EME Outlook - issue 45

ELANDERS | ASTUTE GROUP

w w w. e m e o u t l o o k m a g . c o m

GEOCYCLE Making plastic waste a thing of the past

JLL

A sustainable future for real estate

GIRTEKA LOGISTICS

Transporting time-sensitive produce across Europe and beyond

Stefano Scainelli, CEO of Italian innovator, Scame Parre S.p.A, discusses navigating the e-mobility boom

Issue 45

travel magazine ISSUE 06

T R AV E L G U I D E

SOUTH AFRICA’S WESTERN CAPE

Sprawling mountains, ocean vistas and world-class wine T R AV E L B U S I N E S S

AUTO EUROPE

Reinventing the meaning of service for the travel industry

TRAVEL GUIDE

MEXICO CITY

Mezcal and mole in Mexico’s mega-city

JORDAN BANKS, the highly acclaimed travel and lifestyle photographer, tells all about keeping busy during the pandemic

I

n a changing world, where the travel industry must adapt to challenging global situations, our mission at Outlook Travel remains the same. We will continue to showcase some of the world’s most inspiring destinations, offering real insight and comprehensive travel guides for when global mobility resumes.

The major component of the publication takes the form of our Outlook Travel Guides, providing executives, avid travellers and our existing 575,000 international subscribers with the ultimate rundown of all the major economic drivers and thriving hubs across the world, with exclusive input from tourism industry associations and stakeholders – the people who know these places the best.

You can join the vast numbers of tourism sector players enjoying the exposure we provide across our digital and print platforms with a range of options, from advertising through to free-of-charge editorials, extensive social media saturation, enhanced B2B networking opportunities, and a readymade forum to attract new investment and increase exposure.

THAILAND TRAVEL GUIDE

THAILAND This Southeast Asian country is a perennial favourite, thanks to an intoxicating combination of beautiful beaches, world-renowned cuisine and incredible temple complexes Writer: Dani Redd | Project Manager: Jordan Levey

K

nown as the ‘Land of Smiles’, Thailand is a friendly country that welcomed 38.27 million tourists to its shores last year.

There are plenty of reasons why this Southeast Asian destination is so popular.

For a start, there’s the beaches. In the south, Thailand’s two coastlines stretch for miles, populated by swathes of icing-sugar soft sand, the bays speckled with dramatic limestone formations. Thailand is also home to 1,430 islands, ranging from full moon party spots like Koh Pha Ngan to the more off the beaten track Similan Islands, a national marine park popular with scuba divers.

Then, there’s the food. Thailand’s noodles, stir fries and curries are beloved around the

world, characterised by the fragrant taste of lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and tulsi. Every town is bursting at the seams with floating markets, street food stalls and high-end restaurants where you can try delicious local dishes.

Thailand’s rich spiritual heritage also attracts tourists. Golden temples and larger-than-life Buddha statues can be found across the country. Visitors can experience colourful religious festivals in the northeast of the country or explore the underground cave shrines in Kanchanaburi and Phetchaburi.

Despite Thailand’s popularity, it’s easy to find a quiet corner to relax, be it on a deserted island or an eco-retreat in the craggy mountains north of Chiang Mai.

SEYCHELLES TRAVEL GUIDE

S E YC H E L L E S Most people visit this archipelago in the Indian Ocean for the beaches, but it has much more to offer than that Writer: Dani Redd | Project Manager: Jordan Levey

D

escribing the Seychelles, it’s easy to veer into cliché. These picture-perfect islands are blessed with white sand beaches lapped by translucent water, fringed with palm trees and interesting rock formations. The dramatic sunsets, laidback atmosphere and a wide range of luxury accommodation make them a popular spot for honeymooners.

The Seychelles consists of 115 islands and some small islets, located

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in the Indian Ocean at a crossroads between Asia and Africa. Most of the action is concentrated around the three major islands: Mahé, La Digue and Praslin. Mahé is the largest and most populous; home to the capital, Victoria, and transport hub to the rest of the islands. La Digue is renowned for having some of the best beaches in the archipelago. Praslin, meanwhile, is home to the idyllic Vallée de Mai nature reserve.

But there’s more to the Seychelles

than just the beaches. Trek through the granite mountains and lush rainforests of the Morne Seychellois National Park. Try some of the island’s traditional Creole dishes at a local restaurant. Or if you’re a nature lover, head to Bird Island to observe its population of fairy terns and common noddies, as well as the giant Aldabra tortoises endemic to the archipelago. You’ll be bowled over by what the Seychelles has to offer.

WELCOME

Answering the Need

EDITORIAL Head of Editorial: Phoebe Harper phoebe.harper@outlookpublishing.com Senior Editor: Marcus Kääpä marcus.kaapa@outlookpublishing.com Junior Editor: Jack Salter jack.salter@outlookpublishing.com PRODUCTION Production Director: Stephen Giles steve.giles@outlookpublishing.com

