From: ItaliaImballaggio

Imagination and good sense

Away with “complicated is nice”, the watchword is “carry out useful innovation”, or that is concrete innovation that is useful to the consumer. This is the project approach that inspires the R&D section of Plastohm, the wellknown French producer and distributor of plastic containers - and relative accessories - for the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, OTC and industrial markets.

Plastohm is a medium-sized independent concern with direct branches in Italy, Spain, the UK, Germany and Switzerland and a mixed commercial network of agents, office and distributors that covers the entire world. Its success is aboveall due to a complete offer, that includes over 2,000 references of standard packaging items (injection and blown flacons, pill cases, jars), their readiness to develop dedicated projects and to the product-service integration with three large representative concerns: the Spanish EDP (bioriented PET), the Hungarian Tu-Plast (soft plastic tubes) and the French Mino Galliard (high range jars with sophisticated decorations. But what most strikes one about this company is its liveliness in proposing solutions, that is manifest at every important fair with the presentation of a new cap, an original product line or a service (last year it was the interactive” site where one could make up and order a customized product on-line).
This year Cosmopack witnessed many new features, Isabelle Blondeau, the corporate marketing manager, was also present who - along with the head of the Italian branch Bruno Mousset - told us how packaging came into being “chez nous”.

The customer, starting and finishing point - “First of all” - Blondeau and Mousset told use - one starts off with identifying the needs of the consumer. And this is done by bringing in “experts”, or that is creating groups of (lady) consumers who say how they understand and judge packaging and a certain type of project. As opposed to what happens normally though, we do not turn to professionals but to persons who work in the company: workers and employees who meet up and rate the appearance and the mode of use of a container, that criticise the same and make proposals as to how to improve it”.
This choice, as the manager explains, ensures a much higher motivation and commitment, as well as offering an important occasion for involving the personnel in the life of the company (and in important features such as a new project). The following stages are the most “classical” - market studies, technical rating by experts, final planning - followed by a new test by the Plastohm tester staff and finally, of some important customers.
The results of this procedure is typically found in the care for service details - like the new mode of distribution of the granules for homeopathic products, or the picking-up of the detergent wipes or the hook for hanging the bubble bath flacon to the wall - but also in the search for playful shapes for infant products, or new details that stand out (the stackability of the jars, original tactile and visual effects).

New proposals at Cosmopack - The recent agreement that entrusts Plastohm with the distribution throughout Europe (obviously leaving out France) of Mino Gaillard Sndg jars adds an important aspect to the company offer. The new partner in fact can boast a solid reputation in the upper reaches of the market, with primary cosmetics concerns as references, but aboveall an up-to-the-minute knowhow in the processing of materials (San and PP) and decorative treatment, first and foremost metallization. As well as the other company products, a new overcapsule called Reverso completing the successful Modulis snap capsule, made up of a simple injection piece that even allows one to place the flacon head down, was also on show at Plastohm’s Cosmopack stand. Reverso is in fact flat at the top, that allows one to change a normal flacon into a flacon tube, that can be placed top up for shampoo and top down for conditioner.
But this is not all: playing on the color and transparency combinations of the various elements of the packaging infinite personalising possibilities can be obtained. Reverso combines with the Kheops brand range of flacons in PEHD or PETP, available in 8 capacities including the brand new 100 ml for promotions (while the max format is 70 ml). Developed in particular for the Modulis capsule, Kheops have been created with the idea of enhancing the flacon facing. This was accompanied by numerous other launches: the single wall Diva PP 50, 200 and 500 ml jars; the 125 and 250 ml Tina PEHD flacons, with press opening for the lever action Selena capsule; the multiformat pocket versions (4 capacities with the new 200 and 250 ml), these too with snap on capsules; the American pill container with antitamper capsule, typical for food integrators: the 250 ml Agate flacons with spray, pump or lever opening capsule (press opening) to which the new 500 ml capacity and the bicolor Bi-O-Cap supplied by Seaquist Closures has been added. Finally, a mention of the trendy PP single wall Linea capsules, that include formats from 50 to 500 ml (with the new 125 and 300 mls) and that play on the seductive transparencies as well as the airtight system with gasket, ring and undercap. From January this year they have been fitted with a new closure that permits perfect stacking.