2014 is an important year for P.E. Labellers: 40 years of activity was in fact completed in the month of April. The company from Mantua, specialising in the production of linear and rotary labelling machines, with a total staff of about 400 today, including approximately 280 in Italy, has managed to stay healthy and grow continuously thanks to the entrepreneurial and farsighted vision of its 
founder, Bruno Negri, who since 1974, at the time working at a labelling company, decided to test himself by creating a company of his own. As an attentive listener and good interpreter of market needs, he managed over the years to establish and differentiate himself from competitors, refining and expanding gradually, in terms of number and quantity, the technologies proposed to the market.
P.E. LABELLERS today enjoys the benefits resulting from a strong and resolute policy of consolidation, aimed at obtaining expertise on all production phases. Already in the mid-eighties, P.E. Labellers aimed at not just being an assembler of labelling machines, but also at completing the supply chain, from the raw material to the finished machine, creating – in the province of Mantua – related production units: the lathe for producing pieces, the base carpentry and a plant for the various equipment. Subsequently specialised plants for different labelling types were also started: one for linear self-adhesive machines (Packlab), one for labelling machines with low and medium speed, another for roll-fed labelling machines and Adhesleeve Technology and finally a plant for the production of high-speed labelling machines which are technologically more complex.
“Choose the specialist”, the pay-off adopted in recent years, identifies the company at the height of its potential. The message is clear: choose the specialist.
Over the past 15 years, the company has expanded its boundaries, developing branches and activities abroad. Currently P.E. Labellers can count on a manufacturing plant in Cincinnati (USA) covering 3,500 square metres and one in San Paulo covering 1500 square metres. Sales offices dedicated to sales and service are instead active in France, Scotland and China, and an additional production plant is in the process of being opened in Algeria, from which the Maghreb market will be served.
P.E. Labellers wants to establish itself in the international market as a global supplier acting at a local level. The achieved goal is the standardisation of group procedures at the design, production and management level through ERP “SAP”. The information structure is installed in a centralised data centre at the headquarters in Mantua with an external “disaster recovery” system.
Below is a brief interview with Bruno Negri, who talks about his experience in the first 40 years of activity.
– What is behind the success of P.E. LABELLERS?
Today, it is essential to offer quality and speed without the need for excessive maintenance and to be able to solve the customer problems in a very short time: the services and quality offered make a company great.
Our research and development department, consisting of 10 engineers, works for the whole group and has the task of constantly analysing the latest news and technological developments to invest in, according to market demands and trends. The real strength is being able to anticipate market demands, proposing certain solutions before others.
A company that grows and does not intend to stop or slow down the path to success, must be equipped to give more and more and respond promptly to any difficulty: to broaden its client portfolio, it is necessary to fight against the competition by offering, in addition to advanced technology, a number of better services. Up to twenty years ago it was enough to offer a great product, today we need to be more competitive even with regard to services offered, customer care and ongoing support.
– How did the company’s expansion abroad happen more specifically? Which were the first markets faced by P.E. LABELLERS?
In 1978 we participated in the first trade fair in France, after that we took part in international fairs and we opened up to the foreign market. The fairs allow you to develop new contacts and explore new countries and potential partners. The choice of a country for setting up a new production facility is not random. There are clearly defined parameters to evaluate, such as the specific needs of the market and logistics capabilities. Over the years, the possibility of establishing new branches in France, USA, Brazil was proposed and, after a careful study of the local market in China and Maghreb, we did not hold back.
Already in the eighties the ratio between the domestic and foreign market was 50:50. Today the group annually produces about 400 labelling machines: less than 5% are in the Italian market and the remainder is used abroad.
– How do you get to list big names like Coca Cola, G.H. MUMM, Henkel… among your clients?
We offer machines of the highest quality, safe and practical for operators. What we try to bring to the market is something more technologically advanced than other products, it is necessary to continually present oneself in an effective manner.
It is important to build a good reputation by offering products at the right quality/price ratio but there is more: clients should be assisted and a series of essential guarantees for the success of economic relationships need to be offered.
From Italy we manage the sales force around the world. From here, Managers go to support the commercial facilities in other countries, especially in cases where innovative technologies or particularly complex machines need to be presented.
– What is the average life of your equipment and how is the problem of maintenance and customer service managed?
Our labelling machines have an average life ranging from 15 to 25 years. We have always aimed at, and the market has acknowledged this, the elimination or drastic reduction in maintenance. The worn parts are replaced during scheduled maintenance but to resolve potential electronic breakdown easily, we equipped all the machines with a remote assistance device. In essence, from the offices of our Italian headquarters, we can check online the machines installed in any part of the world, to assess the problem and resolve it in the vast majority of cases remotely, without the need for an on-site technician.
– What is the secret, according to you and your past, to maintaining a healthy company?
In addition to offering a catalogue of quality products at prices as centred as possible, it is necessary to be innovative, to believe in what you do, be prepared to take risks, it is important to always believe. I like challenges and I like to study the world market. We must be able to identify the countries that offer the greatest potential and approach them at the right time, as was the case with Brazil. P.E. Labellers now holds the most comprehensive range of labelling machines in the country: our current goal is to become a leader in the Brazilian market with P.E. Latina, it is necessary to invest time and resources, but we will do everything to make it happen.
– How important is it to participate in industry events around the world? What type of commitment is involved in organising one or more trade fairs each month?
Trade fairs are important because they are a window to the market and give the company a way to establish its presence. Organising participation in industry events is very challenging, especially because we often decide to bring more than one machine to give a broader overview of our work. In 2013 P.E. Labellers joined a company called “network”, in partnership with IPACK IMA, to bring the made-in-Italy brand to the world and introduce itself to various emerging markets, presenting itself with a consortium of seven non-competing companies belonging to the world of packaging, to offer complementary products and services.
The “network” allows a company to participate in trade fairs in which it would have never participated alone, as they are very expensive and the organisational commitment required would be disproportionate. This formula has proved to be successful because as they say “there is strength in unity”.
– In conclusion, three adjectives that define a successful entrepreneur.
I do not consider myself to be successful! We must always strive, only by putting a lot of effort, you can get a lot of satisfaction: it is necessary to run continuously, to achieve goals that always move forward.
