HOT TOPICS, COOL HEADS
He may have a 50-year company milestone ahead, but Claus Pedersen, managing director of Convotherm, remains firmly focused on the present. Michael Jones explores how he’s turning the industry’s challenges into opportunities
F
Left: Convotherm managing director Claus Pedersen believes 2026 will present good growth opportunities for the brand
rom trade tariffs to the labor crisis, the foodservice industry faces a wide range of challenges right now. But for Welbilt® brand Convotherm®, which has been designing cutting-edge combi oven technology since its inception
in Germany in 1976, today's geopolitically complex, post-Covid landscape is simply another puzzle to solve. It is one that presents opportunity and growth if approached with clarity and focus. For Convotherm managing director Claus
Pedersen, that ability to see opportunity rather than adversity stems from the company's location and mindset. Convotherm operates far from the noise and distractions of a major city. Headquartered in the small village
of Eglfing in Southern Bavaria, Germany, the company thrives outside of a busy conurbation. “We’re not in the heart of a big city,” he says. “We are humble, but we still have access to a lot of quality employees in this area, including engineers,” he adds. Tis is not to say that the company is
somehow exempt from the issues facing major equipment manufacturers globally. “Te U.S. tariffs are definitely a hot topic for us because we have a large-scale export business into the U.S.,” says Pedersen. “Te U.S. is also one of the markets where we have seen – and still expect to see – a lot of growth. “Te tariffs are not helping us, but we have
a dedicated sales team in the U.S. that is still very confident on the future. But there are some challenges for us in terms of pricing and the uncertainty of what’s going to happen on July 9, when the [U.S. government’s] 90-day grace period is over. Tat’s certainly an issue.” Closer to home, uncertainty created by
the recent German election has sucked momentum out of the market in terms of buying decisions for foodservice projects, says Pedersen. “Everybody has been holding back a little bit, waiting to see what’s going on, but these uncertainties in many regions are a challenge for everyone.” Despite testing market conditions, however,
Convotherm recently recorded “a solid fiscal year,” and Pedersen believes 2026 also has growth opportunities. “We’re in a very good spot,” he says.
A company for a crisis Dealing with uncertainty has become second nature to Pedersen and his team, especially since the Covid pandemic. “We faced extreme uncertainty then. It was all new to us. Now, we have the tariffs issue, plus more uncertainty when an election takes place, and so on, but these are just things we must deal with. It’s part of business. In every crisis we learn something,” he says. For Pedersen, being part of the Ali Group is
a major comfort during unsettled times. He credits Ali Group’s strong culture of navigating challenges and the steady support and confidence provided by its leadership team: “I don’t feel any panic. Everybody knows
▸ Aliworld 7
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