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Belgian quality and innovation predominate on the international level.

Belgians teach foreigners how to deep-fry. Logical, no? And where else than in Belgium can you find the top of the bill in the field of deep fryers. Exactly, but not just in Belgium, in Hasselt. J. van Ratingen nv., better known as FRITEL, started in 1991 with the production of the deep-fryers FRITEL. It was this brand that for the first time made the deep fryer with Decanting Zone affordable for the consumer. It's a system that stands for healthy, fast and easy frying. Very attractive to housewives, because the deep fryer can be taken apart completely in order to facilitate the cleaning. In '97 FRITEL became market leader in Belgium, a position she still occupies today. The inventions followed in rapid succession; thanks to the TURBO SF® System, a revolution in the world of deep fryers, FRITEL is considered as a pioneer in this domain. The amelioration of comfort, safety, user-friendliness and frying performances is a daily concern of the company.

A GOLDEN SUCCESS

Founder of this success story is J. van RATINGEN father, who leaded the company until 1998, the year Cindy took over the torch and started with the challenge of her life. She starts at the bottom, but everywhere she comes, she leaves her stamp. Like a tornado she passed through all the departments and optimizes the warehouse, production, the RDE-department, quality control and marketing. She also thought up procedures and systems to make the stocks profitable, to shorten delivery periods, to improve service and to boost the flexibility. Cindy van Ratingen: "I was always given all chances." My father always said: "Let her do, everything will work out all right" He knew that when you are doing something for a long time, you tend to get in a rut and some things can pass you by. He realized that the fresh air she brought in the company yielded fruit.

SENSITIVITY

Cliché or not, the female touch is visible in the way Cindy van Ratingen organizes the showroom. Although she's new in the domain, the young sales manager set up with certain sensitivity a team who achieved commercial success in the whole of Belgium. Cindy van Ratingen: "I wanted to surround me with people who have the same dynamism and motivation as I have. Today I'm proud of my team. They function as a well-oiled machine and are glad with each increase in sales. From a commercial viewpoint, she adds: "commercial talent, that's what you've got it or you haven't. You can train yourself in commercial skills during ten years, if you miss the feeling, you will never get to the top".

BUSINESS FIRST

Today FRITEL consists of 25 staff members. The production is managed and controlled by the company in Hasselt, but the mounting and assembling occur outside the company. Since the launch of the deep fryer with "Decanting Zone", there are other suppliers of this system on the market. Because of the success of FRITEL, even world-famous marks like Tefal, Seb and Philips have conceded their market position in Belgium. "Not surprising", says Cindy van Ratingen. "In our Research & Development Department, we have staff members who have been doing nothing but research of deep fryers for more than 30 years. This know-how is a guarantee for the future. There are few who can surpass them." But the world is big and the ambition of Cindy van Ratingen is almost unlimited. "There are still a large number of countries where we can play an important role. In the future I want to focus more on export, but also in Belgium we have to get ahead. A market share of 40%, that doesn't satisfy me. I still have ideas for the next 40 years!"