How do you see the wine sector in Spain and abroad?
What are the trends towards which the sector is heading?
These and other interesting questions are analyzed by our commercial technician Jorge Moreno.
Our commercial technician for northern Spain Jorge Moreno, has been interviewed by Enomaq TV.
To see the interview, you can select the following link (available in Spanish):
“OUR OBJECTIVE IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF EQUIPMENT THAT DEMOCRATICES OENOLOGY AND ADAPTS TO THE NEEDS AND QUALITY OF EACH LABORATORY OR WINE CELLAR”
If there is a sector with specific and very specific needs in the wine industry, it is that of oenological analysis. And, before that, what could be better than discovering its intricacies at the hands of the first enological analytical company that existed in Spain? Tecnología Difusión Ibérica (TDI) opens the doors of his home to show us in depth and all the widest range of products that exists: theirs.
iSnce its beginnings, TDI has been a pioneer in the Spanish market for winemaking analytics, a market in which in 1986, the year in which Jordi Subirana founded the company, everything was still to be done: “From TDI, we offer and support oenology. Above all, the most chemical branch through the automation of equipment, both in the laboratory and in the cellar”, tells us Blas Martínez, technical management and responsible for Export of TDI.
The company is the creator of the technique of chemical analyzers, who better knows it and who better dominates it. Since its founding it has not stopped providing oenological innovations: in 1994, the sequential chemical analyzers (enzymatic and colorimetric); in 2002, the medium infrared analyzers (IRTF) after having collaborated in its development and tuning in France since 1997; and in 2006, TDI industrialized a rapid filtration system for must in the reception of vintages, the Mostonet.
“The wine market requires very specific products and that is what we offer”, clarifies Martínez. Being a family company, TDI offers that much-needed flexibility in a market such as wine, without ever forgetting the quality, rigor and means of a large company.
And despite being and maintaining the character of a family business, TDI has business facilities since 2016 that have nothing to envy a multinational. That same year the company doubled the size of its previous headquarters with the intention of offering the best possible service to all its customers.
The most complete range of the market
If something makes TDI special is its adaptability, it offers the widest range of products that can range from the most sophisticated analyzer to a simple titrator. In addition, it is the only company able to offer chemical analyzers at the same time (enzymatic and colorimetric), specific reagents for oenology, titrators and analyzers by IRTF. Only they can say that they are the only company in the world dedicated exclusively to making oenological material.
“If we delve into our products, to start we must talk about the range of IRTF equipment, infrared for physical measurement, (Bacchus 1, Bacchus 2, Bacchus 3 and Bacchus 3 MultiSpec)”, says the technical director and responsible for Exportation of TDI. All of them are destined especially for the analysis in controls of maturation, reception in vintages, musts and musts in fermentation, finished wines and natural sweet wines. “In this line, the NIR equipment for the measurement of alcohol, its density and dry extract (AlcoQuick 4000) is based on a method of measurement by spectroscopy, which allows a direct measurement of ethanol in wines, using wavelengths chosen especially in the near infrared (NIR)”.
Another large group of equipment are the automatic chemical analyzers, with the Miura range as the protagonist (Miura One for small wineries and Miura 200 for high performance), which replace the pioneer LISA 200 and the semiautomatic analyzer Jolly 102 Color. Both the Miura and the Jolly perform chemical analyzes of enzymatic, colorimetric and turbidimetric type for all types of wines and musts. “These equipment require supplementary material, reagents and patterns, which have as a final result a more complete product. According to the needs of each client, we advise which are the equipment and the accessories that best adapt”, highlights us Blas Martínez.
“On the other hand, we have a range of titrators. In it we offer a model (ATP 3000) for large laboratories that calculates pH and total acidity at high speed, another more generic model (FLASH) that can be adapted to small and medium sized cellars for the analysis of pH, total acidity and sulfur free and total and the Eno20 titrator, in its two manual and automatic versions that allows the analysis of sulphides. Our range is completed with more specific and specific analyzers such as the CrioSmart for tartaric stability, the DE2000 for the extraction of alcohol and volatile acidity and the MostoNet filter.”
