Founded 1974 by Domenic Steiner, Thermoplan is an international machinery manufacturer in the restaurant sector. Thermoplan's products are modular super-automatic espresso machines. The medium-sized firm employs 125 employees. The company's major breakthrough came when it was chosen by the international coffeehouse chain Starbucks as their exclusive espresso machine supplier in 1999. In 2004, global corporations including McDonald's and IKEA began using Thermoplan equipment. That same year, Thermoplan was awarded the 2004 Innovation Award from the Central Swiss Chamber of Commerce.
Marketing
The company spent 1.6 million Swiss francs to convince Brazil's national soccer team to choose Weggis for its training camp before the 2006 World Cup. A practice ground in Weggis was turned into a temporary 5,000-seat arena called the "Thermoplan Arena".
Coffee and Espresso Machines
Verismo 801 and Thermoplan Black & White
The Verismo 801 was a superautomatic coffee machine designed exclusively for Starbucks, until discontinued in 2008. The Verismo 801 was released to the commercial market shortly before its discontinuation under the Black and White CTS2 brand name. It features dual bean hoppers and is capable of pulling both single, double and half-caff espresso. It has also a steam wand with automatic temperature probe, and hot water spout. All functions are operated by the button control panel on the front of the device. The Thermoplan CT1 and Thermoplan CTM are designed for operation by untrained workers: they feature an inbuilt milk-frother drawing milk from an internal milk fridge, that allows for complete one-click beverage making. The machine includes pre-set programs for latte, cappuccino, espresso, black coffee and white coffee although can be configured with the Thermoplan Service Master Card.
Mastrena, Tiger, and Black & White 2
Thermoplan manufactures the Mastrena, the super-automatic machine made exclusively for Starbucks. The Mastrena is an upgrade of the Verismo 801, using some of the same components, and some face-lifted. The machine is smaller in size than the Verismo 801, due to Howard Schultz, saying the high height of the Verismo 801 prevented baristas from interacting with customers. The machine has all the features of its predecessor, including a larger dual bean hopper, as well as the ability to pull ristretto and lungo shots. It also produces The Tiger, a lower-volume espresso machine with a similar modular design, distributed by Bunn in the United States, and the Black & White 2, an upgrade to the Black & White line of espresso machines, combining the main features found on the Thermoplan Verismo 801 and the Thermoplan Tiger. The B&W 2 is also sold as part of both Starbucks and Costa Coffee licensing programs in the UK.
