An espresso brewer built in Birmingham might have seened bizarre a few years ago but the father-son-daughter team behind Visacrem International proves, with its Fracino brewers, that a British manufacturer can successfully develop its own version of a Continental product concept. Bruce Whitehall talks to founder Frank Maxwell.
Despite the boom of the past 10 years, most UK coffee bar operators still rely largely on imported beverage equipment.
With just one exception, British equipment manufacturers have only really gained a presence in water boiling equipment for tea-making.
The exception is Visacrem International, a Birmingham-based producer which has not only achieved a foothold for its Fracino espresso machines in UK cafes, restaurants and pubs but also sells espresso-related equipment to Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Spain and America. The company even has customers in Italy for its Roastalino, a small on-counter bean roaster which fills a niche at coffee outlets wanting to emphasise their specialist coffee roasting image.
The Visacrem business originated in 1963 when Frank Maxwell and Ted Horswood started importing and selling espresso machines, notably Gaggia. By the late 1960s, Frank started making boilers to match the machines more closely to the demands of the UK market. “There was a big need at that time for a pressurised steam boiler which was more powerful than that made by the then market leader W.M. Still,” he comments. This resulted in in-house production of the Framax boiler, which is still made today under the name Vesuvius.
Garden shed
“We started as a back garden shed job,” Frank remembers.” I had a little lock-up shop and it expanded from there. Coffee machines have always been imported into the UK in large numbers and it was very hard to break the mould of people who thought that an espresso machine could only be made in Italy.”
Frank steadily developed the business on his own, adding locally made components bit by bit but it was not until the mid-1980s, when his son Adrian joined the business, that Visacrem really started to take off as a manufacturer.
“When we began, we were using bits and pieces of bought-in components but in the West Midlands, we have an absolute wealth of expertise in making engineering products, particularly forgings,” Frank says. “Just look at Formula One racing cars. If you can get that same degree of quality, you have a competitive edge.”
Adrian Maxwell started applying methods learned at Rolls Royce, notably in the welding rather than bolting of stainless steel to gain seamless component sections. Frank Maxwell admits that this had a downside in the high cost of tooling, but also resulted in products which didn’t need frequent replacement. “By contrast, a lot of Italian manufacturers argue that they need customers to change their machines every three years,” he comments. But he believes that there is a demand for longevity.
As a replacement for the rather stolid-sounding Framax name, Fracino (standing for “Frank’s cappuccino“) was dreamed up by a member of Visacrem staff with a passion for crossword puzzles.
The product range also extended to small glasswashers and icemakers which are imported and adapted to the needs of the customer base.
Family affair
The Visacrem business now occupies 20,000 sq ft premises in Birmingham and handles contract work for other companies as well making Fracino products. The workforce stands at just 16 .”That is a low figure relative to our output but we achieve it because we sub-contract much of the steelwork. If we did it ourselves, we would probably need about 50 employees.”
Frank’s daughter Angela joined Visacrem in 1995 and has helped to widen UK marketing and boost export opportunities. Most recent territory, developed during 2001, is Australia.
The company participated at London’s Bar exhibition in 2001 where it launched the Romano espresso brewer as the “ultimate bar furniture”.
The machine combines distinctively styled filter holders with an illuminated polished stainless steel back panel and marbled effect stainless base in quartz Corian and optional 9 carat gold plate finish.
The company is also expanding into the domestic sector with the Heavenly, an upmarket espresso machine capable of simultaneous espresso coffee extraction and milk steaming.
bolting of stainless steel to gain seamless component sections. Frank Maxwell admits that this had a downside in the high cost of tooling, but also resulted in products which didn’t need frequent replacement. “By contrast, a lot of Italian manufacturers argue that they need customers to change their machines every three years,” he comments. But he believes that there is a demand for longevity.
As a replacement for the rather stolid-sounding Framax name, Fracino (standing for “Frank’s cappuccino”) was dreamed up by a member of Visacrem staff with a passion for crossword puzzles.
The product range also extended to small glasswashers and icemakers which are imported and adapted to the needs of the customer base.
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