Providing the best service anytime anywhere
Glance down the paddock at a European grand prix and you will notice the meticulously lined and gleaming team motorhomes. Sitting amongst them also stands the Bridgestone Motorhome - perhaps not as large as some of its neighbours but perfectly formed and quietly awaiting business. There is no doubt that motorhomes have come a long way since the days when they were solely required to provide a dining place for the on track staff from early in the morning till late at night and although they still serve this purpose they have since evolved as social gathering places for the large numbers of guests and paddock personnel who visit the circuit. While a delicious meal, prepared by a first-class chef, is offered at noon and enjoyed with great relish by invited guests, behind the scenes catering staff are busy ensuring the catering operations run smoothly. The man behind Bridgestone’s culinary operation is Karlheinz Zimmermann, and he joins us for the latest in Mr. Yasukawa’s website features in conjunction with F1 journalist Kunihiko Akai.
.jpg)
Zimmermann has been providing catering services in the F1 arena since 1988 and besides Bridgestone he currently also takes responsibility for providing catering to FOM (Formula One Management), the home of Mr. Bernie Ecclestone. With F1, the pinnacle of the world’s motorsport, requiring only the best, Bridgestonemotorsport.com finds out how he carries out these services.
Kunihiko Akai(KA): How did you come to be providing catering services at Bridgestone’s motorhome?
Karlheinz Zimmermann(KZ): I didn’t actually know about Bridgestone before they started participating in F1. All the tyre companies I knew of then were Michelin and Dunlop, and I think only few of my friends knew about Bridgestone. But it has been a different story since they started participating in F1. Their image has improved significantly and now they are recognized as a company that produces high quality products. When Mr. Yasukawa asked me to provide catering services I of course accepted. I believe he came to us as Bridgestone required a premium, high-quality style that matched the image of Bridgestone’s products.
Hiroshi Yasukawa (HY): I knew Karlheinz operated well from visiting Mr. Ecclestone’s motorhome over the years. His working style was very nice and conscientious and so I asked if he was interested in working for us from 2006.
KA: When did you start providing catering services at race circuits?
KZ: I started providing services for motorhomes at race circuit in 1988. First I worked for Camel, which was a sponsor of Lotus, and then I worked for Rothmans. As I had a lot of experience in this job, I had already learned the procedures well enough. After signing a contract with Bridgestone, I devoted all my energy from the first day. Though I was a little bit nervous at first as I had never worked for a Japanese company till then, I found I did not have to worry at all because many of them, including Mr. Yasukawa, knew about European lifestyle and cultures very well. As you know, F1 culture originated in Europe, and many European people come together here. So while services and meals need to be fit to European taste, I try to welcome guests with the same respectful but hearty hospitality that originates from Japan. I myself like sushi and want to make a sushi counter but not every one likes the idea (laugh)!
KA: What do you do in the winter time when no F1 races are held?
KZ: I own a restaurant in a small Austrian village called Lech. My whole family lives there as my older brother runs a fair-sized hotel, and I run the restaurant in winter which I close in the summer time to devote myself to the job at F1 tracks. I carry out different working styles for winter and summer as working on both of them at the same time in different locations do not work well for me.
KA: What made you start providing catering services to the F1 arena?
KZ: In the beginning of the 1980s, F1 World Champions such as Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter and James Hunt stayed in Lech and dined at my restaurant. They asked me to serve meals in F1 so I visited the race tracks to meet them as one of their friends. A turning point came in 1987 at the Italian Grand Prix when I dined in the motorhome of Lotus, a team which Ayrton Senna and Duncan Lee of Camel had once belonged to. I brought a dish cooked by myself to the motorhome, which Lotus liked very much and I was asked to provide catering services. That was how I started. Mr. Satoru Nakajima also was a Lotus member then.
KA: The F1 paddock is a special place. Would you agree that although it is a place of pleasant chat, there is also much lobbying and business taking place?
KZ: F1 paddock life is quite large in its scale. F1 is where big businesses meet, and every thing is decided in the paddock. Most of the communications and contracts are made in the paddock, often in Bridgestone’s motorhome as it is a neutral location. Therefore people from various companies and groups come to our motorhome and converse on a wide variety of topics.
KA: How do you view the F1 paddock, Mr. Yasukawa?
HY: As Karlheinz says the F1 paddock is an important place for communication, and it provides a very good atmosphere. There are few places for business where people can speak in friendly tones and candidly without wearing business suits. Our motorhome has been available for use as a good business arena because Mr. Zimmermann operates it very well. I am grateful to him for that.
KA: What have you observed about Bridgestone while working in the motorhome?
KZ: There is one thing I am disappointed about in relation to Bridgestone’s motorhome - smoking is prohibited. Of course, I am only joking (laughs)! On a serious note however, it does reflect Bridgestone’s values. Their motorhome is a place where many people come and go, and as an environment-friendly company, prohibiting smoking is a natural measure. Bridgestone has been working on various environmental and safety issues for a long time, and carries out campaigns such as “MAKE CARS GREEN” and “Think Before You Drive”. In addition they carry out campaigns globally including in Europe, Brazil and the U.S.A., which I think is wonderful.
KA: Do you think Bridgestone is able to carry out these activities because its brand awareness has been improved through F1?