In this line of things, it is always worth remembering that TDI has the most complete range of oenological reagents on the market “covering both the enzymatic and the colorimetric part”, Blas Martínez specifies. Initially TDI manufactured in France and Italy the whole range of reagents, but since 2010 it was decided to move the production to the central company in Spain: “The reagents are very sensitive material, so we repatriated all the manufacturing to be more efficient and faster, taking full control of the production and thus avoiding errors. Since then we have greater ability to react to problems because it is essential for us to always be at the side of our customers and help them with any surprise”.
The Quality Policy, essential
“Our Quality Policy is based on efficiency in the service and speed”, proudly affirms the technical director of the company. The management of Tecnología Difusión Ibérica is committed to establish, implement and keep updated a Quality Policy through the Quality System defined according to the Reference Standard ISO 9001:2015. In this sense, the activities that TDI undertakes to carry out effectively are the commercialization of analyzers for oenology, the manufacture and commercialization of reagents and the technical assistance service.
“From TDI we advise the client from the first contact. We know your needs and we offer what you really need. Sometimes we find ourselves with demands that do not correspond to real needs. Our function is to listen, understand what you are looking for and what the client needs to measure and, in the end, offer you the best solution and the one that best suits your work”, explains Martínez.
To advise the most appropriate instrument for each need and to perform its proper maintenance, TDI’s customer service operates in the field, almost 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: “Our policy of action is always the same, if we can solve the problem by telephone and as soon as possible, we do it. The customer never speaks with a switchboard, he speaks directly with a technician who advises him on how to solve the problem remotely or through our remote system. If the technical intervention of the technician is required, this is the next step”.
TDI has five technical assistance points, one in Madrid, another in Barcelona, another in Logroño, one more in Ciudad Real and a fifth in Paris. The stock of spare parts is large enough so that most repairs can be made in less than 48 hours: “We are very proud to be able to say that in 98% of the cases in which technicians go to solve a problem, we repair it at once. We have stock for 80% of the parts to be repaired of our equipment. The remaining 20% are pieces that rarely break down because they are mechanical components of the device own structure”.
Arriving, repairing and allowing the client to continue working, that’s the goal: “Being able to achieve this in a sector like the wine industry is paramount since the economic loss that can occur when having the machines stopped one only day in time of vintage is enormous”, points out the technical director.
Research and development, the key
Another of TDI’s great strengths is its commitment to research. “We always investigate, the R & D department is essential and thanks to it we have made great advances and we have launched very powerful innovations. In 2017 he joined the company’s research team Mario Weibel, doctorated in chemical engineering and long-distance researcher, who works intensely in the improvement of the reagents that we already have and in which in the future we will have, as well as in the development of other fields and new products. In addition, at TDI we specialize in adapting equipment from other sectors, especially in the clinical field. We study them, adapt them to the oenological sector and ask their manufacturer to make the necessary modifications. In this sense, we are working on the development of software to be able to make applications that until now could not be done. To give an example, we are currently working on the LED technique applied to our Bacchus analyzers”.
The needs of the oenologist, always present
The oenological analytic is a relatively new subject in the sector, but sufficiently extended so that any oenologist does not have certain equipment. “To fully analyze the entire portion of the acids and sugars in wine and must an oenologist must have, as basic instruments, a small titrator and a photometer. The Eno20 titrator has always opened many doors for us in small cellars since with a single unit we can analyze the free sulfur dioxide and the total sulphurous, completely eliminating the problem of the appreciation of the turn and of the phenolic interferences”.
Although many small wine cellars look for manual systems, in many cases TDI advises them with automatic equipment since the speed and efficiency is much higher: “These smallwine cellars sometimes have more than 200 barrels to control and analyze them one by one is an unnecessary waste of time, in addition to the economic savings in reactive that supposes an automatic or semiautomatic system. A single kit, in the smallest of our Miura analyzers, can perform up to 400 analyzes. If it is done by spectrum, this same kit only reaches up to 25 analyzes”.
But in this context, what role does the price play in the Spanish market? “It is a very important factor. It is a competitive market but prices must justify everything that is behind a team: research, workers, quality, manufacturing… A price too low can trigger a dangerous game where the necessary margins are eliminated so that the companies work. Therefore, it would be necessary to change the chip and understand what is behind wine services and equipment”.
