SIG Combibloc reduces internal bottlenecks and maintains profitability

Sao Paulo-the packaging manufacturer of German-Swiss origin SIG Combibloc concentrated efforts to reduce logistical bottlenecks and maintain the profitability of brazilian operation.
The company''s President for the Americas, Ricardo Rodriguez, says that to maintain the momentum of growth in the country the company was forced to cut costs, while increased productivity to cope with the economic downturn.
"A challenging context does not bring challenges only to the client and we are doing a series of optimizations, with consulting firms working to improve our processes and waste logistics, with a focus on our productivity," said the Executive at the INN.
Negotiation with suppliers of raw materials is another strategy that has been exploited by the manufacturer of aseptic carton pack, says Rodriguez. "The purchase of plastics, to cite one example, is named for the price of the commodity in dollars, so the impact our costs," he said.
The Executive also highlighted that two of the main inputs used by SIG are marketed by few companies in the region. "We have a single strategic supplier for our packaging in Brazil and, in the case of polyethylene, Braskem is also the only supplier in the country".
With an industrial unit installed in Brazil from 2011, the company is already in its fifth expansion of production capacity in the country. The Executive says that in recent years the growth of the company accompanied the progress of the local market, even to a lesser rate, continued registering high. But since 2015 gains were more shy, reflecting a weak consumer market. The acquisition of new customers is another factor that comes helping to increase the results of SIG Combibloc, that fight directly with Tetra Pak.
"With the entry of our fifth enlargement, we will have the ability to reach 4.5 billion packs per year, enough to sustain sales growth for the next three years at least," explained the President of the company. For him, although in the short term concern about Brazil''s macroeconomic situation, including the level of unemployment, is present in the evaluations of the GIS, the Group expects a low level of unemployment or downtrend, controlled inflation and balanced exchange rate over the next few years.
"When a company like ours makes an investment in a country, the concern is more focused on the long term, because a factory so it will not be out of place. And we hope that Brazil go solve these issues and macroeconomic growth will return, "he stressed. The strategic planning of the SIG, according to the Executive, is always based in the next five years.
Demand
Rodriguez reveliu that in addition to get more productivity from SIG factory in Campo Largo (PR), the company is also investing in the provision of products and services that offer reduced costs in the beverage filling lines of customers. "We focus increasingly on the development of projects within the factory, so we can install machines with more and more flexibility to the operation," he added he.
The demand for new equipment allowing the filling of different types of beverages and packaging are in growing trajectory, reveals the President of SGI, with customers sought alternatives to make maximum use of the line without raising costs.
The market requirements for certified and sustainable packaging is another niche that the company wants to exploit. Today, 75% of the weight of the packaging manufactured by company is composed of certified paper, which has been gaining strength in negotiations of new contracts. "Without doubt we are also growing well because we have a competitive pricing and we are encouraging customers to seek increase in the volume of orders, to achieve more economies of scale and have even more attractive prices," added the Executive.