KZ: I do believe the Bridgestone name is recognized all over the world now. This status has been largely achieved through their F1 activities. We can see Bridgestone logos on every F1 car and on sign boards at the race tracks. If there is someone who does not know about Bridgestone, he may ask the person next to him what company it is and he will most likely provide the correct answer. The situation is quite similar to when Parmalat, a dairy product company, came to F1 in the 1980's. Brabham’s car was owned by Mr. Ecclestone and they carried the Parmalat logo. The company name was little known in those days. However, the car carrying the logo was very fast and caught the eyes of many people who subsequently tried to find out what Parmalat was by asking the people around them. What is Parmalat? Is it a company of dairy products? Then they noticed the signboards when they walked around the towns and found the products lined up in many stores. Thus their awareness and sales were increased. That is the same for Bridgestone. Bridgestone has become known in Europe through F1. Before Bridgestone started participating in F1, all the tyre company names we could mention were Michelin, Goodyear, Firestone, and Dunlop…but now we all know Bridgestone is the world’s largest tyre company,
KA: Mr. Yasukawa, what do you think of what Mr. Zimmermann has just said?
HY: We have been trying very hard for a long period of time and successfully improved our technology to meet world-class demands. I am sure F1 is the best tool to make the public widely recognize us as a company which can provide excellent technology. F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport, and people working in the F1 world understand that Bridgestone’s technology is splendid. F1 is a sport widely accepted around the world, and it is aired on TV in 188 countries. As many as 600 million people watch the races, and there is a very big impact when the Bridgestone name catches their attention. When we started our F1 activities we did not intend to end up as the only tyre supplier, so we brought in many related marketing tools such as on-track signboards, a motorhome, use of paddock club hospitality etc. Our marketing department and sales companies were able to work to improve our brand image by utilizing these tools. This synergy was very important. I still believe supplying tyres is not enough, no matter how good our tyres are, to obtain and ensure the maximum business return from F1.
KA: Could you tell me what kind of people visit Bridgestone’s motorhome?
KZ: Bridgestone’s motorhome is unique and we have a wide range of guests and visitors, from lawyers to sponsors and politicians. I am very happy to welcome them to Bridgestone’s motorhome, as it indicates they are comfortable in our professionally run but welcoming environment. This can only help to improve the image of Bridgestone. They can talk about business or just come to enjoy good food. Mr. Yasukawa always reminds us to be courteous in the Bridgestone motorhome and to give our guests a hearty welcome at any time.
KA: Have you learned a lot from running your brother’s hotel and your own restaurant and how did that help you in relation to working in F1?
KZ: I‘ve learned many things from the hotel business. My policy of operating a motorhome is very clear. Make it simple, clean, correct and provide good services. Therefore I demand many things from our staff. They are required to be eager to learn from everything as well as to be multi-lingual in order to work for a diverse range of guests from all over the world. For example, our chefs represent exactly what they should be after many years of hard work. They know what dish to serve and when to serve it. It applies to owners of Japanese high-grade restaurants too, I believe. These skills were obtained from my many years of working in my restaurant and in the F1 arena.
KA: How does your service system work?
KZ: Well, at the Singapore Grand Prix for example, we provided three chefs and two caterers as there was no motorhome. For the European races there would normally be more staff to cater for, including truck drivers as the motorhomes travel to all European tracks. It is a work of some scale. Some of the chefs come from my restaurant. As I know their capabilities and skills very well I can entrust every job to them. Our staff are carefully selected to retain our quality of service.
KA: That said, Mr Yasukawa, I believe it is quite hard to travel around the world.
HY: F1 races are carried out all around the world. The climates and the environments are different but we must constantly provide the same service. Although this is a difficult task Karlheinz puts them together well and he is perfect in every detail. If, for example, we have several neatly polished wineglasses, Karlheinz understands that everything would be ruined if just one tiny fingerprint existed on one of them. It’s the smallest details that can ruin everything and this applies to as much to wineglasses as it does to tyre production and servicing. We required 100 per cents, and our service must be perfect at all times. That’s what I believe.
KA: It is a demanding and challenging world.
KZ: That's right. In addition, I must get everything ready in time no matter how busy I am. Say, if I was to travel to Japan from Singapore but I do not have enough time. Then I would do my utmost to have my staff in Austria fly to Japan immediately to provide the necessary services. Belgium, for example, was 1700km in distance from Valencia but still I had to carry out my tasks. Therefore we put away everything in the motorhome in Valencia on Sunday night, four drivers drove the vehicles in turn all the way to Belgium, and they finished setting up by Wednesday noon. That is the scale of the tasks we undertake. We do not report to Mr. Yasukawa in every detail so long as he knows he can rely on us. HY: It is important for each assigned group to have mutual trust and to respect each other in the F1 business world. There is no need for me to interfere in the details.
KA: So you have built up a very good relationship?
KZ: Yes. Bridgestone clearly knows what they want, and all I have to do is to get everything ready. That is how we get along well. We do not interfere with each other. We obtain fresh food in the country where races take place and serve guests. Once, we were even honored to have the Sovereign Prince of Monaco and the Prince of Bahrain as our guests at the motorhome. Bridgestone’s motorhome is a neutral location and therefore a variety of people are comfortable there, which I enjoy very much. Actually, I would keep performing this task just because it is so enjoyable.