PSIU - Quality above all: The Brazilian beverage company driven by people, innovation and values

Quality above all:

THE BRAZILIAN BEVERAGE COMPANY DRIVEN BY PEOPLE, INNOVATION AND VALUES

P R O J E C T

PA R T N E R

BUSINESS INTERVIEW

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Quality above all: THE BRAZILIAN BEVERAGE COMPANY DRIVEN BY PEOPLE, INNOVATION AND VALUES Leandro Bandeira, CEO of PSIU - Indústria de Bebidas (PSIU) on the company’s transformational journey in recent years.

1997, PSIU began its journey with the sale of Mate Couro, a traditional soft drink from Minas Gerais, Brazil created in 1947. Today the company employs 250 people and produces 10 million beverages per year from its state-of-the-art production facility in São Luís, State of Maranhão.

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By September 1999, sales of the PSIU brand began, with the launch of Flavors of Orange, Guaraná, Cola and, at the time, the pink PSIU TuttiFrutti. Since then, PSIU has launched an array of mineral water, soft and energy drink products distributed to 189 municipalities in Brazil.

Leandro Bandeira, CEO of PSIU joins us to discuss the family-run company’s transformative journey in recent years and how it constantly strives to improve the quality of its services, acting as a citizen and socially responsible company.

Leandro has a degree in Business Administration and an MBA in corporate finance and project management from the Dom Cabral school and started his career 18 years ago at Yamaha Motors, formative years where he learned the lean manufacturing management model and philosophy.

In 2013, he left the automotive industry for the beverage industry as an industrial manager and built his career. Following several years of professional development and promotions, Francisco Magalhães da Rocha, President of PSIU, invited him to join the company in 2021.

After only a year at the company, Leandro was invited to carry out a turnaround at the company 4

in a time of internal crisis as the new CEO of PSIU. Despite significant challenges and competition from major brands like Coca-Cola, Leandro nurtured a culture of strong teamwork and implemented the lean manufacturing management philosophy to reorganise processes and make the company highly profitable.

“We are a family-run business with 250 employees,” begins Leandro. “Our people, innovation and striving for sustainability have been crucial to our transformation in recent years.

“Your values and actions are your biggest differentiator. At PSIU, our constant concern is that our activities transcend our service with the strong application of a peoplefocused approach to the lean philosophy with our employees and customers.

“As CEO, my responsibilities include resolving and making important decisions, managing

the organisation’s overall resources and operations, and acting as the central point of communication between the operational and board of directors. From this position, we have come together as a company to develop and implement strategies with the aim of promoting the mission and magnifying the ‘voice’ of the organization.”

Before exploring the innovation and sustainability endeavours which have characterised the

“WE ARE A FAMILY-RUN BUSINESS WITH 250 EMPLOYEES. OUR PEOPLE, INNOVATION AND STRIVING FOR SUSTAINABILITY HAVE BEEN CRUCIAL TO OUR TRANSFORMATION IN RECENT YEARS” 5

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transformation at PSIU in recent years, Leandro emphasises the values driving the business, its relationships and goals.

“We instil an inclusive and supportive working culture where our values are front and centre in all we do,” says Leandro. “Our philosophy arises from several priorities.”

• Commitment to the truth • Caring for our people • Meritocracy • Passion for the company and what it does • Respect for the planet • Austerity • Extraordinary profit • Provision of extraordinary service • To be a profitable, admired and respected company, offering quality products and extraordinary service provision

offer unique flavours, textures, and experiences,” says Leandro.

“Companies that can innovate and introduce new products or technologies to the market can gain a significant competitive advantage.

“To have a competitive advantage over competitors in a context of market recovery, companies must strive to adapt to Industry 4.0 parameters. At PSIU, we have been investing in innovation projects and technologies that allow us to increase productivity to meet demand and maintain the quality standard of our products. There are a series of technologies for the beverage and food industry already on the market that can optimise the process and reduce risks within factories.

“My top priority is instilling these values across the company into the hearts and minds of our people,” says Leandro. “By doing so, we have been able to embark on our transformative journey.”

Leandro explains that innovation is a critical component of success in the beverage industry.

“Consumers are always looking for new and exciting drinks that 7

“At PSIU, automation has been a key innovation. For instance, we have deployed robots throughout the production line. When passing through the production line, items can still be handled by other collaborative robots, which work alongside humans safely. These robots can assemble boxes, box the products and then place them on pallets for transport.

“This technology avoids waste and reduces the chances of errors, such 8

as changing packaging. By carrying out activities that pose ergonomic and safety risks, they also contribute to the health of operators. And they do all this for many hours without the need for breaks!

“Our industrial vision system consists of cameras, lighting, filters and software that collects production data and checks whether products meet established standards. They can, for example, identify dirt in the packaging that

you definitely don't want to reach supermarket shelves. They are also able to ensure that the packaging material is correct, control the size of the product and read OCR batch and expiration dates, among other functions.