Oenological analysis and food safety
Food security does not refer only to the availability of food, but also includes the access of people to them and the biological use of them. Therefore, this security is also essential in the wine sector: “Knowledge is power. The functions of analysis and control of what happens in wine respond to the needs of food security. That a wine is piqued, that the machines used are the correct ones so that no components are mixed, that the bottles do not appear inconvenient, that the second fermentation does not entail health problems…
The Miura 200 high-performance chemical analyzer is one of TDI’s crown jewels. The company continues to research to optimize its qualities.
Having control over the entire production process is achieved through analysis systems and TDI offers all the tools to guarantee this control”.
Spain, at the same level as the rest of the world?
Spain is one of the countries with the greatest wine tradition, besides being one of the largest producers in the world, but does this translate into a privileged oenological position? “The level of equipment of the Spanish wineries is good. From TDI we are present in France, Italy, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece and Croatia, among others, and we are in the process of entering the German and Australian markets. While it is true that both in Italy and France have a philosophy of greater oenological analysis and that their laboratories are extremely well equipped, Spain is not so far from them. Obviously, we could say that we still lack a bit, but we should not underestimate it since there are few areas where wineries are more advanced than ours. In this sense, anyway, the change in the last decade has been enormous. The current philosophy of the winemaker is very different from that of 15 years ago, when I came to the sector. At that time they only wanted -or could- investigate the larger wineries, but now even the smallest wineries do their research and an exhaustive follow-up of their elaboration process. The demand for oenological equipment has increased greatly due to this greater interest and, above all, to the increase in the quality of the wines. In any case, much remains to be done and a long way to go”.
The future of oenology
Sulfur dioxide is a chemical compound of sulfur and oxygen, the additive most widely used in winemaking and also the most controversial is raising in recent years. As indicated by Blas Martínez, obtaining not harmful sulfides is one of the most interesting research projects in the sector. In this sense, the development of new reagents will be linked to these investigations.
“I have a lot of confidence in the development of infrared systems because I think they can be a big boom for the sector: new analytes, new research… On my last trip to Australia several clients were interested in these equipment but, surprisingly, they did not want them to measure the wine but to control the ripening of the grapes. Thus, until now the analytical was only for the ‘subsequent’ control but, from now on, it must also be for a ‘previous’ control. To do this, we must improve the techniques currently applied and develop new analysis formulas since at this moment we only control 60% of the parameters”.
In another way, climate change is changing the way wine is made and analyzed, “what should be transformed into a better management, both in the vine itself and in the laboratory”, said Martínez, an example of which is “the need to increase the analysis of the grape during its maturation process, in the must and in the own wine. That is to say, anticipate and know what happens in the grapes since they are in the vineyard to understand why it happens what happens later.”
This climate change is changing the dates of harvest and the alcoholic degree of the grape is increasing, with the widely known problem of the gap between technological maturity and phenolic maturity: “That the climate changes causes the ripening of the grape go ahead or be delayed, and that is not easy to evaluate and repair once this grape is already in the cellar. Therefore, future analyzes must go through controlling the grape in all its states”.
nterview with Blas Martínez (technical management and responsible for Export of TDI) by Nina Jareño for the magazine ENEO.
“IN ALL MY DICTIONARIES I ALWAYS HAVE STARTED THE PAGE WHERE THE IMPOSSIBLE WORD WAS WRITTEN”
Jordi Subirana has been doing the impossible during 30 years.
In 1986 he founded Tecnología Difusión Ibérica (TDI), the first oenological analytical company that existed in Spain. “They said I was a liar,” he recalls with a touch of irony, without losing his smile, recalling the great difficulties he had to face in the beginning.
