We wanted to get feedback from Santos on how the LONGTIME® approach works.
Here is the testimony of Sébastien Goupil, Quality Manager at Santos.
Could you define the business and the purpose of the company?
Since 1954, Santos has been manufacturing 100% French electrical appliances, robust and durable, for professionals in the bar, restaurant and snacking industry. This demanding clientele has always needed reliable, high-performance tools to withstand the complexity of the service in commercial catering. This is why, right from the design stage of our products, our teams make no compromises on quality. Whether it is a citrus juicer, a blender or a juice extractor, our requirement remains the same: to provide a reliable tool, designed to last for decades.
Why did you decide to join the LONGTIME® labeling process? What benefits do you expect from it?
The LONGTIME® label is perfectly in line with our company’s philosophy, which makes a point of fighting against planned obsolescence. In fact, all Santos appliances are easily repairable and have been since their creation. A Santos appliance, whatever it is, can always be reconditioned.
Nowadays, the Santos brand is established in over 130 countries and putting the LONGTIME® logo on our appliances would help us promote their quality and durability worldwide. We therefore hope to contribute to make this label a successful initiative, on an international level. More than ever, our users need to be reassured and we are convinced that the LONGTIME® approach will quickly become a standard.
The Santos brand is established in over 130 countries and putting the LONGTIME® logo on our appliances would help us promote their quality and durability worldwide.
How is this approach perceived within your company?
This approach is part of Santos’ DNA. All the employees feel involved, especially the workshop. Indeed, our teams assemble devices daily toward a single goal: zero defects over the device’s lifetime. This approach also allows us to validate the technical consultants’ design, which is key to these robust products. This label gives an additional argument to our sales team to promote our devices to customers.
How much time did you spend on the labeling process? Would you say that this is a rather reasonable amount of time or rather excessive for you company?
The pre-audit required a few days of work to analyze and check that we met all the specifications’ criteria (which include more than 40!). Assuming that the devices are designed with a sustainable vision (lifespan of several decades), the time to obtain the label is very reasonable for this type of approach and on the scale of our products.
Do you think that the LONGTIME® label was rather simple or complex in terms of administrative management?
The administrative management was rather simple. Most of the information requested was already available internally and only needed to be re-formatted and summarized.
Did the final audit raise any concerns or questions about the protection of your industriel secrets?
We are audited more than ten times a year for other certifications (GS, UL, NSF…). We are therefore used to being questioned about our manufacturing process. Questions about the design of our devices were less common, but they did not worry us. We know that third party certification bodies are used to data confidentiality. Working with a third party organization is even a guarantee of security!
Working with a third party certification bodies is even a guarantee of security!
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This independent label really deserves to be known and we hope that it will develop quickly among the general public, on a European or even international scale!
