WORLDWIDE


COMPANY SPOTLIGHT: MARCO BEVERAGE SYSTEMS


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n the early 1980s, when engineer Martin Coughlan and his son were working for Ireland’s largest catering engineering company, a new idea began to form. This would ultimately lead them on a journey that would revolutionize beverage dispense technology. As the idea took shape, the pair were able to start their own company, Marco Beverage Systems. The idea from which the company has


grown was a new way to control pressure boilers using a unique electronic system that enabled precise temperature control in a compact unit. “In those days there were no


microwaves. Pressure boilers were used for many things, including heating food, so the technology generated immediate interest in Ireland, where we drink loads of tea,” says Drewry Pearson, executive chairman at Marco. “Then, the system was exported to the UK, but it took 10 years to really get off the ground and that is when I bought the company.


Above: Marco’s executive chairman, Drewry Pearson (right) and managing director, Paul Stack (left)


“Back then, most machines were controlled like a toilet, with an arm that went up and down,” he adds. “They got stuck, covered in limescale and machines overfl owed. So, there was a huge demand for precise temperature control.” After Pearson took over, the


company moved into coff ee brewing and started to expand rapidly, increasing its international sales, deepening its knowledge of the beverage market, and further refi ning the technology. From water boilers, it extended its reach into brewing and dispense technology for coff ee brewing and hot, cold and sparkling water dispense systems. “We are specialists in what we


do,” says Pearson. “We don’t try to be everything to everyone, but we have knowledge and precision in what we do.”


Precision by design Today, Marco designs, manufactures, sells and services precise, energy-effi cient and innovative water boilers and coff ee brewing systems and beverage dispense solutions. Its technology is used by some of the biggest names in the coff ee, foodservice and catering industries, and


“We are specialists in what we do. We don’t try to be everything to everyone, but we have knowledge and precision in what we do”


is found in coff ee shops, offi ces, hotels, convenience stores and restaurants across the world. Marco’s purpose is to ‘re-imagine


beverage excellence everywhere’, which it strives to live up to through close collaboration with its customers, and constantly refi ning its understanding of its key markets. It has, for example, moved from pressure boilers into atmospheric boilers, and developed in- depth knowledge of the coff ee industry to develop its brewing range. It has also moved into cold-water dispensing to diversify its menu range. “I drive the geographical market expansion, which has gone from the UK into Europe, then into the US market, and then into Asia-Pacifi c, where customers want new products rather than replacement products,” says Pearson.


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