“To keep a customer demands as much skill as to win one” – American Proverb

Senior Designer: Devon Collins devon.collins@outlookpublishing.com Designer: Matt Loudwell matt.loudwell@outlookpublishing.com Production Assistant: Courtney Solomon courtney.solomon@outlookpublishing.com Social Media Manager: Dan Nash dan.nash@outlookpublishing.com BUSINESS Chief Executive Officer: Ben Weaver ben.weaver@outlookpublishing.com Managing Director: James Mitchell james.mitchell@outlookpublishing.com Sales Director: Nick Norris nick.norris@outlookpublishing.com Commercial Director: Joshua Mann joshua.mann@outlookpublishing.com HEADS OF PROJECTS Callam Waller callam.waller@outlookpublishing.com Eddie Clinton eddie.clinton@outlookpublishing.com Matt Cole-Wilkin matt.cole-wilkin@outlookpublishing.com Thomas Arnold thomas.arnold@outlookpublishing.com TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR Vivek Valmiki vivek.valmiki@outlookpublishing.com SALES MANAGERS Sales & Partnerships Manager: Donovan Smith donovan.smith@outlookpublishing.com Ryan Gray ryan.gray@outlookpublishing.com PROJECT MANAGERS Harry Parker harry.parker@outlookpublishing.com Krisha Canlas krisha.canlas@outlookpublishing.com Marvin Iseghehi marvin.Iseghehi@outlookpublishing.com Matthew Taylor matthew.taylor@outlookpublishing.com Nicholas Kernan nicholas.kernan@outlookpublishing.com Sam Love sam.love@outlookpublishing.com ADMINISTRATION Finance Director: Suzanne Welsh suzanne.welsh@outlookpublishing.com Finance Assistant: Eleanor Bennett eleanor.bennett@outlookpublishing.com Office Manager: Daniel George daniel.george@outlookpublishing.com CONTACT EME Outlook 69-75 Thorpe Road, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 1UA, United Kingdom.

Sales: +45 (0) 1603 363 631 Editorial: +45 (0) 1603 363 655 SUBSCRIPTIONS Tel: +45 (0) 1603 363 655 phoebe.harper@outlookpublishing.com www.emeoutlookmag.com Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/emeoutlook Follow us on Twitter: @eme_outlook

A business that is able to identify and respond to the needs of its market, is a successful one. Within this issue, you will find a host of companies who do exactly that.

Whether through innovating a product line to cater to the ever-evolving defence sector or creating unprecedented electronics testing solutions to enable the production of the latest technological inventions, identifying market demand is a common starting point.

As a pan-European logistics provider, Scandinavia-based operation Girteka Logistics UAB understands this all too well.

“We are the largest European asset-based transportation company, transporting more than 820,000 full truck loads every year,” states Jens Romer Sode, COO of Scandinavia at Girteka.

Serving the critical need of delivering perishable produce, we unpack how Girteka is answering the call for environmental sustainability by developing time-sensitive digital logistics.

“The theme of what we are trying to achieve is our transformation from being a good trucking company to a great logistics solutions company.”

From Scandinavia to Northern Italy, we speak with Scame Parre S.p.A and CEO Stefano Scainelli who explores over six decades of innovation.

“After 60 years of activity, Scame is now experiencing one of its best moments, thanks to both the intuition of our managers and the wisdom of our shareholders, who have always believed in innovation as a driver for growth in spite of recent crises,” says Scainelli.

This continual tide of adapting to market demand contributes to Scame’s leading position on the world stage of the e-mobility boom.

Meanwhile, in Switzerland, Geocycle is the passionate waste management services provider solving society’s issues in rubbish disposal. “We are really committed to waste management and want to serve communities and society; this makes us different,” says CEO Axel Pieters.

Read on for inspirational business stories from other players of industry including Alyasra, construction specialists JLL, Astute Group, and electronics manufacturer SPEA. Enjoy your read!

Phoebe Harper Head of Editorial, Outlook Publishing EME Outlook issue 45 | 3

CONTENTS

22 10

18

130

REGULARS

6 NEWS

TOPICAL FOCUS

Around Europe and the Middle East in seven stories

18 Events Expo Makes History

8 EXPERT EYE

Displaying the best in human brilliance and achievement

Supply chain resilience are you risk ready?

BUSINESS INSIGHTS

10 Mining Old Industry, New Methods Applying technology to diamond recovery

14 4 | EME Outlook issue 45

14 Healthcare Mind Over Matter The international pharmaceutical company tackling the mental health crisis

130 THE FINAL WORD What qualities are needed to succeed as a businessperson in your field?

EME OUTLOOK MAGAZINE

F E AT U R E S

ENERGY & UTILITIES

20 SHOWCASING LEADING COMPANIES

92 Geocycle Zero-Waste Future

Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world

Making plastic waste a thing of the past

SUPPLY CHAIN

92

22 Girteka Logistics Meeting Logistical Demand The efficient transport of fresh produce across Europe

MANUFACTURING

32 Scame Parre S.p.A The Spirit of Italian Innovation

56 56 Toly Group 50 Years in Beauty Manufacturing full-service solutions in the beauty industry

Setting the benchmark for electric mobility

FOOD & DRINK

64 Alyasra Feeding Kuwait Improving food services through digital means

100 Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) Driving the Energy Transition Working with experts to answer the demand for decarbonisation solutions

RETAIL

106 Annabella Group Keeping Romania in good health

32 42 Elanders Streamlining the Supply Chain Supplying efficient end-to-end solutions

42

Quality natural ingredients and a seamless shopping experience

64 70 Lamb Weston / Meijer From Roots to Happiness Creating a positive impact from potato to plate in Europe and beyond

106 CONSTRUCTION

114 JLL Bettering the Built Environment A sustainable future for real estate

AEROSPACE

50 SPEA The Test of Quality Inventing testing equipment for the latest technology

70

122 Astute Group Redefining Defence Industry-leading expertise in design, fulfilment and support

EME Outlook issue 45 | 5

NEWS Around Europe & the Middle East in seven stories…

TECHNOLOGY

Google grows London Empire with new $1 billion office

MAJOR SHIPBUILDING MERGER BANNED BY BRUSSELS T H E PROP OSED merger between Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) with Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHIH) was poised to revolutionise the construction of large vessels for the transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG). But earlier this month, the EU Commission in Brussels blocked the merger, due to the threatening global market position that it would occupy.

As a major component in the diversification of the European

energy mix, the demand for LNG across Europe represents approximately 50 percent of orders worldwide and necessitates carriers for transportation. Since DSME and HHIH are two of the global leaders in shipbuilding in an extremely concentrated market, after extensive research, the Commission acted on concerns that the merger would reduce competition and increase prices for the construction of large LNG carriers.

