The Twister of Havatec is said to be the first machine in the world that recreates a hand-tied bouquet with its 'signature twist.' It was introduced in 2020, and so far, a mere 50 installations have been sold. Most of them are in Western Europe and about 1 in 4 in North America. Recently, the first machine was delivered to a customer in South America, namely Agrogana Doña Natalia in Ecuador. They are the first customer in that part of the world.
The video shows the very first bouquets that are made after installation; the speed will be higher once the people are more experienced. Going up to about 1600 flowers per person, per round table.
The signature twist
As the name indicates, the 'twist' is what makes this machine special. "We were looking for a way to create that twisted appearance of a flower bouquet that results in an open bouquet once it is put in the vase," Jorien Plak-Schouten, head of sales at Havatec explains. "Other machines that were available at that time were focused on high volume processing, on a flat belt or sometimes compartments where you lay in the flowers. No machine was able to make the high-quality bouquets with the signature twist that is a big part of the market. With a flat belt or compartment box, you can make a flat bouquet or with some crossed stems, not the high-end bouquet."
How it works
But how does it work? Plak-Schouten: "The Twister operates in a unique way. A Twister installation consists of a conveyor belt, several round turning tables, each for a maximum of 10 flower types, and a carousel that gathers the flowers. This is where the magic happens. It is followed by a binder that keeps all flowers steady in place. At every table, there is a person who takes a flower from the turning table and positions it on the conveyor belt. An LED light indicates where the flower should be placed. This is a job that requires very little training, which is an advantage compared to fully hand-tied bouquet making, which is not an easy job. All flowers will land in the patented carrousel that gathers the stems and twists them into a bouquet. The rotating binder simulates the hand-tied elastic band that keeps everything in place."
A general video of how the Twister works
ROI of 2-3 years
There are ample reasons to invest in the Twister, she continues. "With the prices of personnel going up, scarcity of personnel, and the required training, one can cut down heavily on labor costs. Sometimes, the Twister results in a decrease in labor costs of 50%, resulting in an average ROI of 2-3 years or shorter. The high quality of the bouquets, the output in numbers, the ease of switching from one recipe to the other, and even the fact that one can make 2 types of recipes at the same time are all in favor of this revolutionary machine."
Twister in Ecuador
For Doña Natalia in Ecuador, the reason for starting to use this machine is their aim to grow in the coming years, even more than they have done in the past years. "It is a challenge to find enough people who can do the job nowadays. Bouquet-making requires training, and when experienced people leave us, it is not easy to replace them. This, combined, with the labor costs that are going up, may hinder the potential growth of our company. The Twister will ensure a high-quality bouquet and will keep our cost prices steady," says Sebastian Maldano, head of bouquets at Agrogana.
Potential of Twister in South Amercia
Both Plak-Schouten and Maldano are positive about the possibilities for the Twister machine in South America. "The price of labor has increased a lot over the years, but also the working conditions are playing a bigger issue now. Companies in Colombia and Ecuador are the main suppliers of flowers and bouquets to the US market, and the clients in these countries demand better working conditions from their suppliers, such as we have seen in the textile and clothing industry in Asia. The feedback that we get from customers as well as from the workers is very positive. The workers mention that their hands are not tired or cramped anymore, and it's just fun to work with Twister. And above all, the customers are satisfied with the quality of the bouquets. Therefore, we anticipate growth towards next year."
IFTF
Eager to meet the team of Havatec? They will be exhibiting (stand nr. C3.05) at the IFTF in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands, from November 8-10.
For more information:
Havatec 
Kunaweg 1, 2153 NC
Nieuw-Vennep, the Netherlands
Tel.: +31(0)252 241 490
www.havatec.com
A
grogana Doña Natalia
www.agrogana.com