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Torrens, more than a family

Torrens, more than a family

José and Francisco Torrens

Since its humble beginnings in 1921, Grupo Torrens has been synonymous with excellence and being at the forefront of the hospitality, restaurant, and construction industry. Under new management by José and Javier Torrens, the company has succeeded in maintaining its commitment to quality and innovation, and has also expanded its horizons beyond Spain’s borders, making an enduring mark on the global market, especially the tourism industry. During a history lasting more than a hundred years, Torrens has become much more than a company: it is a family dedicated to exceeding its clients’ expectations through constant modernisation and an unbeatable service.

 

You represent the third generation of the company. What has the transition been like since your father passed the baton down to you?
35 years ago, we only sold what we made. And we didn’t sell directly to the client. We sold through distributors who came, ordered furniture, stainless steel projects, extraction hoods... The time came when we realised that the margins were too small and we wanted to make the leap to selling to the end user. We had to modernise because, back then, we didn’t know anything about machinery, we didn’t have a technical service, engineers, design draughtsmen... We had lots of workshop and manufacturing experience... But not installation experience. It was really tough at the beginning because it was a new field. We started to do installations locally, in Mallorca, then we did work outside of the island and began to work directly for the Canaries. That was our first big step forwards. Then we also started to take charge of post-sales, then we did hotels on the mainland... And next, we got the chance to go to the Caribbean. We went to the Dominican Republic, and Cancun. First with Riu Hotels, and later we decided to set up our own branch office there to win more clients, both there and over here. Later on, we did the same thing in the Canary Islands: we set up a branch office with a technical service, assembly, installation...

Self service designed by Torrent

 

You’re the third generation... But there is now a fourth ‒ your children ‒ who are coming up behind you...
Yes, we’ve got Marina, Pepe, Neus, and Guiem behind us. Some are focused on the technical side and others on business administration. They are finishing their studies now and some have already started working for other companies. We think they should all work outside of our company for at least five or six years, even if that’s in companies in other sectors. Everything is progressing really fast and we need them to learn, to come back with new ideas and to contribute other management techniques. We want them to teach us lots of things, because if it’s just us teaching them, we won’t advance very far.

What was the most important thing your father taught you? What is his legacy?
He placed a lot of emphasis on the customer service side, and also the financial side, so that the numbers always worked out. Also, the concepts of hard work and sacrifice. Because nothing in life comes for free. We're here at seven thirty in the morning every day, that’s our philosophy: hard work and constancy. Another important thing is that our father left us a very healthy company...

Bar designed by Torrens, Mallorca

 

Where is the future of kitchen design, production and installation headed?
We believe customer service is the most important factor in this sector. However perfectly you do an installation, if there isn’t a good service afterwards and you make sacrifices, you don’t have a future. The client requires an urgent response, things always break on weekends: you have to have technicians on duty who are ready to travel...

However perfectly you do an installation, if there isn’t a good service afterwards and you make sacrifices, you don’t have a future in this sector

What is your sector’s Achilles heel?
The staff situation is getting more complicated. We’re lucky and think we have a really great team. Now, for example, we have installations in progress in places like Mauritius and Jamaica. We always send our works manager from here to these types of places, and the rest of the staff come from each branch office. We provide post-sales services and everything else from there too... But finding people who are prepared to travel to these places for one or two months is the hardest part. Because there are lots of great people, but people who are good at their jobs aren’t always prepared to travel.

Torrens Offices, Mallorca

 

What are the main challenges to the sector?
The machinery issue... Machines are increasingly expensive... And the price of raw materials also fluctuates, you can be at risk of running out of materials and sometimes have to pay a really high price.

What are your plans for the future? Will you open more branches?
Yes, we’re going to open another branch office on the mainland, in Malaga. We’re already set up a sales branch there and are going to focus more on the hotel sector for the time being. Because there’s a huge market in Malaga, lots of building work, refurbishment... We think we’re more than capable of covering the whole Costa del Sol area. It never stops... It’s a wheel that keeps on turning.

What do you think is the main reason your clients choose you?
They choose us because of the quality and service that we offer. We attract clients who prioritise quality over everything else.

Torrens Factory, Mallorca

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