ECONOMY

Euro tipped to outgrow US economy A NALYSTS FROM investment bank Goldman Sachs have forecast that the Eurozone will grow at a pace of 4.4 percent over the next two years.

Meanwhile, the US is predicted to follow at a rate of 3.5 percent.

Government regulations are a considerable contributing factor to this contrast, with the Eurozone’s 6 | EME Outlook issue 45

fiscal policy tipped as extremely accommodative for the year ahead particularly in comparison to President Biden’s “Build Back Better” legislation that remains to be seen.

This is also due to the 19 members of the European region mitigating the economic impact of COVID-19 by eliminating widespread lockdown measures, despite the threat of the Omicron variant.

IMAGE CREDIT: BY PETER ALFRED HESS - FLICKR: CENTRAL ST. GILES COURT, CC BY 2 .0

S U P P LY C H A I N

I N TE R N E T G I A N T Google continues to expand its property footprint across the UK capital, after the purchase of the Central St. Giles building in London’s West End. The $1 billion purchase comes as construction works at Google’s primary UK headquarters – an 11-storey ‘groundscaper’ located behind King’s Cross Station – remain significantly behind schedule.

The new building, originally designed by renowned architect Renzo Piano, will be refurbished with team pods, collaboration spaces and outdoor working areas, as Google seeks to implement enough office space for 10,000 ‘Googler’s in the UK. Google’s UK focus is mirrored by several other US tech giants, including Meta, Twitter, and Amazon, who are all pursuing expansion plans within London to both diversify and grow their global footprint in the coming years.

R E TA I L

ENERGY & UTILITIES

£700 MILLION RAISED FOR SCOTTISH OFFSHORE WIND

Dispute continues between Amazon and Visa T H E RETA IL multinational Amazon continues to settle an agreement with Visa, after initially announcing plans to block the use of UK Visa credit cards across its site earlier this year. Amazon has since rescinded the statement and is presently working closely with Visa to reach a favourable outcome for both parties.

The initial disagreement resulted from Visa credit card payment fees affecting Amazon’s favourably low costs, providing an obstacle to the best prices. Visa retorted by accusing Amazon of restricting consumer

choice, and there is no estimation as to when the conflict may be settled.

This comes as both Visa and Mastercard have raised interchange fees on cross-border transactions between UK and EU businesses in the wake of Brexit. Nevertheless, both Amazon and Visa have explicitly stated that the fall-out has nothing to do with the UK’s exit from the EU.

FOOD & DRINK

Potential multi-billionpound mega-merger for Unilever UNIL E VER IS set to pursue its monopoly over consumer goods with a mega-merger deal worth over £50 billion. The company continues its efforts to sign a blockbuster deal with the healthcare division of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) - a business that owns leading brands including

Panadol and Sensodyne toothpaste.

As part of its entrance into new markets, Unilever has its sights set on the health and hygiene sectors, in contrast to the company’s roots in the food and drink space with labels such as Marmite and PG Tips tea.

Unilever’s initial offer for the consumer arm of GSK was rejected, resulting in a five percent share price increase for the latter and a fall of seven percent in shares for Unilever.

A recent auction for offshore wind projects on the Scottish coast has raised over £700 million. Led

by Scotwind, the auction sold off seventeen projects spanning over 7,000 square kilometres and with a combined total potential of 25 gigawatts (GW) in generating capacity.

The event attracted bidders from major oil companies, investment funds and utility firms from across the globe, including Shell New Energies and BP Alternative Energy Investments.

This brings Scotland’s renewable energy capacity to 1.9GW in operational offshore wind, with a further 8.4GW currently under construction or in stages of advanced development.

ECONOMY

GERMANY REINFORCES POSITION AS EUROPE’S ECONOMIC ENGINE Despite the escalating numbers of COVID-19 cases and attendant restrictions and disruption in supply chain, preliminary data has shown that the German economy grew by 2.7 percent in 2021. This is a significant improvement, after 2020 recorded a shrink in the economy of 4.6 percent.

As the Euro’s largest economy, Germany’s economic performance is yet to return to pre-crisis levels, but it is a promising recovery. Although uncertainty prevails for the year ahead as the country’s public health agency records a COVID-19 infection rate of 80,000 people per day, predictions estimate marginal growth for the outset of 2022, with a rebound anticipated for the second quarter.

EME Outlook issue 45 | 7

EXPERT EYE

SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE ARE YOU RISK READY? Sue Williams, supply chain specialist and Managing Director of Hexagon Consultants, gives her expert view on how to build resilience into your supply chain in our challenging, changing world Written by: Sue Williams, supply chain specialist and Managing Director of Hexagon Consultants

T

he past year has highlighted the importance of organisational resilience – the ability to respond and recover in the face of challenge.

As a supply chain specialist, this is familiar territory to me. Through my 25 years’ experience of delivering performance improvement at organisations such as Dyson, BAE Systems, Jaguar Land Rover and, most recently, leading the supply chain assurance and planning teams for the Vaccine Taskforce, I have become acutely aware that resilience is essential for a healthy supply chain.

We may be emerging from the COVID-19 crisis, but markets remain uncertain. Supply chains in particular face considerable volatility, with demand behaviour changing, increased competition and costs, and shorter, more complex product lifecycles. Trends such as elastic logistics, new technologies, reshoring and circular supply chains are driving changes to operating models.

Against this backdrop, how can organisations go about improving the resilience of their supply chain?

logistics or IT, focus on it from end to end. Is your full supply chain capability aligned to your organisation’s strategic objectives? How are the links in the chain interdependent?

A supply chain consists of multiple interdependent elements, from sub-tiers and tier 1 suppliers, through manufacturing, and on to distributors, retailers and finally customers. This creates a house of cards effect: a problem with a sub-tier supplier on the other side of the world can be enough to bring the whole thing tumbling down and stop your production flow.

Given this complex context, it is essential to take a positive, proactive approach to building a resilient supply chain.

