GERMAN QUALITY MADE IN SPAIN - Packaging Europe
GERMAN QUALITY MADE IN SPAIN - Packaging Europe
GERMAN QUALITY MADE IN SPAIN - Packaging Europe
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
MENSHEN:<br />
<strong>GERMAN</strong> <strong>QUALITY</strong><br />
<strong>MADE</strong> <strong>IN</strong> SPA<strong>IN</strong><br />
Menshen Iber is based in Barcelona in Spain, and is part of Georg Menshen GmbH & Co. KG Germany. It was founded<br />
as a family company in Germany in 1970 and is a pioneer in the field of plastic solutions, providing a wide range of caps,<br />
closures and sponge applicators for bottles and tubes as well as other specific injected packaging components. Elisabeth<br />
Skoda spoke to Menshen Iber’s managing director Hansulrich Zellmer to find out more.<br />
sets itself high standards and has innovative visions for the future.<br />
This enables us to enhance existing products and create new ones<br />
“Menshen<br />
to optimally suit customers’ requirements. Menshen is able to offer<br />
tailor-made products even for complex products,” Mr Zellmer explains.<br />
Menshen also has an experienced R&D-Team at all its production plants. The Menshen<br />
Innovation Support Centre works on innovations in the area of materials, processes<br />
and biodegradability. Menshen Engineering, based at the company’s headquarters, works<br />
on customised assembly lines for multi-component projects.<br />
Innovation<br />
Menshen has come up with a range of innovative closure solutions which are available<br />
through its standard catalogue. One2Dose, which was also shown at the Emballage trade<br />
fair in Paris in 2012, is a new, precise, environmentally friendly one hand dosing solution<br />
for liquids and powders for use in the food and household sectors. Menshen is also a<br />
market leader in the area of sponge applicators for different applications such as shoe<br />
care, ski wax, lense cleaning and disinfection.<br />
The company also has a great deal of experience with regards to developing customised<br />
solutions for customers, who are benefiting from its know-how in injection, mould and<br />
product design.<br />
Around 70 per cent of Menshen’s turnover comes from customised business, 30 per<br />
cent comes from its standard catalogue business.<br />
“We’re currently expanding our customised business, without neglecting the standard<br />
business of course,” says Mr Zellmer. “We’re just about to release a new version of mouthwash<br />
cap, which we’re hoping to get back into the UK with.”<br />
One of Menshen’s biggest success stories is the Weldspout. “We are one of the biggest<br />
producers of this type of product,” Mr Zellmer explains. “Our weldspouts can be assembled<br />
on almost all form, fill and seal machines, from fully automated to manual. We<br />
cooperate closely with the manufacturers of this kind of machine in the Spanish ‘Pouch<br />
Valley’, where about 80 per cent of the world wide machinery of this kind is produced,<br />
and are constantly trying to add new developments to the weld spout range, such as child<br />
proof caps, anti-oxidisation plugs, new light weight spouts etc.<br />
“Menshen offers a best practice service through the entire supply chain, starting<br />
with professional customer support. After placing the orders, customers get innovative<br />
logistics solutions, delivery on time, consignment stocks, integrated call off and invoicing<br />
procedures,” he continues. “This sets us apart from the competition.”<br />
Expansion<br />
The Menshen group is currently formed of eight production facilities in six countries.<br />
“Apart from the plant, assembly centre and clean room class 10.000 facility at our<br />
headquarters in the Sauerland region in Germany, Menshen also has plants in Spain,<br />
Russia, USA, Mexico and China,” Mr Zellmer says. “In addition, we have a close<br />
cooperation with contract manufacturers producing caps and closures exclusively for<br />
Menshen in Malaysia and Hungary. We have stocked up our sales force, and regional<br />
sales responsibilities lie with the individual plants. In addition, we have several Menshen<br />
sales representatives in countries such as the UK, France, Switzerland or Singapore and<br />
collaborations with external representatives in many other international markets.”<br />
Menshen is already delivering to developing markets from their existing plants, but is<br />
ready to make new investments if volumes and customers require this step.<br />
| 2 | <strong>Packaging</strong> <strong>Europe</strong><br />
<strong>Packaging</strong> <strong>Europe</strong> | 3 |
“A new site will be established in the South of China in the next months in order to<br />
serve our customers in that region,” Mr Zellmer explains.<br />
Menshen has recently invested in two major assembly lines for weldspouts, one for<br />
standard caps in Russia with a capacity of up to 600 million pieces per year, another one<br />
for choke safe caps in the US with a capacity of up to 200 million pieces per year. Another<br />
new line is planned for the German manufacturing plant.<br />
Additionally, the company has invested in a number of new injection moulding machines<br />
in nearly all plants. One of the highlights was the first cube-mould machine in the group installed<br />
in China. Investments have also been made in peripheral installations to upgrade the<br />
production to the last available technology. Menshen is currently also investigating markets<br />
such as Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey and Africa and is open to customers from this region.<br />
Suppliers are key to Menshen’s success. “All our suppliers play important roles for<br />
different reasons. We try to work with companies with the same philosophy as ourselves,<br />
the supplier should be a partner more than a mere supplier. Quality and innovation in<br />
technology are as important as price, Mr Zellmer says.<br />
Menshen is aiming for organic growth. “We are convinced that we will be able to grow significantly<br />
organically because we currently are in a process in which we reinforce our global<br />
and local sales force as well as the key account management,” Mr Zellmer is confident.<br />
“We have internally elaborated a growth plan for the next five years which will require<br />
hard work by all the departments. It will be important to maintain the high Menshen<br />
standards in terms of quality, R&D and innovation, service and sales in order to get<br />
there,” he concludes.<br />
Visit: www.menshen.com<br />
| 4 | <strong>Packaging</strong> <strong>Europe</strong>