He was born by accident in a clinic in Barcelona on October 20, 1950 -”because, a little more,” she explains,”and my mother gives birth to me on a train”- but she lived and grew up in France, where she learned principles of republicanism and became a fervent pro-European. While still studying, he began working at the company BSN (Boussois-Souchon-Neuvesel) -which more later would take the name of Danone- and at the age of 24 was already director of the branch of Limoges. Shortly afterwards there were those who considered him the best seller in France. It was days of wine and roses. Pleased with the best cabarets in Paris, he shared tablecloth with Omar Sharif or Angie Dickinson and enjoyed an enviable current account. But despite his social and professional success, Jordi Subirana did not want to tie himself for life to a multinational. “I was looking for something of a human dimension, where people were more important than numbers. I’ve always been a free man,” he confesses. And in the early 1980′s it began to shape an innovative idea with the horizon set in Spain.
“THE SUITCASE AND WHEELS ALREADY EXISTED, BUT SOMEONE HAD TO HAVE JOINED THEM AND FACILITATE THE LIFE. AND THAT WE HAVE MADE IN THE ANALYTICS, USING WHAT ALREADY EXISTED AND FINDING A MOST USEFUL PRACTICAL APPLICATION”
In my house did not drink wine, my father did not drink wine and I did not know what wine was. It seems a joke of fate that the one who was called to found the pioneering company of the oenological analysis in Spain had no previous relation with the wine world. Of course, he also had no connection with food, despite working for more than 10 years in a multinational sector. He graduated in mechanical engineering, a specialty that he never got to practice. “Things often happen unintentionally, you look and you do not find and, at a certain moment, they happen without looking for them. A friend who worked with me, lived next to a person who was in the world of analytics, but of the medical like all. I began to talk to him about many things and, from there, the idea of how we could adapt analytics to the field of oenology was coming up”. TDI’s embryo was beginning to grow. From the beginning, Jordi Subirana was modeling his project guided by the signs of identity that have presided over the company throughout his career. A company made by people -”the most important thing is that they are good people”- to be aware that, at the outset, there is nothing impossible. In addition, it maintains a motto that somehow sums up its way of seeing life: the mixture of Germanic rigor and Latin flexibility. “If you do this, I tell you, it works. And then, make it simple, don’t complicate your own life , in life you must don’t complicate your life yourself”.
This simplicity translated into the professional field even leads to questioning the commonly used concept of “research and development” which, in his opinion, is not usually used properly. “Many of the things that are said to be research are not actually, but simply use elements that already exist. The suitcase and wheels already existed, but someone came to join them to make life easier, just as it occurred to someone to join a stick and an owl to dignify the work at home. And the same thing we have done in analytics, everything existed previously, but we have found a more useful practical application. Investigating, on the other hand, is something else, happens when 30 or 130 people are looking for the sex of the angels, the rest are applications, the wheels of a suitcase.”
But despite the simplicity of this innovative character, the first steps of TDI in Spain represented a small revolution compared to the usual way of making wine. The company was in a mostly skeptical and sometimes overtly hostile territory. “I was treated as a liar because in this country there was no culture of making wine analytically. There were four oenologists who came from French universities, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Dijon, as Miguel Torres, people with whom you could talk, and there were others who did not have higher education who also communicated with my ideas, but in general it was very complicated.”
“Wine is God’s thing”
Such was the immobility that existed in the 1980s, even those who believed that winemaking was based on divine designs and not on scientific criteria. “I remember, once, that I was in La Rioja with the technical director of a great winery, splendid, a fantastic thing, and when I saw all those barrels I asked him: but all this, how do you analyze it? Thing of God, he answered me. Okay, okay, I said, so, above all, behave well.” “Mr. Subirana, said goodbye, I will not spend 300,000 pesetas in the lab ever because wine is a thing of God. Then I remember that he had to answer the phone and I was alone with a young boy who was with us during the visit. He confessed that he agreed with me, that he liked what I said, but that they could not do anything until all of them retired.”
“THEY ARRIVED TO TREAT ME LIKE A LIAR BECAUSE IN THIS COUNTRY THE CULTURE WAS NOT EXISTING TO MAKE WINE ANALYTICALLY”
Time passed and, indeed, between the generational relays and the gradual opening of enology faculties -the first of them, created in 1988 in Tarragona at the Rovira i Virgili University- a change of mentality took place that favored the popularization of new processing techniques. Subirana himself called it a few years ago the “democratization” of oenological analytics. But in the beginning also had its importance the bet that some great winemakers and centers of investigation did by the newly constituted company. “My first customers were Miguel Torres in Catalonia, the Oenological Station of Navarre, where Mr. Ochoa worked, a fantastic man who totally believed in us and in the quality issue and then gave me his trust González Byass, Osborne…”.
