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If you speak Spanish, Portuguese, or Japanese and live in the Bluffton area, Bo Alstoft would like to speak with you.
Alstoft is the owner of V-Tech Engineering. He and his staff of employees produce ovens for the commercial baking industry.
Alstoft, a native of Denmark, first came to the US in 1992 as an employee for a local pretzel factory. After moving to Bluffton in 1993, Alstoft began his own business of V-Tech Engineering, Inc. in 1994.
After renting offices throughout Bluffton as his business grew, he moved to the company’s current location in Bluffton in 2004. A second location, purchased in 2006, is located in Monroeville. The Bluffton facility contains 10,500 square feet, while the plant in Monroeville has 6,500 square feet. He currently employs 15 people.
Alstoft’s focus on world-wide sales has prompted his interest in hiring individuals with an interest in the global business world. “I’m not looking for employees with great qualifications as an engineer as much as an engineer with great communication skills,” he said. “It’s hard to find bilingual people in this part of the country.”
Alstoft, who has 25 years in the industrial baking business, designs and produces ovens that are purchased by companies around the world. “We can quickly install modules in ocean containers to ship to any country in the world,” he said. “We have a strong customer base in Europe.” Some of Alstoft’s American clients include Sara Lee, Heinz, Nation Pizza Products, and Mars Petcare.
Alstoft recently developed an oven that he hopes will appeal to an even broader customer-base. “It is a bigger oven than we have ever produced,” he said. “The belt is 80 feet long and five feet wide. It will accommodate companies that produce pastries and also parbaked pizzas like Dominos and Pizza Hut.”
The Bluffton-based business of V-Tech Engineering, Inc. is a member of the Bakery Equipment Manufacturing Association and has sponsored a booth at the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) in Las Vegas for the last three years.
At the next IBIE Alstoft plans to introduce a tunnel-fired oven that will accommodate environmental restrictions in certain countries around the world. “Switzerland and Germany must choose electric heat because no gas emissions are allowed there,” he said. “In other countries, like the Caribbean, electricity is used because gas is not available. We are manufacturing a full-scale oven with high-efficiency heat to accommodate those needs.”
Alstoft thinks his business is unique because it offers customers flexibility and custom solutions. “We have come up with a long-term strategy for developing new products,” he said. “We want to be a main player in the future of the baking industry.”