Strong of values that have always identified it Universal Pack has tried to turn these new problems into chances for growth. Here is how it was.
How did you face the problem of distance with customers considering the important export share (almost 90 %) of your business? We have always been a pioneering company in terms of technology and digitalization.
The pandemic has represented the chance to boost further and make all those less adopted procedures standard: with this we mainly refer to remote FAT protocols, remote machinery installation and technical training.
We did not have to create new channels or provide new technology, but to expand the existing tools and procedures that were used in case of impossibility of meeting our customers at first hand.
We offer assistance packages with augmented reality and e-commerce for purchasing spare parts.
We also provide monitoring plant performance by means of 4.0 and subsequent optimization of the productivity through proprietary algorithms as for machine learning and predictive maintenance.
We are in a very complex field, technically speaking, how is it possible to manage communication with customers effectively in this time?
The communication with customers is the most important part of the whole process: the final solution effectiveness and completion time depend on the quality of it.
We are equipped with specific tools for each phase of the negotiation and after sales. For instance, design reviews take place remotely on a “twin” machine of the one that the customer will receive.
Moreover, we boast a factory laboratory (built in over 30 years of investments) for scientific analysis of products and film laminates.
There are also some stock machines, a white room for simulating specific environmental conditions and equipment for testing and simulating the conditions at the customers’ premises. Besides that, we produce more than 80% of machine components in-house.
Over the years we have been able to develop a very efficient ecosystem in terms of flexibility and responsiveness.
Has the market changed this year?
There have been some changes on the market: this year requests have increased on products such as hand sanitizer, swabs, food single dose products like grated cheese and olive oil. The rise was due to the new global hygienic standards.
However, the level of requests is generally aligned with the latest years trend. Notwithstanding the peculiarities of 2020, we have kept up with
the financial report forecast, confirming the annual growth in terms of turnover, new customers and number of workers.
With regard to sustainability, do you think that this year has been positive?
Absolutely. Besides the pandemic issue (that indirectly brought benefits to the environment in term of emissions) we have made great progress in terms of machines carbon footprint reduction and packaging with recycled and recyclable film laminates, thanks to collaboration with suppliers and research institutes.
The company
Universal Pack is an international reference in the field of packaging. The company has over 50 years of experience in designing and building vertical machines and complete automatic lines for packaging single dose products for the food, pharma, chemical and cosmetic industry.
It is present in over 150 countries and has installed more than 8000 systems. It offers cutting-edge solutions for any type of package: stickpacks, sachets sealed on all four sides, shaped packs and cartons. Currently, the main targets for innovation focus on packaging with recycled and/or recyclable materials, integration of machines in 4.0 environments, energy consumption optimization and environmental sustainability.
www.universalpack.it