Precisely, it recalls an anecdote in González Byass that faithfully reflects the adversities lived during that time. “I remember that the director responsible for Gonzalez Byass told me when they bought the machine: Mr. Subirana, I do not know if he realizes what I’m doing, I’m buying a five million pesetas machine and I’m betting on a French man that tomorrow can tire of the Spaniards and go to the other side of the Pyrenees, I am betting by this. It is evident that people like this have a special deal with me because they generated confidence at a given moment when it really had to have value.”
Pioneer character
The accomplishment of those first successes facilitated the consolidation of the company that, at all times, fought to break molds and to illuminate new ways. “We have pioneered sequential issues with their reactants, in infrared, and when I say ‘we’ I mean a team of several people. I was the young man of the band, it was the sponge between them all. The only merit I’ve had has been knowing how to be surrounded by people of an impressive level, I’ve always liked being with people who know more than I do.”
This multidisciplinary team referred to by Jordi Subirana was mostly made up of brilliant professionals from Spain, France and Italy. The reagents were designed in the back country with their own formulas and infrared devices in neighboring France. For many years the strategy worked efficiently, but the retirement and death of some team members weakened that balance. “In 2010 I made the decision to take back the subject of the reagents in my hands, I decided to repatriate them, I set up some facilities, I dusted all the formulas, I hired personnel and we started to make them.” Regarding the infrared, it also opted to regain control and, for that purpose, it established in France the company TDIF.
“IN 2010 I DECIDED TO RECOVER THE REAGENTS AND REPATRIATE THEM, TO SET UP AN INSTALLATIONS, TO DISTRIBUTE ALL OUR FORMULAS, TO CONTRACT PERSONAL AND WE PUT TO MAKE IT”
But the continuous growth, the export and the demands derived from the training courses given to its workers pushed them to open a new headquarters to consolidate the new model. The old facilities did not give more of themselves, so he decided to make the leap, move to the industrial estate and double the available surface, without leaving the town of Gavà.
From there, Tecnología Difusión Ibérica provides services to all Spanish territory and also to countries like France, Portugal, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Greece, Moldova, Croatia or Slovenia, among others. “We are the only company in Spain, in Europe and in the world that is only dedicated to manufacturing wine and musts analyzers. In the others there is a division, more or less great; That’s why we are smaller than many companies that do everything, although we are the largest company in the world dedicated exclusively to making oenological material.”
“Make me disappear”
About two years ago, Jordi Subirana lived one of the hardest moments of his business career. After 28 years leading the TDI wielding the credentials of innovation and creativity was charged in court to copy a patent. “In order to make me disappear a great company worldwide attacked me in Justice with an impressive montage. I was sued with great university professors. My expert and my lawyer advised me to negotiate. I said: no, no, I’m right, this is a montage, not true, I have not copied anything. Everyone thought I was going to lose, but I won. From the explanations of my lawyer the judge realized that they were going to get me to have a monopoly. We started saying things that even the opposing lawyers did not know, and pam, pam, pam, they withdrew.”
This was a huge pressure, but also a huge satisfaction when he came out unscathed. “I can tell you that when it was all over it was a Friday. I got home at three-thirty in the afternoon, after I finished nerves left me. When I got up it was Monday at eight in the morning. We really did it because I always, I always say to my men: “I do not want to hear you say never before, this is impossible.”
The vision from the twilight
Overcoming the difficulties and compliments and 30 years of that entrepreneurial adventure that took him to cross the Pyrenees to not return, Jordi Subirana feels that he is in the twilight of his life. “I can afford to say things I did not say at age 25.” Things like that can not stand arrogance. “The brightest are the simplest; The most stupid, the most arrogant.” The quality that he appreciates most in a person is “that he is a good person” and defines himself as “hardworking, serious and with a lot of will power”. “Kennedy said it very well. Do not always ask what your country can do for you, do it for yourself.”