“By learning from the information they gather, robots can identify a

minimal change at the beginning of the production line. This way, they prevent the entire process from being interrupted and reduce waste.”

Within its innovation strategies and deployment of new technologies, PSIU strives for sustainability in its operations as a socially

“WE WANT TO TAKE A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE CONCEPT OF THE 3 P'S OF SUSTAINABILITY: PEOPLE, PLANET, AND PROFIT”

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Wield localised, real-time visibility to drive efficiency in logistics and distribution.

General freight trucking Specialised freight trucking General warehousing and storage Product tracking

fsilvaexpress.com.br 10

responsible company. Here, process standardisation, partnerships and supply chain optimisation have driven the company’s success and growth.

“Today, we want to take a deeper dive into the concept of the 3 P's of Sustainability: People, Planet, and Profit,” says Leandro. “By understanding the interplay between these pillars, businesses can unlock new opportunities for

“Partnerships are crucial to us at PSIU because the supply chain is a sector of the food products segment that has been going through challenging times amid high inflation in recent years.

“Therefore, it is essential that this aspect of our business area is optimised to make all processes more agile, minimise the risk of stock-outs and maintain end consumer loyalty. Choosing good

“HERE WE STRIVE FOR EFFICIENCY AND REAL-TIME VISIBILITY AND OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH FSILVA EXPRESS LOG HAS BEEN INCREDIBLY VALUABLE IN MAKING OUR OPERATIONS MORE SUSTAINABLE THROUGH THEIR TECHNOLOGY” growth, create a positive societal impact and contribute to a more sustainable future.

“One of the crucial aspects of a beverage company is the distribution and transportation of products. Here we strive for efficiency and real-time visibility and our partnership with FSilva Express Log has been incredibly valuable in making our operations more sustainable through their technology. With their solution, we gain localised insights into exactly where our products are in their journey. This is hugely important for us and our customers.

suppliers should be part of the decision-making of managers in the supply chain area of the food and beverage industries.

“It is a formative time for the logistics chain, as correct compliance with agreed deadlines for the delivery of inputs and/ or other products is essential for the proper functioning of the production line and the success of the companies behind them.

“Furthermore, supply chain optimisation should focus on end customer satisfaction. Therefore, being aware of seasonality is 11

important to plan purchase orders and ensure their delivery in a timely manner for the production of the finished product.”

Leandro adds that 2023 was a crucial year for the company with the launch of several new products and the exponential growth in its mineral water products has been particularly important to its profitability. But Leandro emphasises that the development of the company’s new product 12

offerings and water technology has been done in a sustainable manner.

“Eliminating waste in our processes is a fundamental priority,” says Leandro. “We have been standardising our processes to improve efficiency and reduce our impact on the environment.”

Looking ahead to the future, Leandro explains that PSIU is aiming to expand and increase profitability by opening a new

factory dedicated to mineral water products to increase production in 2024. The other dynamic will be maintaining the company’s cultural transformation to lean into the challenges and opportunities emerging in the coming years.

“Our new factory will open in August 2024 and we’re very excited about this development since it will allow us to separate the production of mineral water and soft drinks, propelling the company forward

“PSIU IS AIMING TO EXPAND AND INCREASE PROFITABILITY BY OPENING A NEW FACTORY DEDICATED TO MINERAL WATER PRODUCT” 13

in its transformational journey,” says Leandro. “In the coming years, mineral water will become even more important to us economically since there is a trend in Brazil where people are looking to lower their sugar consumption.

Today our soft drink products are made with 33% reduced sugar and this trend will only continue in the future.

“In recent years and since I took the CEO position at PSIU, our people have powered

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our transformational journey and I celebrate the tremendous teamwork it has taken to get us where we are today. This wouldn’t have been possible without a cultural transformation, and I’m particularly proud of how we have embarked on this journey at PSIU. People are the foundation for our success.

“The key to this has been empowering and developing our employees across the entire organisation. I challenge my

managers, operations team and salespeople to strive for progress and growth with the shared and unifying vision of providing excellent service while remaining highly profitable.

“Our people can see the positive changes arising from the transformation, sharing in the successes and victories driving us forward as a company.”

To learn more about PSIU, visit psiubebidas.com.br.

Added Value ONGOING LEARNING Leandro loves to learn by listening to podcasts and watching YouTube videos. In particular, Leandro recommends the content created by Professor Vicente Falconi which he finds particularly insightful when it comes to management systems.

WORK

LIFE

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Leandro believes it is imperative to strike a healthy work-life balance. For him, this means making time to enjoy watching soccer at the weekends as a way to relax and switch off.

Connect with Leandro 15

psiubebidas.com.br

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