Chain reactions As a starting point, rather than focusing on discrete aspects of your supply chain such as procurement, 8 | EME Outlook issue 45

Although issues will arise that are out of your control, there is

much you can do to protect yourself against them. The most resilient organisations acknowledge that risks are an inherent part of their supply chain, accept they can’t protect against everything, and take a pragmatic, practical approach to addressing vulnerabilities. What are the risks? How likely are they to create a problem? What is their potential impact? Do they need to be resolved immediately, or over time? Are there risks that can’t be fixed but need tracking?

Supply chain mapping The most effective way to answer these questions is through supply chain mapping. This involves creating a map of the key elements in your supply chain, identifying vulnerabilities and addressing them as appropriate.

Focusing on different categories of risk can be a helpful starting point.

SUPPLY CHAIN

As this shows, some risks have external drivers, while others have internal drivers (triggers that are specific to your supply chain).

Whether external or internal, it is important to accept that you cannot always predict or prevent these risks. The supply chain picture is extraordinarily dynamic; whether it’s trade disputes or financial instability of a supplier, the issues you face today are likely to be different to those creating complexity in six months’ time. Establish a constant review cycle that enables you to recognise risks early and assess their potential impact on your business.

Supply chain mapping can seem daunting if your business is large and complex. I advise organisations to do a top-level review of immediate vulnerabilities before drilling down into specific risks in more granular detail. For example, you might identify IT as a major vulnerability, recognise that your expensive ERP/MRP system is underused, and then carry out a detailed internal review of people capability, processes, equipment and facilities to assess the risk this creates.

What would be the repercussions if the system collapsed? What can you do to mitigate the risk? Do you have the infrastructure in place to adapt

quickly if the IT risk becomes an issue?

As already highlighted, your supply chain is only as resilient as its suppliers. Ask them to provide evidence of their own resilience planning and, if a supplier is particularly integral to your operations, carry out desktop assurance and map their supply chain as well as your own.

Knowledge is power My key message? Supply chain resilience is an essential part of business continuity planning and needs to become business as usual.

As well as identifying risks, your supply chain mapping exercise can identify productivity, efficiencies, improvements in service levels and opportunities to optimise inventory.

Don’t ignore it!

Think about how you can combine supply chain mapping with business improvement plans.

It doesn’t need to be a complicated, expensive exercise and will help you to identify opportunities, as well as vulnerabilities. Could you streamline processes? Could your supply chain design be tweaked to better meet the needs of your business? Could you improve the offshoring/onshoring supply balance?

None of us know the specific challenges that lie ahead for supply chains in the EME market. However, by increasing your understanding of your own supply chain and starting to mitigate the risks, you will be ready to respond and recover. When it comes to supply chain resilience, knowledge is power.

ABOUT THE EXPERT Sue Williams, Managing Director, Hexagon Consultants Limited Sue Williams is co-founder and Managing Director of Hexagon Consultants, an established consultancy made up of experienced industry leaders and operators.

Hexagon works across a range of sectors, with a focus on telecoms, media and utilities, manufacturing, retail, and e-commerce and business services. An accomplished supply chain specialist, Sue leads the implementation of supply chain solutions, identifying key drivers for change through structured data analysis and delivering long-term performance improvement that drives businesses forward. Most recently, Sue has led the Supply Chain Assurance and Planning and Scheduling teams for the Vaccine Taskforce, including supply chain mapping and risk assessment.

EME Outlook issue 45 | 9

TOMRA MINING

OLD INDUSTRY, NEW METHODS Technology is at the forefront of investment in the mining industry. Corné de Jager, Area Sales Manager for Diamonds at TOMRA Mining, discusses the latest the company has to offer in the sector Writer: Marcus Kääpä 10 | EME Outlook issue 45

M

ining is an industry as ancient as civilisation itself.

Whether miners have delved for copper and tin to forge bronze weapons of war, gold and silver with which to mint coins in the likeness of their monarchs, or recovered precious gems revered across the many regions of the known world, the act of sourcing valuable minerals for function or desire has always held an important place in society.

Yet today, with ever more complex and large-scale mining operations, there are multiple facets to the process that are necessary to help improve efficiency and maximise mineral yield, and the true enabler of the day is technology. One such facilitator of these kinds of panindustry solutions is Norwegian giant TOMRA. “TOMRA sorting systems are already contributing to more energy-efficient and cost-effective

MINING pre-concentrations, and to material recovery worldwide,” begins Corné de Jager, Area Sales Manager for Diamonds at TOMRA Mining. “Our sensor-based solutions help to extend the life of mining operations and increase the overall value of the deposit.”

TOMRA consists of two main business streams, TOMRA Collection (material recovery and the world’s leading provider of reverse vending solutions) and TOMRA Sorting, consisting of TOMRA Food, TOMRA Recycling and TOMRA Mining.

“With advanced collection and sensor-based sorting solutions, TOMRA has over 100,000 installations in over 80 markets worldwide and had total revenues of about 9.9 billion Norwegian kroner (NOK) in 2020,” Jager tells us. “The TOMRA group employs roughly 4,300 people globally, and TOMRA Mining itself consists of 80 people, based at our locations in Hamburg and MülheimKärlich (Germany), Johannesburg (South Africa), Denver (America) and Sydney (Australia).”

APPLYING TECHNOLOGY TOMRA Mining offers a complete product range for efficient material and waste separation for various minerals and segments such as industrial minerals, diamonds, ferrous

and non-ferrous, and metal recovery from slag. Its flagship commodities include, but are not limited to, diamonds, gold, tungsten, tin, lithium, limestone, phosphate, magnesite and quartz. With approximately 177 installations worldwide, TOMRA Sorting’s mining business contributes to more energy-efficient and costeffective material recovery.

“TOMRA Act, the ground-breaking new sorter computing user interface, together with a new image processing pipeline and additional process data for TOMRA Insight, improves the overall sorting process for greater productivity and profitability,” Jager explains.