“TO MAKE ME DISAPPEAR A GREAT COMPANY ATTACKED ME IN JUSTICE WITH AN IMPRESSIVE MOUNT. THOUGHT THAT I WILL LOSE, BUT I GAINED”
He acknowledges that he distrusts the heroes. “I have no idols or false idols, and I do not like to highlight any historical person because if you study history, everyone has their flaws and their qualities.” But, on the other hand, I feel a sincere respect for people who have achieved extraordinary achievements. He is referring to entrepreneurs such as Miguel Torres, Jose Ferrer (Freixenet), Nils Foss (Foss), a company that is directly TDI, Henry Ford (Ford Motor Company)…, Damn, what these people have done. They had to spend nights in white, huh? What must have happened and what they have created. I say these, but there are many more. They are exceptional people, they have a plus.”
It is possible that as Jordi Subirana achieved professional success being still very young has known how to relativize the importance of fame and laurels. “My life is very simple, work and occupations of every day, walk the dog, buy vegetables and do whatever it takes at home.” When asked what his favorite occupation is, he does not doubt it. “My wife, my wife,” he repeats. And your ideal of happiness? “There is one thing very clear,” he says, “you have 100 and you are bound to spend 150. You earn 1,000 and you are bound to spend 1,500. And they have not been able to catch me, I’ve always been a free man.”
Perhaps from that same freedom, he claims not to be worried about the political tensions in Catalonia. He says that if we want to have a future, we must build the United States of Europe in order not to disappear in two decades.
And, in the meantime, he continues to work like when he started doing it 46 years ago, living every day with the illusion of someone who is aware of having done something in life that is really worth it. Something that seemed impossible… if it were not because that word never existed in his dictionary.
Tell us briefly about your company (premises, staff…) and the range of products you develop.
Our company has its headquarters in Gavà (Barcelona), near the airport. Here the main activity of the company is focused, and they are developed the commercial, technical and R+D+i work. We also have an office in Madrid.
At present in TDI we are working a total of 13 people between commercial, technical, laboratory and administrative staff, dedicated exclusively to analytical Oenology. A young, but highly qualified and prepared team. It is a family business, which allows us to offer the flexibility of this kind of companies but without forgetting the quality, rigour and resources of a big company.
Our products are designed and developed only for Enology and adapted to market needs. The wide range of products that can be from the most sophisticated analyser to a simple titrator allows us to advise the client at all times the product that best suits to its needs. Our portfolio is the only one that can provide both chemical analysers and FTIR analysers.
You consider yourselves to be the pioneers in Spain in oenological analysis and sequential analysers. How was this work made before the entry into the market of your machines?
When I came to Spain, from France, in 1986, the enological industry was in a phase in which only large wineries could access to the purchase of analytical material, due to its high cost, and it was only profitable if they were made a lot of samples. The few companies equipped were using the technique of continuous flow. This technique, also used in France, was complex, cumbersome and expensive.
Once known and studied the idiosyncrasy of the Spanish market, we were able to research and develop the right materials, fully adapted to the Spanish wineries. It meant a great human and economic effort that none of the big companies wanted to do as it was a very small market. Sequential analysers provided in this way, ease, convenience and much lower analytical costs. In parallel we developed a range of lyophilized enzymatic reagents and colorimetric reagents, thus becoming the first and only company in this sector offering a comprehensive service, that is: machine, reagent and oenological advice.
What do you think your company has contributed to the sector over these 25 years?
I would like to think I’ve contributed a grain of sand to the sector. From the beginning I have preached the importance of analysis to get quality. In these 27 years TDI has done a great educational work. When I arrived at the Spanish market many wineries did not give the importance the laboratory deserves, it was the great forgotten at the time of investment. Today, everyone knows that we have to focus on quality and this requires controlling the entire winemaking process and progressing analytically. TDI has become the company leader in the sector because, as I said before, we don’t only sell the instruments and the reagents, but we also provide the advice that both wineries and oenological laboratories require.
Which analytical equipments should have nowadays any oenologist?
All depends on the kind of winery. For example, we can find a very small winery that can be equipped with an ebullometer or distiller, a pH metre and a Jolly semi-automatic analyser allowing them to accurately analyse over 20 parameters; and we can find a big winery being able to have working together a FTIR + UV/Vis analyser (Bacchus 3 Multispec) and a chemical analyser Miura.
