Now coming to a close, 2024 was an all-star year for us at Lotus.
A year full of great developments, many exciting projects, fruitful participation in international trade fairs and launches of evolved products ready to become major players in the restaurant industry. And that's not all: we have made crucial structural investments to allow our company to continue to grow on the eve of a very special anniversary for us, Lotus's 40th anniversary!
Let's trace our steps to recall the highlights of 2024.
The year opened with fireworks with the activation of the new fast support service via WhatsApp reserved for the entire corporate sales network. A valuable and rapid digital support tool created to solve the need to respond to the requests we receive every day from distributors, importers, maintenance technicians and the entire sales network as quickly as possible and with the utmost effectiveness.
In March, our participation in Alimentaria at the internal Hostelco opened the season of trade fairs, which are always an extraordinary opportunity for us to express ourselves and compare notes in stimulating international settings. Among the many events, our participation at Guext in Madrid and FHA-HoReCa in Singapore both deserve mention as events that offer an important showcase and an unmissable opportunity to meet colleagues and buyers interested in our kitchens. The excellent exhibition year ended at Gulfhost in Dubai and FIHAV in Havana, two strategic events in two areas undergoing strong development in terms of tourist hospitality and catering. Presenting our workhorses at these two shows, we let our calling for innovation and developing outstanding products shine.
Speaking of innovative products for modern catering, we'd like to remind everyone of the launch of TOUCHFRYLOTUSGAS, our new zero-emission professional fryer. A high-tech solution that combines advanced performance, low environmental impact and energy savings, encouraging the optimisation and simplification of work in the kitchen while respecting ethical and responsible choices.
Not just excellent products: prestigious projects also made 2024 splendour! In this regard, we'd like to note the challenge we conquered in record time, teaming up with other craftsmen to get one of the kitchens of Villa Malliana in Almenno San Bartolomeo (BG) up and running with the start of the wedding catering season. The kitchen set-up was part of a larger project to restore the only noble 18th-century residence in the area, reimagined as a prestigious location for receptions and corporate dinners. A very special occasion that allowed us to stand out for the meticulous care of our work, from design to implementation.
We ended the year on a high note with the important birthday gift we gave ourselves for Lotus's 40th anniversary and which will give a special impetus to the approaching 2025: the new vertical warehouse. Compact, fully automated, and designed in line with the most advanced internal logistics processes, it will enable us to significantly boost our production capacity, thus marking an important change of pace for the company.
We look forward to seeing you in 2025 to tell you more exciting news in celebration of our 40th!