Hygiene and safety: single-dose keywords

Pandemic-proof and "Phase 2" packaging

Graziana Tassinari, sales manager of Valmatic, a key concern in the international single-dose packaging market.

Valmatic is part of the list of strategic and essential production companies that have never stopped. «In these months - Tassinari explains - we have had to organize ourselves to continue the activities by respecting all safety standards, establishing shifts, alternate attendance in the office and smart working, a measure with which the company has met the needs of a staff composed in prevalence of women, many of whom are struggling with the management of children at home after school closes. Regarding the work in the production plants, in a certain sense, we have been advantaged in respecting the anti-covid protocols, given that our standard procedures have always provided that operators work individually on the machines with caps, masks and with the adequate distancing».

As a demonstration of the appreciation for the work done in such a difficult moment, Valmatic rewarded the employees with a bonus in their paychecks but also supported some solidarity initiatives in the area, including the donation of surgical masks to the Municipality of San Prospero, all the hospitals of Mirandola and the San Prospero Red Cross («sourced, when still difficult to find, thanks to a contact in China»), as well as the delivery of hand sanitizers to some old people's homes.

«As far as the economic consequences are concerned - the manager continues - I have to start by saying that the health emergency has fallen during a period of great expansion of our business, in terms of turnover, orders, staff ... By 2020 we had planned to maintain this trend, also in view of the important international fairs we should have participated in as an interpack, but also China Beauty in Shanghai.

Obviously, like all of us globally we suffer from the heavy consequences of the pandemic, however, as good Italians, we are reinventing ourselves to seize the opportunities to work better, even in this difficult situation. We expect a drop in orders in sectors penalized by the lockdown in the second half of the year, first of all the cosmetic one, one of our main markets which in recent months has seen a significant contraction in demand in almost all sales channels. But I also think of the single-dose supplies for the airlines, which have suffered a drastic drop.

On the other hand, today more than ever, the hygienic safety of products is of crucial importance, and the advantages offered by the single-dose in this sense are pushing many manufacturers to turn their attention to this type of format.

For a concern like ours, new and significant opportunities have therefore opened up, already translated into concrete projects. In the health sector, we have started the production of a line of hand sanitizers and as regards food - in line with anti-covid regulations that provide for the obligation in bars and restaurants to supply single dose condiments at the tables - we are moving to offer new single-use packs of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. We aim to offer an impactful design, more appealing than the classic sachet, perceived by many manufacturers and exhibitors as too cheap, inadequate to present high-end products.

To satisfy customers' needs, we have lowered our MOQs, in order to make the service for third parties more usable and flexible. Even from the foreign market, despite everything, there is no lack of positive signs: although the postponement of international fairs will make it more difficult to make new contacts, many foreign customers have asked us to supply single-dose machines to be included in their production lines, to offer their products in a cleaner and more hygienic cladding, for which today there is a high demand.