Currently oenologists are prepared and know that if you want to offer quality, you have to provide your laboratories with some essential equipments. TDI, having a wide range of analysers can advise at all times the most appropriate instrument for each occasion.
Your range is designed for laboratory work. Have you also thought about developing portable equipments that the winegrower can carry with him for analysis at field?
It is true that recently they have appeared on the market some small equipments that, it is said, they are able to analyse directly in the vineyard, but if you want to perform rigorous and precision analysis, they are not enough. Our analysers are prepared for the laboratory, where you meet the appropriate conditions to perform the analysis with the utmost reliability and rigour. However, our instruments can also be used at the reception bay. Indeed, our new analyser Bacchus 3 is intended to perform the two functions. It may be in the lab, but at harvest time you can easily move it to the reception. Its modularity allows the oenologist to move it himself with no need of our technicians’ help.
Despite the good reputation and international recognition of our wines, consumption in Spain has fallen in recent years. To what extent has this situation affected the industry of equipments for oenological analysis? And to TDI?
The strong crisis affecting our country is evident that harms all sectors, including wine. Unfortunately, crazy things have been made, and some wineries have closed down. The crisis has made analysers’ demand to decrease, but it is in these times when you cannot surrender, you have to work much harder and more than ever you have to offer a higher quality in your products and services. TDI, despite the crisis, continues researching and developing new equipments and techniques.
How important is it for your company the research and development? How much do you allocate to this purpose (staff, financial resources, facilities…)?
As I said before, only the companies investing in projects and advancing technologically will survive. That is why for four years, TDI has actively participated in conjunction with the Rovira i Virgili University and several wineries, including Bodegas Miguel Torres between them, that was the responsible of leading the project CENIT-Demeter, studying issues of phenolic maturity. At present, although such study is completed, we continue collaborating with the URV to go more deeply into the obtained results. We also continue with the development of new instruments and analytical techniques and hope to be able to present news in a short time.
What arguments would you use to try to convince a potential buyer to purchase a TDI equipment instead of a competitor’s one?
You will allow me not to reveal my commercial strategies. However it is obvious that many years of experience vouch for us. We are the only company in the market dedicated exclusively to Oenology. Our competitors, newcomers to the oenological market, come from the clinical sector or others; so we always say that we are the only specialists and the only creators of the techniques. Anyway, answering your question, what I would say to a potential customer is what we say in the slogan of our advertising campaign of this year: “Analyse our products closely and you will see the difference. TDI satisfies your needs”.
Your company has a new subsidiary in France. What is the evaluation and the rate of penetration of TDI in the international market?
Yes, in 2012 we created TDIF, our subsidiary in France. Its activity is mainly focused on the development of the infrared for Oenology. TDIF is also the center of exports of TDI. Together with TDI, they are already exporting to countries like Portugal, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Romania, Hungary, Moldova and Russia among others. We are also starting to receive requests of distribution from points outside Europe as Australia, America and South Africa.
TDI participated in the last edition of Enomaq 2013. How would you value your passage through the exhibition?
Indeed, we have been in Enomaq 2013. Due to the crisis we were afraid that many people don’t attend it and we are pleasantly surprised by the number of visitors to the event. We had invested a lot of both economic and physical efforts. Now it’s time to get return from the many contacts made at the fair.
Which new products did you introduce? Describe them, please.
At the stand we presented all the analysers range, both chemical and infrared ones, as well as titrators and distillers. We introduced two new products: the new Miura and Bacchus 3.
The Miura has considerable improvements compared to the previous models such as, among others, the rotary dispensing system, automatic washing of reaction and reading cuvettes, a great quality photometer and also its volumetric analysis system has been improved. Thus we have achieved an analyser with an excellent value for money, and we can offer, once more, to customers cost savings in reagent consumption.
With Bacchus 3 we have achieved to reduce the costs of maintenance and repair, its operation is easier and its purchase price is more competitive and all this without losing any of the technical qualities of its predecessor, the Bacchus II, that was already considered the most reliable and technologically advanced in the market.