Changing ones logic (and mindset)

STRATEGIES The world is changing and reinventing the way companies do business and produce goods. But how? TMC, also with its buy-up of PRB, offers interesting suggestions of entrepreneurial creativity, powered by forward thinking, experience and determination.

by Stefano Lavorini

We start by making a point. «A manufacturing industry only creates value "in the factory" and not via financial juggling, and as long as goods are produced   to be consumed in places other  than where they are manufactured, packaging has a solid future ahead of it». Meaning that, despite the current economic situation, there is still  room for growth.
These the words of Matteo Gentili,President of Tissue Machinery Company SpA, stated at a recent meeting in Bologna.
«Today, to be competitive, one needs to evolve in terms of knowhow so as to be able to propose machines which are more environmentally and economically sustainable. Furthermore, one has to operate on the global market and this means becoming more international, hence bigger, changing ones industrial and corporate model (even when, no rare thing, your company already exports 90% of its output)».

Make the most of ones strongpoints. His words are echoed by Valter Marcolini, TMC marketing strategist and head of PRB SpA, recent addition to the network: «The current situation requires us to deal with international players and multinational clients that, more than a machine, require the support of a company, a partner that can provide services such as consulting, training, support... Furthermore, all major users have committed themselves to streamlining the number of suppliers, and this has led us to revise our structure, the very way we organize our product offer as well as our commercial organization».
And competition? «We do not fear low cost competitors. On a level of consultancy and support he who is able to strike up a partnership with the customer, setting up a relationship where problems are tackled together and successes are a growth opportunity for both parties, wins outright. But our offer in terms of "hardware" is also extremely convincing; let us not forget that the labour costs only have a relative impact on the overall value of an advanced system. In the tissue industry the spread between a basic and hi-tech offer is so wide as to leave no room for easy comparisons. In terms of PRB’s secondary packaging, many know how to "open and close" a carton but few are able to competently handle and insert the product, not to mention tackling integration and control of the line...
 
Grow together. Having clear ideas on competitive levers opens new reflections. Whatever markets we are talking about, it would appear one could build the difference - over and beyond product quality, something that is beyond question, and the ability to relate with customers - by redefining the sector logic, which also includes the world of subcontracting.
«We have always dealt with the strategic aspects of  relations with the customers,  our partners, suppliers, design, sales, product quality control, control of on-time delivery and after-sales services via the companies in the TMC network, entrusting industrial production to the sector chain».
Gentili explains. «This is why we've tried alternative ways of relating to the industrial district and tried to improve our relationship with the world of subcontracting, discovering, even in this case, that there is a strong need for services, typically of a financial nature and in terms of technical-organizational updates. A practical example? We support suppliers in the process of implementing an effective control of their business, a tool of primary importance for us and a benchmark for our partners by which they are able to qualify themselves. The goal, ultimately, is to improve quality along the entire value production chain».
 
From the customer to ones product offer and back. Having clarified the rules of the game and located the cards to wager on, you set priorities with respect to the target customers and preferred geographic areas. The game is a challenging one: "Operating globally in fact means knowing how to interpret the local markets, by modulating the proposals on the basis of specific requests», Gentili reminds us. «This is particularly true in some markets where you cannot operate stably without a "glocal" strategy. In the U.S., for example, to be recognized as interlocutors you need to be rooted in the territory, perhaps first with a service structure and then, possibly, also in terms of production. The example I have chosen is poignant; because if China is to all intents and purposes a growing economy, with enormous potential, however in TMC-PRB we favour relations with the North and South America, where we believe there is still a lot to be done and where the users are capable of recognising the quality of our offer».
But it is also true that sometimes you have to start from the characteristics of the product and end up by identifying the customer. As the history of PRB teaches us.
 

Knowing how to make the right choice. Marcolini states: «For TMC "integration" is a basic tenet of company growth strategy and is to be developed both internally - expansion of the range - as well as externally, as in the case of the buy-up of PRB, company which specializes in the design and production of wrapping machines, casepackers, bundling machines and palletisers.
Initially TMC took out a lease on the company branch to then go on to buy up PRB with the primary purpose of managing the supply of a large contract relating to new lines for the secondary packaging of nappies in PE, replacing the hitherto used cardboard packaging. At a second stage, however, we discovered that PRB possessed state-of-the-art technology and a highly consistent customer base. We therefore sought to exploit these elements, without engaging ourselves in little known markets where perhaps we might have to deal with larger and more specialized players: this led to the idea of "transferring" the technology and the PRB market regarding the cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors over to the Marchesini Group».
A virtue of this agreement, both companies will independently develop their basic technology in the coming years.
Gentili adds: "The Marchesini Group’s purchase of our pharma and cosmetic section allows us to focus on the food, confectionary, detergents and paper industry markets, in line with the strategies underway in companies in our network».
 
Additional considerations. And the many PRB customers of the past? In order not to disperse the wealth of knowledge and relations informed choices have been made according to different areas of use, whereby   food, confectionery and personal care will be directly served by the company, while  tobacco and detergency will be served via OEMs alone, paying particular attention to the multinationals.
It was not, however, the only "additional" reason of interest for PRB: «The other reason why we bought up the company - emphasizes the Gentili - is due its number of installed machines, a total of over 4000 operational units to date. Our network in fact is strongly customer service oriented, to the point where years back we set up a special company to cater for this aspect. It is  called AMS - Asset Management Service and dispenses all after sales services and has its own production and commercial network, dedicated to the supply of original or compatible spare parts. Hence with our customers  we have created a two-tier relationship, as machine builders and service suppliers. AMS, moreover, provides us with information on the problems and inclinations of the end users, enabling us to monitor demand and to understand how to respond to or even anticipate the needs of the market».

TMC Tissue Machinery Company SpA is a world leader in the design and manufacture of machines and lines for packaging rolls of tissue products and products for personal hygiene. In addition to PRB, AMS SpA (after sales) and Automa (machinery and equipment for blow molding of plastic containers) also gravitate in TMC’s orbit. Overall, the network has 240 employees in Italy and the USA and achieves 90% of sales abroad. Matteo Gentili

PRB SpA,now part of the TMC network, specializes in machinery and end of line packaging systems for the food and confectionery, detergents, paper and, until the date of the agreement with Marchesini Group, cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors.                                                           Valter Marcolini