Impress aims for the top with speciality range

With its acquisition this September of the European operations of U.S Can, Impress Metal Packaging signalled both to its brand owner customers and its key competitors its fierce determination to strengthen its position as one of Europe's most dynamic, forward-thinking aerosol producers.

The purchase, occurring at a time when the region's major steelmakers appear locked in their own battle for dominance, saw Impress leapfrog several aerosol-producing competitors by moving from its position as Europe's fifth largest producer to second in the pecking order. Although he is also responsible for the increasingly important product areas of Babyfood and Nutrition and Other Specialities (the latter includes packs such as cigar boxes, coffee and peanut cans), Möller made clear to me during our discussions that, with each of the two business areas contributing roughly a third to divisional turnover, his team place particular emphasis on building Impress's reputation as one of the region's most outstanding aerosol and paint can manufacturers.

When I suggested that, with the plethora of new shaping, embossing and other decorative techniques, as well as new aerosol container sizes and closure designs seen in recent years, there can be little scope left for innovation, Moller countered sharply: “In fact some of the innovation is really only in its infancy, particularly in personal care.” Stressing that short-term innovation for aerosol products like shaving foams and deodorants might not necessarily be “in the technical space”, Möller feels instead there remains scope for “some quantum leaps” in areas like decoration.

He explained: “At Impress we are currently working with several other parties to perfect a much lower cost means of printing aerosols so that small batch production of really eye-catching containers, for instance for a premium product like a car cleaning spray, becomes truly cost-effective for the first time.”

While unwilling to give detail, Möller explained his Division has been working for the last five years, predominantly with a digital printing equipment manufacturer, on a print process which could make it economical to print steel tinplate cans with an array of eye-catching colours, images and

graphics from quantities of as little as 500 sheets.

He said: “A lot of work has already been done to try to find ways to do this, but generally either print quality has not met expectations or the costs were prohibitive. We believe we're on the edge of a breakthrough.”

Still on the innovation/NPD front, Moller said one particularly noticeable trend in metal packaging since he entered the field in 1983, was the ever closer relationship between brand owner and packaging supplier. He elaborated: “There used always to be great secrecy between FMCG company and packaging supplier, whereas we now talk much earlier to customers to discover their priorities, which makes it far easier to tailor new products to their needs. We have also seen greater openness in the way customers discuss areas like logistics; often we can do a lot more than just design and produce the container; we can manage the entire distribution process.”

Innovation in design is, however, what keeps Impress “one step ahead of our competition”. “For instance we have a highly sophisticated artwork studio in Hanover where we can turn creative ideas into reality, and are unique, I believe, in the focus we put on ensuring consumers actually get the metal packaging they want.”

Moller maintains that Impress conducts more extensive consumer research than any of its major competitors. “Recently, for example,” he explains, “we had a team standing outside a major UK DIY store for a whole day questioning every shopper leaving who had bought paint to see what they liked and didn't about the existing packaging and how it could be improved.”

I told Möller I thought any packaging supplier worth its salt would work similarly, but he is not convinced.

Alongside aerosols, where he believes there is also significant opportunity to improve areas like closure design, Möller presides over his Division's paint can production activities; Impress now claims to be Europe's leading paint can supplier.

But surely, producing a really exciting-looking paint can that truly differentiates the brand from its competitors must challenge the creativity of even the most seasoned packaging designer _ a paint can is surely just that? “We produce tinplate cans for pretty well every major European paint manufacturer and, while they tend to sell cheaper water-based paints in plastic containers, many already highlight their premium offerings by marketing them in extremely eye-catching metal cans, where extensive R&D has gone into enhancing functionality” he replied.

“Over the 18 months I believe you will see significant further improvements in metal paint can design, whether in terms of improved openability, incorporation of handles or decoration.”

Möller stressed that with paint can plants in countries including the UK, France, Benelux, Italy, Germany, the Ukraine and Poland, Impress is especially well-placed to serve brand owners themselves growing in size and expanding their footprint. He says: “This is very much the case with our aerosol operations too; brand owners want packaging suppliers close to their factories and are demanding ever more responsive service.”

Another area where both consolidation and the emergence of powerful “developing” economies like India and China has impacted strongly is in raw material and energy prices. Möller says: “2005 was a terrible year for tinplate supply and prices, with surging demand from China causing major shortages in Europe, the result, in some cases, being a disastrous shortfall for smaller users. “Fortunately, this year has seen prices fall to a little over inflation levels, although, like many manufacturers, we remain hampered by rising energy prices. Fortunately we are not a vast energy user; most of the energy we use is in areas like lacquering. We also have the advantage of size, which gives us substantial bargaining power when buying raw materials and energy.”

Returning to his division's specific product manufacturing activities, Möller told me proudly that Impress has manufactured babyfood containers for some 40 years, and, again, claims pole position in Europe today. He says: “Absolutely paramount in babyfood packaging is consumer safety. We have two very important projects ongoing which address both safety and convenience in quite radical ways.” Moller could not give more details but revealed that one of the two product developments had already enjoyed successful consumer testing in Holland, with a large brand owner “very enthusiastic”. He added: "Babyfood packaging styles and formats are very much individual to particular countries or regions, and indeed each brand owner has its own preferences. For instance Nestlé has tried cartons, boxes and pouches on many occasions, but regularly returns to tinplate. If glass gets into babyfood, of course, the health implications and the potential for major damage to brand “image” are huge. Tinplate is a very safe material and, of course, imparts no detrimental taste.”

Other topics touched on during a frank half-hour discussion included the potential impact of the EU's REACH directive on Impress (“we are currently looking at the implications, although I believe they may be more significant for our suppliers, for instance lacquer producers”), RFID (“our supply chain manager has this on his radar”) and the increasing diversity of “Other Speciality” packaging produced by the Division.

The latter, Mõller explained, includes everything from intricately decorated cigar and peanut containers (in the latter case Moller said brand owners tend to package premium nuts like cashews in metal) to large beer kegs.

“Here it's about segmentation," said Moller. “Brand owners wanting to give product a real premium feel will often select metal both for its high quality associations, neutral organoleptic and excellent protective properties.”

As with the other metal packaging the Division produces, Möller says the company's growing scale and resulting proximity of its plants to customer sites gives it the edge. “With the acquisitions we've made and several recent plant openings, we have greater flexibility in the range and scope of packaging we can produce. This, combined with investment in high-speed presses and other modern production equipment, means we can meet individual demands for different pack types from the nearest plant and dispatch the packaging lightning-fast. Such responsiveness is no longer a luxury in the markets we operate in; without it we simply could not compete.”

In concluding, Möller told me he hopes his term as Specialities Division md will be remembered as a period when the business “developed an even closer, more productive bond with customers”.

“Only by really knowing your customers, the markets they operate in and, at times, almost second guessing where their product development might or could take them next, can you really be the best,” he said.