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As one of the largest candle manufacturers in Europe, Spaas Candles needed a new IT infrastructure and a partner who could support them in the process. IT manager Esther and all-round IT engineer Nick tell how Syntory helped them.
“As IT manager and all-round IT engineer, we were faced with the challenge of renewing our IT infrastructure, while keeping our focus on other important tasks. It was essential for us to find a reliable IT partner who could support us throughout this process,” said Nick.
“As a result of our long-standing partnership with Expertum, our ERP supplier, we chose to consult them when faced with the impact of this major change on our ERP system” Nick further explains. “Expertum then connected us with Syntory. A very important advantage of this collaboration is that the relationship between Expertum and Syntory is also very smooth”.
“Syntory positively surprised us from the start with their thorough analysis of our situation at Spaas and our expectations,” says Esther. “What stood out during this analysis was their willingness to look beyond the scope of the initial project. They really listened to our needs and identified opportunities that could be valuable for Spaas, even if they were not directly part of the project. So they really went a step further and thought about how they could add value to our business. On that level, they exceeded our expectations.”
What Esther particularly noticed is how Syntory supported Spaas well from the beginning of the project, from drawing out the new architecture to thinking about effective support and management of the new environment. “They meticulously guided every step of the project, with thorough project management, short lines of communication and a pragmatic approach,” Esther continues. “Syntory’s support has given us confidence that we are working with a reliable partner. As a result, they have also been assigned to several side projects, which they have completed with their well-known accuracy.”
“An example of the side projects, which we have entrusted to Syntory, is the migration of workloads from two virtual machines to two physical ones,” Nick clarifies. “Moreover, we decided to also directly install a physical server in Poland to perform support tasks and ensure efficient and smooth communication between our two sites.”
To support the environment 24/7, Spaas signed a managed operations model with Syntory. “To ensure that our internal IT team was optimally relieved, the management tasks of the environment were carefully divided between our internal team and the Syntory team. As Spaas, we had the freedom to divide tasks ourselves. This allowed us to decide which tasks we wanted to continue performing internally and which we preferred to delegate to Syntory,” Esther reveals. “The managed operations agreement was adapted to our preferences, and up to now we are very satisfied with this partnership, in which Syntory responds proactively, appropriately and professionally to our needs.”
“Syntory is a partner we can recommend without hesitation,” Nick stresses. “Its ability to identify our company’s needs and match them optimally with its products and services is impressive. What struck us most about their cooperation is their no-nonsense approach, efficient lines of communication, thorough project follow-up and the outstanding quality and expertise of their staff. They have proven to be a reliable partner fully committed to the success of our project.”
Spaas experienced a nice growth within the IT department in recent years: from 1 to 3 employees. Esther underlines the importance of good support from an external party: “We found this cooperation. With Syntory at our side, we can look to the future with confidence and peace of mind. We look forward to further cooperation opportunities and we are convinced that Syntory will continue to support us with excellent service and expertise!”.
Spaas is a family-owned company that has been in the candle business since 1853. With Ben Spaas as CEO and his sister Sarah as sales manager (the 5th generation after being founded by Hendrik Jan Spaas), the company has a strong leadership tradition. Over the years, Spaas has grown into one of the largest candle manufacturers in Europe, with own brands and private label products. With around 340 employees across two locations and annual sales of 1.7 billion candles, Spaas has gained an impressive position in the market.
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