“For the diamond industry, a premium range of sorter products is available for mainly four types of applications within the diamond recovery process. For the primary applications of concentration, final recovery and sort house, market leading X-ray transmission (XRT) sensing technology is used to differentiate between product and waste based on atomic density. The waste sorting application uses near infra-red (NIR) colour technology to remove non-product containing ores upstream of the processing plant.”

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE Altogether, TOMRA Mining’s products,

latest additions and services, together with cloud computing, form a unique offering for the diamond industry: a complete partnered diamond recovery ecosystem from two millimetre to 100-millimetre particles.

Moving ahead, the company aims to keep this market edge through techheavy investments.

“One such investment is our compact new COM XRT 300 / FR sorter, that completes TOMRA Mining’s partnered diamond recovery ecosystem,” Jager elaborates.

“Coupled with all the benefits of

EME OUTLOOK: CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT TOMRA’S CULTURE AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) ACTIVITIES? Corné de Jager, Area Sales Manager for Diamonds: “TOMRA’s employees and work culture is inspiring. I enjoy the forward-thinking culture and everybody’s passion for our product, service, customers and environment. Our staff play a critical role in how well we support our customers, achieve business targets and realise our vision to sustain our planet.

“An interesting campaign that anyone can join is the Clean4Change global initiative.

This is driven by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste alongside its member companies such as TOMRA. TOMRA takes part in this global initiative to inspire citizen participation through community action, awareness, and education. Anyone can join by creating a clean-up. A great idea is to form a group with your family, friends, your local school, or any formal/informal group.”

EME Outlook issue 45 | 11

TOMRA MINING cloud computing (TOMRA Insight), the COM XRT 300 /FR is the last piece within our recovery process, covering the final recovery (FR), sort house and small capacity exploration applications to produce an ultra-high diamond by weight concentrate, with less human interference and less security risks.”

According to Jager, the sorter offers a 100 percent diamond detection rate within the specified size fraction and a 99 percent diamond recovery rate, guaranteed with sufficient feed material preparation.

“It is possible to replace multiple sorting stages with a single COM XRT 300 /FR sorter all the way down to hand sorting,” Jager continues.

“Therefore, it offers higher efficiency, as well as better grade and security with fewer sorting stages and a smaller carbon footprint. The first COM XRT 300 /FR sorter was installed at Letseng Mine in Lesotho, in May 2021. Our customer confirmed that the sorter performed well, with consistent recovery and according to their expectations.”

TOMRA Mining also strengthened its online capabilities through investing in a new microsite within the company’s website.

“The new TOMRA Mining microsite, specifically developed for the diamond industry, was time and money worth spending!” Jager assures us. “Feedback from our customers is that the site is user friendly with minimal clicks needed to quickly access and download product information, brochures, applications, typical flowsheets, videos, testimonials, case studies, as well as general arrangement (GA) drawings and 3D Models!

“Various customers have shown their interest in our recent investments, and our priority is therefore to continue supporting our customers by looking for opportunities to improve our services for mining in the years to come.

12 | EME Outlook issue 45

MINING

LUYE PHARMA

Luye Pharma’s R&D site based in China

14 | EME Outlook issue 45

MA

MIND OVER MATTER

HEALTHCARE Keeping Asia Pacific in good health, Andy Siow, Director for APAC at Luye Pharma, discusses addressing the mental health crisis and what makes the company a partner of choice Writer: Phoebe Harper There is no health without mental health.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a global mental health crisis. According to the World Health Organisation, close to one billion people are living with a mental health disorder with one person dying by suicide every 40 seconds.

In recent times, this mental health epidemic has been exacerbated

by COVID-19 with medical surveys revealing a direct link between the two, as 50 percent of those infected by the virus display at least moderate symptoms of major depression.

“Mental health is so, so important during COVID-19 and this has been proven in every single country,” continues Andy Siow, Regional Director of APAC at leading pharmaceutical company, Luye Pharma.

Andy Siow, Director for APAC, Luye Pharma

EME Outlook issue 45 | 15

LUYE PHARMA “These services need to be expanded and fully covered, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when so many people are losing their jobs, income, and even lives. This has created a lot of stress, anxiety, and depression among not only healthcare workers, but also just everyday people.”

Andy brings to Luye Pharma over 25 years’ experience working for various multinational corporations across Asia Pacific. Within this, he has experienced all the different sides of the healthcare pharmaceutical industry, from MNC manufacturers to distributors and medical centres.

To name just a few, this has included roles such as Business Unit Director at Bayer, Executive Director at Beverly, Managing Director at Exeltis Malaysia and Singapore, Commex Director at AstraZeneca, and Senior Director at DKSH Vietnam.

“Since my time at university, I was certain that I would work in pharmaceuticals all my life. There have been so many unique opportunities presented to me over the past two decades,” he reflects.

Presiding over the APAC region of the company’s international footprint, the wider Luye Pharma group specialises in the R&D, manufacturing, and sale of innovative medications.

With dedicated R&D centres across China, the US and Europe, Luye Pharma has a number of new drugs and formulations in the central nervous system (CNS) and oncology therapeutic areas currently under study. In addition, Luye Pharma offers over 30 products covering CNS, oncology, cardiovascular, and other therapeutic areas, with business conducted in over 80 countries, including the major pharmaceutical markets of China, US, Europe and Japan, as well as the fastest growing emerging markets.

In a bid to further develop the company’s footprint outside China, Asia Pacific represents a dynamic area of growth for Luye Pharma. With businesses across 15 countries and offices in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia, it is a number that is set to continue rising, as the company pursues active expansion.

The company is engaged in a host of activities, such as the Asia Pacific Psychiatry Symposium where Luye Pharma advocates for the progress of clinical diagnosis and treatment in the CNS field with industry-wide conferences. It is during these discussions that healthcare experts have analysed the bidirectional relationship between COVID-19 and mental disorders.

