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In 42 Jahren hat sich Jordão aus dem Nichts zum führenden Hersteller von maßgeschneiderten und Standard-Kühlmöbeln entwickelt.
Sabrina Schilling

TRUMPF and Jordão – a cool company with a warm heart

O ver the past 42 years, Jordão has established itself as a leading manufacturer of standard and tailored refrigeration equipment. Its success has been fueled by family values and a sense of continuity. The Portuguese family company is now aiming for significant sales growth through 2026. To achieve this goal, Jordão is investing like never before – with a major emphasis on automation and digital connectivity from TRUMPF.

Isidro Lobo pauses mid-sentence and turns around to search for something. The question that prompted this was about the values that drive his company. Moments later, the CEO of refrigeration equipment manufacturer Jordão plunges enthusiastically back into the conversation. In his hand, he’s holding a small plaque emblazoned with the following values: positivity, ambition, team spirit, integrity and excellence. It also includes the company’s mission: “Creating the best food preservation and display solutions, transforming challenges into solutions, and respecting the environment.” Everybody gets one of these plaques when they first join the company, and Lobo’s point is clear: Jordão doesn’t simply preach its values, it proudly displays them to its employees from their very first day at work.

The company was founded in 1982 by José Júlio Jordão in the city of Guimarães, in northern Portugal. What started out as a team of 22 people has since grown more than tenfold to a workforce of 250. Today, Jordão is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of standard and tailored refrigeration equipment for food retail and the hospitality sector with customers all over the world and a most recent turnover of 21.5 million euros.

Innovative Highspeed-Biegezelle: Die TruBend Cell 7000 ist ein kompaktes System, mit dem sich Kleinteile hochdynamisch und wirtschaftlich biegen lassen.

Innovative high-speed bending cell: The TruBend Cell 7000 is a compact system that offers highly dynamic, cost-effective bending solutions for small parts.

In Kombination mit dem LiftMaster Compact und dem Part Master schneidet das System die Teile in der Fertigung des Kühlmöbelherstellers vollautomatisch.

In combination with the LiftMaster Compact and the Part Master, the system cuts the parts fully automatically at the refrigerator manufacturer's production facility.

Jordão suchte eine Maschine, um kleine Metallteile für Kühltheken schneller automatisch zu biegen.

Jordão was looking for a machine to automatically bend small metal parts for refrigerated counters faster.

Jordão stands for innovation and for uniting technology and sustainability. The company offers digital, efficient and environmentally friendly solutions that help clients to reduce their energy consumption and to display food items. Last fall, one of its products even won an innovation award at one of the world’s most important fairs for the gastronomy and hospitality industry.

In 2021, the company entered into a partnership with TRUMPF. Jordão was looking for a machine to automatically bend small metal parts for refrigerated counters more quickly, and the TruBend Cell 7000 from TRUMPF proved to be the perfect fit. As well as their shared business interests, the two companies are both family-run enterprises and enthusiastic drivers of innovation. These common traits laid the foundations for a long-term partnership. Recently Jordão added a TruLaser 3040 fiber 2D laser-cutting machine, followed by a TruStore compact storage system. Paired up with the LiftMaster Compact and the PartMaster, the system cuts parts fully automatically in Jordão’s refrigeration equipment production facility.

Both the TruBend 7000 Cell and the TruLaser 3040 are easy to program and offer high productivity and part quality – and that’s a combination Jordão values. As well as saving the company time and money, the new system also requires less manual rework thanks to the high part quality, which eases the pressure on workers.

Continuity and loyalty on all sides

Yet long-term success does not depend on modern machinery alone. “You need people to be in a good mood when they come to work,” says Lobo. At Jordão, management helps foster this positivity by demonstrating consistency in everything they do. This Portuguese family business is not one for making rash or hasty decisions. It’s all about continuity, a value embodied by Lobo himself. He has been running the business for over 40 years. In future, the company will remain in the hands of an experienced team.

Weitblick: Seit 40 Jahren verfolgt Isidro Lobo die Mission, exzellente Kühlmöbel zu produzieren.

Vision: For 40 years, Isidro Lobo has been on a mission to produce outstanding refrigeration equipment.

Eingespielt: Isidro Lobo (Mitte), seine Tochter Joana Jordão Lobo (rechts), Direktorin für Forschung, Entwicklung und Innovation, und sein Schwiegersohn und Handelsdirektor Joao Almeida (links) bilden gemeinsam das Führungsteam.

An experienced team: The company is managed by Isidro Lobo (center), his daughter Joana Jordão Lobo, Director for Research, Development and Innovation (right), and his son-in-law Joao Almeida, Commercial Director (left).

Jordão ist heute einer der führenden europäischen Hersteller von maßgeschneiderten und Standard-Kühlmöbeln für den Lebensmitteleinzelhandel und die Gastgewerbebranche und hat namhafte Kunden auf der ganzen Welt.

Today, Jordão is one of Europe's leading manufacturers of custom and standard refrigerated display cases for the food retail and catering industries, with prestigious customers all over the world.

Equally long-term is the company’s partnership with TRUMPF. Jordão quickly realized that the high-tech company could not only help them make high-quality products, but could also offer them a productivity boost. Just like in Germany, Portuguese companies are struggling with a lack of skilled workers.

Automating processes with TRUMPF machines is therefore essential in order to remain competitive. Jordão is now also planning to introduce TRUMPF’s Oseon software for production control. This will help the company take automation to the next level and improve the flow of materials.

Ambitious goals

Jordão has set itself ambitious goals for the future. “Our goal is to double our turnover between 2022 and 2026,” says Lobo. Jordão is already on course to achieve that. It has purchased two buildings next to its existing site which provide 10,000 square meters of new production space – the biggest investment in the company’s history. This was important to align with Jordão’s growth strategy.

Platz schaffen: Zwei Fabrikgebäude reichten nicht. Um weiter wachsen zu können, baute Jordão 10.000 Quadratmeter an neuer Produktionsfläche.

Making space: Two production facilities weren’t enough. To provide capacity for further growth, Jordão has built 10,000 square meters of new production space.

Qualitätscheck: Ein Spezialist für Kühltechnik überprüft die Kühlleistung mithilfe von Lebensmittelsimulanz-Sonden.

Quality check: A specialist in refrigeration technology uses food simulant probes to check cooling performance.

Als nächsten Schritt möchte Jordão die TRUMPF Software Oseon zur Fertigungssteuerung einführen.

Jordão's next step is to implement TRUMPF's Oseon production control software.

Customers are showing increasing interest in the company’s tailored refrigeration equipment solutions. “The retail food sector has taken on particular significance recently,” says Lobo, while emphasizing the continued importance of customers from the hospitality sector such as hotels, restaurants, and cafes. Jordão has also been building capacity to kit out smaller supermarkets.

As a major supplier and user of digitally connected manufacturing solutions, TRUMPF offers everything Jordão needs to achieve new heights in productivity through automation, providing the right high-tech support to help the Portuguese company grow. The benefits are neatly summed up by TRUMPF sales engineer Carlos Silva: “Jordão understands we have the skills to meet challenges head-on”.

Date created 08/07/2024
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