InduPlast Packaging Group is an Italian group specialized in primary cosmetic packaging. Strong foundation of synergy and diversified highly-complementary skills are what characterize the companies that belong to it.
A partner that is able to serve all types of customers thanks to its manufacturing abilities, technological assets, and product catalogue: from smaller-sized businesses to large, international players, ranging from mass market to luxury brand compatible packaging products. The availability of ready-to-go packaging allows the Group to provide both customized and standard, large-scale manufacturing. The value that binds it all together? Flexibility.
One of the challenges embraced by the Group is sustainable growth of the product catalogue. Growth generated thanks to the principals of circular economy. A choice that perfectly answers current market demands, and most importantly, those of the future. The development of a variety of green “eco-friendly” packaging solutions and the creation of a revolutionary tool: the Life Cycle Assessment or LCA measurement tool, created with the support of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, University of Pisa. These are some of the implementations that the Group has applied towards sustainable solutions.
The pursuit of excellence, manufacturing flexibility, and attention to innovation are some of the Group’s assets, pointing to a precise mission: to supply customers with the perfect packaging in accordance with their needs as Nadège Konyn, Corporate Marketing and Communication Manager, tells us in her interview.
How was InduPlast Packaging Group founded?
The Group was founded in 2018 by Europe Capital Partners VI SCA, the institution that today owns the majority of shares, with the idea of creating a large industrial association of Italian primary packaging providers that stands out for innovation, design, and technology. This was achieved with the creation of InduPlast Packaging Group, a large Italian Group comprised of three companies: InduPlast SpA, Vexel 74 SRL e Verve S.P.A.
We’re talking about a Group that produces 250 million plastic components each year, with 2000 customers in over 31 different countries. The creation of a large Group, started more than two years ago and is destined to evolve. It is focused on taking advantage of the synergies within the companies, whilst still maintaining individual characteristics, approach, and identity of each and every one.
Do you also operate in other sectors besides cosmetics?
Yes, we’re also present in the food and pharmaceutical (OTC) sectors. With over 3000 products in our standard catalogue, which include bottles, jars, containers, various stick containers for lip balm and makeup products, airless packaging, foamers, dispensers, rigid tubes and accessories, thanks to which we are able to satisfy every customer need.
Can you briefly talk to us about the three companies that belong to the Group?
If I had to choose a word to describe the “soul” of each company, I would choose: reliability for InduPlast, creative design for Vexel, and versatility for Verve.
InduPlast, founded in 1958, is synonymous with know-how and reliability. Its stick containers, lip balm containers, roll-ons, jars, make-up containers and rigid tubes, manufactured in Bolgare, in the province of Bergamo, and exported throughout the world are a demonstration of the passion passed down from generation to generation.
Vexel 74, with its headquarters in Parma, is the expression of design. PET bottles and jars, some of its most iconic models, are used in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical (OTC) and trichology sectors.
Sophisticated decorations and in-house mold manufacturing are some of the elements that characterize Verve’s products. Bottles, jars, and vials are produced in Vedano Olona in the province of Varese, and utilized in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical (OTC) sectors.
In all three cases, we’re talking about businesses that are characterized by technology, high qualitative standards, innovation, and a great amount of flexibility. What does being flexible mean for a company nowadays? It means being able to adapt to the request of market needs without abandoning one’s own identity or values.
Attention to the environment and to ethics are important values for you. Is it true that you offer different sustainable packaging solutions?
Of course! InduPlast, Vexel, and Verve all have various “green” solutions in their catalogues: from 100% monomaterial solutions to those in Green PE, from post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic solutions to refillable ones, currently under development.
Many of our packaging designs can be made, for example, with post-consumer recycled plastic polymers (PCR, R-PET, R-PP, R-PE ): a sustainable solution that gives a kick start to a virtuous “recycling and reuse” cycle in the world of plastic packaging. Giving a second (or sometimes even a third) life to plastic means being able to act responsibly with regards to the environment, avoiding the production of new plastics and reducing the resulting environmental impact of its use.
Sustainability is also in the choice of producing packaging that is 100% mono-material; many of our designs are produced keeping this in mind. InduPlast’s latest generation of stick containers are made entirely out of polypropylene (PP), including the internal mechanisms, which helps consumers simplify the recycling processes outlined by the new Legislative Decree 116/2020.
We also offer packaging in Green PE which, in comparison to virgin PE, is created with ethanol obtained from sugar cane protein while still maintaining the same properties, performance, and versatility of “traditional” PE.
As you can see, our sustainable solutions are numerous and designed to meet the needs of both mass-market and the luxury brands.
Still on the topic of sustainability, is it true that you’ve collaborated with the University of Pisa? What’s that all about?
Yes, that’s right. Since 2018, we have been collaborating with the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, University of Pisa. With their support, we have been able to develop a measuring tool, the LCA Tool, which allows us to estimate the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of products manufactured on the InduPlast S.p.A. production site. The LCA Tool gives both a measurement of a product’s environmental impact as well as comparing two slightly different versions of the same product.
What does measuring the LCA of a product throughout its entire manufacturing process really entail?
It means evaluating the impact of the product from procurement of raw materials to production, decorating the final product, distribution to B2B customers, up until its disposal by the final consumer. In our case, the only parameters that are not monitored by our Tool are: manufacturing waste, water consumption, and the disposal of the wrapping and boxes used to transport the raw and semi-finished materials.
How did the idea of the LCA Tool come about?
The LCA Tool was developed as part of the BG Circular 2018 project, an initiative promoted by Confindustria Bergamo which develops a series of initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and skills of industries related to the sustainable management of their business activities, products, and supply chain. The project is the natural evolution of a sustainability pathway that has been undertaken for some time now, in all companies of the Group. We believe that sustainability and circular economy are important elements not only for the cosmetic sector but also for the entire manufacturing industry. For this reason, we will continuously increase our commitment and focus on sustainability. Because for us, the future is Green.