Luye Pharma International Industrial Park

16 | EME Outlook issue 45

‘WE CARE ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH’ Luye Pharma’s contribution in the Asia Pacific Psychiatry Symposium is directly linked to one of its most significant ongoing initiatives, ‘We Care About Mental Health’.

Launched in June 2020 in collaboration with its partners across the region, the programme aims to raise mental health awareness, supporting patients, physicians, and health systems in overcoming unmet needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Across Asia Pacific, mental health cases and suicide cases are on the rise, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and Major Depressive Disorder.

“We have been communicating with the public that sometimes it’s ok not to be ok – it’s perfectly ok to go see a doctor,” Andy explains.

Within this programme, a total of 32 educational activities have taken place since the initiative’s inception in June, through to November of the same year.

The company is still engaged in continuing this initiative by collaborating with more partners in countries and regions across Asia Pacific.

“We have responded to the opportunity of serving more patients during the COVID-19 pandemic by running this series of activities with doctors across different countries.

We have done this in Hong Kong of China, Korea, and recently in Malaysia, and just this morning we concluded another one internally as well,” he tells us.

In terms of treatment, key products within the Luye Pharma portfolio are Seroquel® (quetiapine fumarate, immediate release) and Seroquel XR® (extended-release formulation).

These are atypical anti-psychotic (AAP) medicines with antidepressant properties. The main indications for Seroquel® and Seroquel XR® are the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Seroquel XR® is also approved in some markets for major

HEALTHCARE

Luye Pharma APAC Team depressive disorder and generalised anxiety disorder.

As a staple of Luye Pharma’s supply to the Asia Pacific market, throughout the past two years the company has been working tirelessly to overcome supply chain challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure that there are enough quantities available for its patients.

A PARTNER OF CHOICE Luye Pharma stands as a competitive choice for a regional partner, bolstered by decades of continuous presence and expertise in partner and alliance management to ensure delivery of maximum returns. In addition, Luye Pharma works with leading complementary healthcare and hospitals across the region.

The company has a dedicated local alliance management team, in order to make its partnerships truly effective. To date, this team has

already been successful in cementing strong local partnerships in Taiwan of China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan, and elsewhere.

“The right local partner can increase the value of the product by accessing more patients, as commercialisation experts in their local countries. Also, at Luye Pharma, our alliance team continuously supports the partners to achieve and are regularly involved in business meetings to strategise the best go-tomarket tactical plans to ensure that together we deliver the set objectives and goals,” comments Andy.

“Alongside European and American companies, there are also many Chinese pharmaceutical companies now who would like to work outside of China and are looking for competence partners in the Asia Pacific region.

“Being one of the most established Chinese pharmaceutical companies in the APAC region, with the best knowledge in go-to-market strategy, we have the advantages and the competency to be considered the right choice for all these companies – whether it’s in terms of licencing, or agencies’ model of partnership.

“Our highly engaged full-service team covering sales and marketing, pharmacovigilance, business development, regulatory functions are committed to bringing more access of medicines to more people in the world’s fastest growing countries,” Andy states.

With its rich pipelines in CNS and Oncology, and the vigorous business development activities in the region, Luye Pharma welcome all pharmaceutical companies for potential business collaboration and to improve patient’s access to medicines in the APAC region.

EME Outlook issue 45 | 17

TOPICAL FOCUS

EXPO MAKES

HISTORY Expo 2020, the first ever World Expo hosted in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) region, is showcasing the best examples of collaboration, cooperation and innovation from around the world Writer: Jack Salter

EVENTS

F

or over 170 years, World Expos have provided a platform to showcase the greatest innovations that have shaped the world we live in today.

Taking place quinquennially and lasting for six months, World Expos are one of the oldest and largest international events on the planet. They are a once-in-a-lifetime experience that attracts millions of visitors, who are invited to explore the wide variety of pavilions, exhibits and cultural events staged by hundreds of participants.

Expo 2020 is the 35th edition of the famous exhibition, currently being held in Dubai until the end of March 2022 having been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only has it made history as the very first World Expo to take place in the MEASA region, but Expo 2020 is also expected to be the first in which the majority of visitors are from overseas, with organisers aiming to stage the largest global gathering since the pandemic began.

As a result, it has been heralded as the most inclusive and international Expo to date, with the UAE placing itself at the forefront of the world stage as it welcomes the global community. The UAE hopes to have attracted 25 million visitors to Dubai by the end of the event, bolstering tourism and investment in the emirate in doing so.

More than 200 countries, multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions are showcasing the world’s most inventive ideas, inspiring architecture, creative art, exotic cuisines and enthralling entertainment at Expo 2020, and in another World Expo first for the event, each participating nation has its own pavilion.

Saudi Arabia has even managed to break three world records with its pavilion. Featuring the world’s longest interactive water feature, largest interactive lighting display and largest LED mirror screen display, it has unsurprisingly become one of the main attractions at Expo 2020.

GLOBAL ACTION Inspiring collective and meaningful action to address the world’s most critical challenges and opportunities is Expo 2020’s Programme for People and Planet, a platform for the free and open exchange of new ideas and innovations.

The Programme for People and Planet is designed to help reimagine the global economy, place equality, universal respect and human dignity at the centre of human progress, and instil a sense of responsibility to live in harmony and balance with the natural world.

It is therefore building a global community of action, exploring humanity’s most pressing challenges through a cultural, social, environmental and economic lens.

Indeed, at the heart of Expo 2020 lies a belief in the power of partnerships and collaborations in pioneering new paths of development and innovation, reflected in the event’s theme of ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ through the three subsequent subthemes of sustainability, mobility and opportunity.

When it comes to sustainability, a key pillar of Expo 2020 is to leave a meaningful and lasting impact in the

region, with 80 percent of Expo-built buildings and structures set to find new life in the thriving future city of District 2020.

