creative and challenging phase. Once we have agreed on the corporate identity, everything came naturally, like registering the brand, creating web pages and mail addresses, updating product designations and datasheets, letterheads, stamps, mail signatures, designing merchandising articles, attending the first exhibition under the new name, making photo and video-shooting, defining employees’ uniforms, etc. We are privileged to be advised by very professional consultants, who have guided and supported us in this process.
Apart from being challenging, we have to say that a rebranding process is an extraordinary chance to reflect on your business vision and focus the company strategy and organization towards these targets. It releases a great dynamism and motivation in the employees. Also, our customers have been very supportive of the new brand and the perspective of further developments of the company with the new set-up.
HIGHER FLEXIBILITY AND SMARTER ECONOMIC SOLUTIONS FOR CLIENTS
You have loyal customers all over the world. How will this transformation in your company affect your customers? Will this transformation affect your service and commitments?
MC: Our employees, our suppliers and our facility are still the same, so we continue offering our services and products worldwide to our customers, just like before the rebranding. I do expect that by focusing on large industrial plants with heavy-duty applications, we are now able to better serve our clients with more targeted products, services, and expertise.
Furthermore, being independent from the former group allows us to integrate into our plants components from other top suppliers, achieving higher flexibility and smarter economic solutions for our clients all the while keeping the constant high quality of the product that we are known for in the market.
What are the recent success stories that you are proud of? What projects are you working on currently?
On the technological side, we have improved the design of our chain conveyors, bucket belt elevators, and roller belt conveyors, focusing on high conveying capacity and heavy-duty operation. We have already delivered new design chain conveyors and bucket elevators to two projects in Europe and will start the production of the new generation of roller belt conveyors in the coming months. We have optimized our milling diagrams targeting higher protein yield with a specialized French research institute and will soon reveal the redesigned MMW double roller mill especially adapted for deep processing lines.
On the operational side, we are going to strengthen our engineering and sales team, and set-up a new assembly and logistics hall in south Germany near the Swiss border. We are completing two strategic projects in Sweden and Denmark and are in charge of several projects in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, among which a new Barilla investment in Russia, a plant for deep processing of yellow peas and a large milling plant in partnership with Bühler in Africa for various grains.
What kind of services do you offer that differentiates you from your competitors in the market? What are your greatest strengths?
MC: My father and I are fully engaged in the management of the CESCO group of companies, and we strongly believe that a family-owned business allows faster decision making and higher commitment toward the customer, on one hand, and company employees, on the other hand, both leading to a flexible and dynamic approach.
Finally, our customer value is best reflected in our ability and willingness to sit down and talk to the clients in a direct and open dialogue. We believe that this allows us to align our core competencies with the primary concerns of the clients and represents a major benefit for our clients compared to other companies, owned by large investors, who are not directly involved in the company management and contract execution.
EVOLUTION OF THE INDUSTRY
How do you see the grain processing industry evolve in the future?
LC: Trading, exporting, and importing of grain shows a significant growth trend. Big size storage, bigger conveying capacity, and automatic control are the preconditions to support the market trend, while easy management, limited pollution, and low maintenance are the preconditions for the proper operation. The CESCO team mentality, the smart concept of the design, and quality of the components are fully oriented to this target.
On the storage side, CESCO is fully engaged on the following fronts: First, the bigger capacity of the individual silo requires the proportional improvement of the control system of the physical condition of the product, and of the final sweeping system after gravity discharge. Second, the deeper analysis of the seismic nature of the region involves a new and specific design of the silos under seismic condition.
MC: On the processing side, large investors are revising their strategy towards industrial production of starch and proteins obtained by grain and peas where we can cover the whole chain from grain intake to flour outload and collaborate with several partners for the processing of flour being able to provide a full integrated plant.
Please tell us the innovations in industrial grain processing plants in your portfolio?
LC: For new projects, we believe that the storage capacities and conveying capacities will increase with a subtle shift from traditional chain conveyors to more modern roller belt conveyors for more gentle conveying of material. In order to satisfy this demand, we have improved the design of all our conveying equipment.
MC: Besides new plants, there is a rising demand for refurbishment of existing projects (both storage and milling), where the conveying, storage and processing capacity must be increased. This cannot be done on the “green field”, but must be done within or in parallel to the existing plant, in some cases also without interruption of operation. This requires a more flexible design of the equipment and steel structures, but also a more exact engineering and erection planning.
Furthermore, the concept and design of the industrial plants will focus even more on the industrial use of all rejects of the process (circular economy), the prevention of any environmental pollution (both atmospheric and acoustic), and easy maintenance and operation.
Finally, as mentioned above, we will continue to see a growing market for the production of non-animal-based proteins and, therefore, of the milling technologies and processing systems required to be able to cope with this demand.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your industry? What have been the recent changes and trends in your business since the pandemic began?
LC: There have been impacts in different areas of the business and the way we operate in the market.
Steady demand and high prices for grain and for grain-based products: The food and agricultural industry continue to expand and did not suffer significantly from lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed globally during the pandemic. Our plants are usually financed by large private and public international entities, which allowed us to keep the existing contracts in place. So that at the end we have not experienced a drop in business accordingly and could generally maintain the turnover of previous years.
Raw material shortage and supply chain delays: The biggest impact has been on the shortage of raw materials, particularly high tensile steel sheets required for manufacturing our basic components (silos, conveyors, structures etc.). We have been facing the general lack of reliability in the delivery time of sub-suppliers, which has also affected our delivery time. Only the combined efforts of all companies of the group in the procurement allowed to overcome the most critical situation.
MC: Lockdown and smart-working: Given the fact that our company is based in several locations, we are used to collaborate within international teams remotely since time immemorial. Still, this trend has been further magnified by several consequent lockdowns and imposed travel restrictions in the last year. We are now fully used to work from everywhere and we see that our customers do the same. Not only sales, marketing, engineering, and project management activities, but also remote commissioning has been made possible by modern IT-tools and ways of communication. Still, meeting in person after many weeks or even months felt particularly good this summer and we look forward to meeting our employees and customers in person this spring with less restrictions and more direct dialogue.
SUPPORT IN FINANCING OF THE PROJECT
Which countries/regions do you see as a potential new market for your company? Could you tell us about your company’s future goals and expectations?
LC: The Ukrainian and Russian markets are still relevant for us with growing production and potential, especially for export, even if national regulations and political tensions may reduce this in the future. The Middle East will remain very attractive, given the increase of population and their need for grain products paired with a reduced local production, mainly driven by drought due to climate change.
We do also believe that both South America and Sub-equatorial Africa have the potential to increase their storage capacity, especially considering that still a large quantity of harvested grain is stored in open space and subject to damage, especially considering the increasing instability of the weather in the last years. A more balanced investment in both harvesting and storing equipment may be the key to better secure crops in these areas.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
MC: Large industrial plants require in most cases a significant investment, which is often provided by institutional investors. This is why the definition and finalization of the financing of the project is always a delicate and sometimes difficult process in the whole project execution. Being a German-based company, we can support our customers in this aspect as well by checking the potential applicability of an export credit insurance by German Euler Hermes for their project.
Thank you for your interest in CESCO!