At the heart of the lines

In order to ensure maximum integration and traceability, Nimax offers its services to the market as a sole supplier, strengthening its regional presence and growing in competencies with two new divisions: “Labelling” and “Control & Safety”. At Pharmintech we met with marketing manager Stefano Paolucci and sales director for Italy Andrea Noera, who spoke on behalf of a successful business that has managed to invest in an intelligent project with far-reaching implications.

«Nimax ended 2015 with results well beyond even the rosiest predictions, both in terms of the growth of our core business (direct product coding and marking systems, Editor’s note) and thanks to the strong performance of the new Control & Safety division, launched in January 2015 and operational in just three months. In fact, we acquired the technology used for these systems by becoming exclusive distributors of the English Loma Lock brand: Loma, with a long history in quality control of food products, has incorporated Lock, a specialist in the use of metal detectors in the pharmaceutical sector».
And Nimax has worked so well that, despite the few months of activity, at the end of the year Loma awarded it as the best European distributor.
«This outcome is the result of competencies consolidated over time, of a knowledge of the market and of an efficient technical assistance and sales network which we have developed over the years».
Paolucci’s direct and convinced words are contrasted by those of the more reserved Noera, who explained the reasons behind the minor revolution at Nimax: «We start from a basic fact: Nimax has always been on the cutting edge in the coding and marking sector, in which it offers a complete range of laser, inkjet, thermal inkjet and consumable materials solutions... When we decided to implement two new divisions, it was, on one hand, in order to supply synergistic responses to every type of traceability demand expressed by the market, and on the other, to offer reliable labeling solutions. In many respects, the process constituted a major cultural shift for all of us».

Labelling: things are changing
Evidently, when talking about labeling, one refers to a sector contiguous to coding and yet distinctly separate due to the fact that, in the former’s case, the personalization of systems represents the cornerstone of their success. And considering the Nimax experience, this has meant implementing a new approach to the market.
Paolucci clarified the meaning of the transaction: «In some ways, labeling resembles safety control in that both technologies share the need for developing ad hoc solutions according to the product type to be processed. In particular, as far as labeling machines are concerned, we are presenting ourselves with our own brand». But Nimax is dedicating careful attention to guaranteeing the quality of the finished product «because - Noera states - when Nimax offers products to customers that have already been “won over” in time, the risk lies precisely in offering systems inferior to its traditional standards».
For this reason, and not for nothing - the managers are careful to point out - in order to bolster the two new divisions, Nimax has invested in knowhow, entrusting their management to longstanding experts in their respective fields: Alessandro Mazzoni (Control & Safety) and Giuseppe Barone (Labelling).

Objective: safety for all
For Nimax, expanding its offer of in line control systems represents a natural complement to a business that prioritizes safety.
«Looking at the process as a whole, we worked towards maximum integration upstream» explains Paolucci. «What is concretely necessary to do before a food or pharmaceutical product can be put on the market? It must be checked for safety! And the governing laws are strict and well-reasoned. The law still allows control by samples, but this doesn’t give the manufacturer 100% certainty. Luckily, as often happens, technology comes to our aid. By using metal detectors, we can track down metal contaminants (which are still very common) or, with x-ray inspection systems, check for the presence of non-metallic contaminants, such as plastic fragments or cartilage... In both cases, we have worked to finely tune our systems to execute correct expulsion of defective products from the packaging line, avoiding unnecessary wastage. We also offer checkweighers in the field of control and safety. These systems are essential to complying with the law, ensuring that the legally allowed quantities in grams are contained in the packaging, penalizing false accusations of fraudulent marketing. Where overdosing occurs, the producer “shoots himself in the foot”, so to speak. But we have the solution».

Working for quality
Nimax has thus put out a complete offer, as a sole supplier, that is capable of guaranteeing integration of traceability processes in target markets, first and foremost food and pharmaceuticals.
«There have been cases in which - Noera declares - our control systems offer has enabled us to interface not only with certain concerns but even with certain markets to which until recently we could only offer marking systems. Indeed, production line control technologies are by now considered indispensable, because they provide solutions in critical moments of production, and end users, which are always following closely these developments, are now well aware of that. From a managerial perspective, then, we have further strengthened our sales apparatus, almost entirely in direct sales. Indeed, we ask our managers for the various regions to give the utmost attention to every technology distributed by the various divisions, because it is the goal of Nimax to ensure that a customer can count on a “sales consultant” that is knowledgeable in all fields, thus facilitating research and the development of the solution most congruent with different needs. A strong physical presence, knowledge of the market, total integration and - the manager concludes - a complete traceability portfolio are the ingredients for unprecedented results».

Reflections on the market
Nimax sees the manufacturing industry with complete lucidity.
The concern has traditionally distributed its products to both OEMs and end users in Italy. Although it’s still early for the whole story, a look at 2015 data shows that the control and safety division has already reached impressive sales quotas.
But... what about the impasse in investments of recent years? That is over, according to Paolucci, given that «things are returning to normal, and that is obviously for the best. It’s true that the crisis made a closely watched price the most significant variable in every dealing for operators that needed to invest in technology, and this certainly did us no favors, since we have always distributed high tech products, and because we guarantee superior service standards. But today we are happy to see a reversal of this trend: for example, buyers faced with a machine stop caused by, for example, a malfunctioning coding system are once again ready to make more substantial investments in reliable and efficient technology, because an interruption on the line is more costly than the price differential between a high end system and a mediocre one».

Reliable Noera intervenes with specifics: «We never lost ground on pharmaceuticals, and as for food, we have been lucky in being suppliers of major operators with an orientation towards exports that invest in new product lines and consequently also in advanced traceability systems. Moreover, even during the worst of it we never compromised our consolidated policy, which brings us into direct contact with the users. This aptitude of ours is very much appreciated by those operators that want a reliable, readily identified supplier».
The concern’s recent sales initiatives have also been marked by clarity. These have included operating leases (including consumables), extended warranties, full service offers that guarantee the utmost ease of mind... and of course this is what operators need most».