Evolving from the conclusion of Expo 2020 as a smart and sustainable city centred on the needs of its urban community, District 2020 will provide a curated business ecosystem that brings together global minds and embraces technology and digital innovation to support industry growth.

This will be the legacy of Expo 2020, whose doors will never truly be closed.

PAVILIONS AND DISTRICTS AT EXPO 2020 From organisations to 192 participating nations, Expo 2020 is inundated with unique architecture, culture and inspiring innovations.

Visitors can explore: • Country Pavilions – Enjoy immersive cultural experiences and discover what it is that makes each country unique.

• Partner Pavilions – Vital to the success of Expo 2020 are the event’s partners, who showcase the future through innovation and world-class expertise.

• Organisation Pavilions – Learn how international organisations and civil society are already working to address global challenges.

• Special Pavilions – Embark on experiences that merge education, entertainment and excitement at these thematic and Expo-owned pavilions.

Expo 2020 is also divided into three districts, coinciding with the event’s three subthemes: • Sustainability District – Experience how the human race can be at one with nature in a high-tech future.

• Mobility District – See how new possibilities can unfold through the smarter movement of knowledge, ideas and goods.

• Opportunity District – Find out how people are already creating opportunities for a better future and be inspired to do the same.

EME Outlook issue 45 | 19

Tell us your story and we’ll tell the world.

EME OUTLOOK is a digital and print product aimed at boardroom and hands-on decision-makers across a wide range of industries in Europe and the Middle East regions.

With content compiled by our experienced editorial team, complemented by an in-house design and production team ensuring delivery to the highest standards, we look to promote the latest in engaging news, industry trends and success stories from the length and breadth of Europe and the Middle East.

Reaching a combined audience of more than 395,000 people, EME Outlook covers a full range of industrial sectors: agriculture, construction, energy & utilities, finance, food & drink, healthcare, manufacturing, mining & resources, oil & gas, retail, shipping & logistics, technology and travel & tourism.

In joining the leading industry heavyweights already enjoying the exposure we can provide, you can benefit from FREE coverage across both digital and print platforms, a FREE marketing brochure, extensive social media saturation, enhanced B2B networking opportunities, and a readymade forum to attract new investment and to grow your business.

To get involved, please contact Outlook Publishing’s Managing Director, James Mitchell, who can provide further details on how to feature your company, for FREE, in one of our upcoming editions.

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ELANDERS | ASTUTE GROUP GIRTEKA LOGISTICS

w w w. e m e o u t l o o k m a g . c o m

SUPPLY CHAIN

Issue 45

GEOCYCLE Making plastic waste a thing of the past

JLL

A sustainable future for real estate

MEETING LOGISTICAL DEMAND

GIRTEKA LOGISTICS

Transporting time-sensitive produce across Europe and beyond

Efficient logistical solutions are the key to moving time-sensitive produce across Europe and beyond. Jens Romer Sode, COO Scandinavia of Girteka Logistics, discusses the company’s latest investments in the space Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Eddie Clinton

Each year, our drivers collectively travel the equivalent of 75 times the length of the world’s equator, delivering our goods to people in Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region and beyond.”

This tremendous undertaking is made by none other 2 | EME Outlook issue 45

than Girteka Logistics UAB (Girteka), the logistics companies group that blends traditional trucking with modern technology, to safely transport products ranging from ice-cream and fresh fish to valuable electronics and lifesaving medicine on time and across a swathe of countries in the three regions.

“We are the largest European asset-based transportation company, transporting more than 820,000 full truck loads every year,” continues Jens Romer Sode, COO Scandinavia at Girteka. “Overall, we have around 18,000 drivers across the whole of the company and own and operate about 9,600 trucks and trailers.

Across the company’s Scandinavian brands, Girteka operates around 1,500 trucks and trailers, manned by 3,000 drivers and supported by an additional 1,200 people in our offices. With its eyes set on continually improving this environmentally friendly fleet, the company is the first choice in efficient and sustainable time-sensitive digital logistics.

EME Outlook issue 45 | 3

Stefano Scainelli, CEO of Italian innovator, Scame Parre S.p.A, discusses navigating the e-mobility boom

www.emeoutlookmag.com/work-with-us

Marketi ng Oppo rtunity

GIRTEKA LOGISTICS

MEETING LOGISTICAL DEMAND Efficient logistical solutions are the key to moving time-sensitive produce across Europe and beyond. Jens Romer Sode, COO Scandinavia of Girteka Logistics, discusses the company’s latest investments in the space Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Eddie Clinton

Each day, our drivers collectively travel the equivalent of 75 times the length of the world’s equator, delivering our goods to people in Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region and beyond.”

This tremendous undertaking is made by none other 22 | EME Outlook issue 45

than Girteka Logistics UAB (Girteka), the logistics companies group that blends traditional trucking with modern technology, to safely transport products ranging from ice-cream and fresh fish to valuable electronics and lifesaving medicine on time and across a swathe of countries in the three regions.

SUPPLY CHAIN

“We are the largest European asset-based transportation company, transporting more than 820,000 full truck loads every year,” continues Jens Romer Sode, COO Scandinavia at Girteka. “Overall, we have around 18,000 drivers across the whole of the company and own and operate about 9,600 trucks and trailers.”

Across the company’s Scandinavian brands, Girteka operates around 1,500 trucks and trailers, manned by 3,000 drivers and supported by an additional 1,200 people in its offices. With its eyes set on continually improving this environmentally friendly fleet, the company is the first choice in efficient and sustainable time-sensitive digital logistics.

EME Outlook issue 45 | 23

GIRTEKA LOGISTICS “Girteka is a growing logistics company,” Sode tells us. “In Scandinavia, we want to grow somewhere between 20 and 30 percent top line, and of course we have our four- and five-year plans, but in a year we want to become a half billion-euro company.”

