The Drake Blog

Recently, we sat down with Sergio Saez to discuss his thoughts on the state of the protein industry. Sergio is a great person to talk with as he has worked in the food industry for over fifteen years and has managed Drake’s international sales for almost two years.

Drake: “Thank you for making time to talk to us, Sergio. Congratulations on your recent promotion to Vice President of Sales.”

Sergio: “Muchas gracias. This is a great honor, and I am pleased to now be in charge of all Drake’s sales and customer service efforts. I am very much looking forward to this new challenge.”

Drake: “You’re a great person for the position. You have over fifteen years of sales experience in the food industry, but you also have a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering. How did that all happen?”

Sergio: “I began my career in Argentina, where I completed my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Telecommunications & Automation Engineering. Since that time, I have always worked in sales. A few years out of university, I was working in biomedical sales and decided to return to school to receive my master’s degree in biomedical engineering. After graduation, the first job I found was in sales for a manufacturer in the food industry. I had planned to return to biomedical sales after completing my master’s degree in biomedical engineering, but I liked working in the food industry, and more than fifteen years later I’m still here. The food industry has given me all the tools I need to be successful in my sales career.”

Drake: “That’s great to hear. So, what is your favorite part of working in the food industry and what has been your biggest challenge in your first two years at Drake?”

Sergio: “I really like how the food industry is large, but at the same time rather small, and I love getting to know so many great people.

The biggest challenge I have encountered at Drake has been keeping our many international customers aware of our ever-expanding automation portfolio. Drake is constantly pushing the limits of what processes can be automated. We now have so many product offerings that it’s a challenge to make sure our customers learn about all our new offerings. However, since each new product means a new way to help our customers, it’s a great problem to have.”

Drake: “We wholeheartedly agree. So, where do you see the food industry heading in the next five to ten years?”

Sergio: “As older workers retire, we are seeing a lot of younger workers join our industry who grew up with computers and technology. They’re used to things being automated and happening easily with a click of a button. Well, many of these younger workers are surprised that there are so many processes in our industry that are still being done manually. So, they are really driving the push for automation because they are very comfortable with it.

Interestingly, they’re not just wanting to automate processes, they want automation with a very high level of performance. This is great, in part because of how well Drake’s machines work, but also because of the development of food grade delta robots from manufacturers like FANUC. These stainless-steel robots deliver high performance and are designed for the unique needs of the food industry.

Finally, I would be remiss to not mention the labor shortages that our customers are experiencing, not just domestically, but internationally as well. In the past, the primary reason our customers wanted to automate was to save money. With the labor shortages that so many customers are experiencing, their focus has shifted to needing automation to keep their production lines from shutting down due to a lack of workers. This has been a big change and I suspect it will continue for the foreseeable future. With the great machines that Drake manufactures, we are well positioned to meet their needs, both now and in the future.”

Drake – Your Partner in Automating the Food Industry