______________________________________________________________________________________ Emballator
Group
For this issue of Manufacturing Today , we took the opportunity to ask Emballator Group ’ s CEO questions with the aim of discovering the secret behind the company ’ s continued success .
First , though , let ’ s get to know Emballator . The company is owned by Herenco , whose history , as Kent explains , goes way back .
“ Herenco was established in 1865 ,” he details . “ The group has remained in the Hamrin family for four generations .
“ Originally , it was a media-based company , but in more recent years , the family has transformed the company – stepby-step – to expand its industrial operations .”
That brings us to Emballator Group , a supplier of rigid packaging made from various materials – such as tin plate , plastics , and aluminium . The Emballator Metal Group Ulricehamn was first acquired by Herenco in 1975 , and has , since then , diversified with numerous divisions .
As Kent informs us , the Emballator Group , as its now known , was formally established in 1997 . “ Over the years , we have become an international group with companies based in countries including Sweden , Finland , and the UK ,” he says .
“ We sell our products in more than 55 countries worldwide . As a group , we now employ in excess of 900 employees and have a turnover of 250 million euros .”
Since it is divided into three different areas – Emballator Metal Group , Emballator Packaging Innovations , and Emballator Packaging UK – we are curious to hear from Kent how this structure works . Do they operate in unison or disparately ?
“ At Emballator , we believe in a decentralized way of working ,” he answers . “ There are a few central functions with the purpose of supporting operations through our local organizations .
“ Nevertheless , from a customer viewpoint , it is important that we support them as one Emballator – many of our
▼ Kent Viitanen
Our aim is to help our clients reach their sustainability goals . By helping them to achieve their environmental milestones . . .
customers appreciate that we can offer rigid packages made from various types of materials , and it does not matter what side of the business that comes from .
“ We can also find synergies between our companies within production excellence , purchasing , sales and finance ,” says Kent . “ It is all set up to work as one well-oiled machine .”
Packaging portfolio
Emballator Group has five main markets for its products : paint , food , chemical , pharmaceuticals , and – more recently – beauty and personal care .
“ For paint , we offer pails and buckets made from plastics and tinplate ,” explains Kent . “ For food , we can supply buckets , bottles , tubes , and closures made from plastics , aluminium , and tinplate .
“ Our chemical customers are buying cannisters , bottles , and closures from plastics ,
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