And Girteka is set to do just that.

Combining its reliable hardware (trucks, trailers and warehouses), skilled employees, high quality processes and IT capabilities, the company is moving forward in the all-important logistics space, underpinned by a focus on greener operations.

IMPROVING THE INDUSTRY According to Sode, the current logistics environment in Europe is unique.

“There is a limited, and even diminishing, number of available

26 | EME Outlook issue 45

EME OUTLOOK: CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR PAST EXPERIENCE IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN INDUSTRY? Jens Romer Sode, COO: “I have been in the logistics and supply chain sector for about 30 years. It was around the early 1990s when I became interested in this space, and it was a time when global sourcing and the international supply chain became a centre of focus for many people.

“I joined Maersk Line back then, and they were (and have been since) one of the leaders in the shipping logistics space, and I found the international processes very interesting. The technology was very rudimentary at the time but even then, there was an understanding to combine a global network through technology and new trade routes, and this especially gained momentum with China joining world trade organisations.

“From the 1990s up until the 2008 financial crisis the sector saw significant growth, and since then the complexity of supply chains have only increased, so it remains a continually engaging space.”

S

uper Cargo has been in charge of lorry transportation in the Adriatic for more than two decades, due to its dynamism and ground-breaking practices.

extensive network of partnerships, Super Cargo can provide you with train services ensuring the cheapest and quickest means of transporting your cargo throughout Europe’s most favorable routes.

Today, it provides integrated solutions for the transport and movement of vehicles and freight in the wider Mediterranean area as well as the sea routes to Western and Northern Europe.

Moreover, Super Cargo can provide you with bookings for the most known tunnels amongst cargo carriers, Mont Blanc and Frejus. However, Super Cargo does not stop here. Since 2018 we are the preferred distributor of EUROTUNNEL services in Greece, hence being in position to provide our clients with multiple choices in crossing the English Channel whether these are over or under the sea.

At the same time, using our online booking platform, you save on time and cost, while maintaining constant contact with your vehicles and loads.

Super Cargo undertakes all the preparation and issuance of the required documentation for the transportation of any oversized vehicle throughout Greece, as well as the wider Balkan region.

On request, we can provide you with escort vehicles in order to ensure that your oversized cargo and vehicle conforms to the highway code and safety regulations throughout it’s journey.

Super Cargo maintains constant contact with the Greek tourism industry, a major part of which is yachting. In this context, we carry out the formalities, arrange transportation and undertake the escort of all types of recreational vessels to their destination, in the most important marinas of our country.

Speed, flexibility, consistency & efficiency since the founding of Super Cargo, these have been the four main pillars of our operation.

We have the specialised personnel and state-of-theart technology that enable us to offer personalised solutions, quickly, accurately and with guaranteed results. Our commitment to the basic principles and quality of our services has ensured our company a leading position in its field.

But above all else you will have...

A trusted partner at your side, whatever your requirements may be.

Whether you choose to send your cargo through sea, road, or rail, Super Cargo can fully accommodate your needs in the most professional way. Through its

booking@supercargo.gr | www.supercargo.gr

GIRTEKA LOGISTICS drivers at the moment, so the industry is extremely interesting,” he explains.

“More than 200,000 drivers are missing from the logistics sector in Europe alone and so individual drivers are very much in demand presently.

“This means that those who can pay more for quality drivers are able to receive them and gain logistics capacity over others, so it has formed a more competitive industry.”

Yet it is not only the declining number of driving personnel that is changing the sector. Sustainability is also playing a large part in how customers and clients look for partners in the pan-European logistics space, and keeping up with the best

and latest in the field places some players ahead of others.

“There are all sorts of things happening in the sustainability space.

Gone are the days when you used an old, environmentally damaging diesel engine; the world is looking towards other forms of energy, such as biofuel, LNG, and electric battery trucks, although the latter is still some way away yet for long haul international transportation,” Sode tells us.

“But what is most critical when it comes to operating as sustainably as possible in the field is making sure that your trucks are moving with full loads. If a truck is moving a third or half of a load, it is still polluting more

DKV Mobility DKV Mobility is Europe’s market leader for premium services covering all aspects of on-the-road supply and mobility for truck and car fleets.

GIRTEKA LOGISTICS has already experienced the benefits of DKV BOX EUROPE, one of DKV Mobility’s products – single toll box for eleven European countries.

The DKV BOX EUROPE supports EETS, the European Electronic Toll Service, making it easier for road users to pay tolls while driving through Europe with a single device and a single contract partner. In addition, the plug-and-play installation, automatic billing and convenient operating functions ensure maximum time savings.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY For Girteka, being an environmentally responsible company means getting the balance of economic, social, and environmental factors right.

With this in mind, keeping the world safe and clean for future generations is a priority for the company.

Girteka strives daily to maintain the highest environmental standards throughout the business. It works to conserve resources like energy and water, and to raise awareness among employees and in the community.

GREENER TRUCKS AND TRAILERS Girteka has the newest and most environmentally friendly fleet available, a modern selection of more than 9,000 trucks with an average age of just two years, that all meet Euro Six emission standards. Compared with earlier models, they release much less CO2 and other pollutants into the environment, and the trailers use the latest fuel-efficient cooling technologies, with solar batteries used to charge the cooling units.

The main goals of Girteka’s environmental management system (EMS) are to: – Reduce pollution, CO2 emissions, and waste.

– Increase the sorting and recycling of waste.

– Build awareness by involving employees and partners in efforts to protect the environment.

– Apply green criteria for purchasing.

– Comply with environmental legislation.

www.dkv-euroservice.com

INTERNATIONAL DIESEL SERVICE (IDS) IDS is part of Q8, one of the world’s largest integrated oil companies.

IDS is dedicated to serving the needs of long-haul and international road transport companies. It offers market-leading security and control solutions for fuel transactions.

With more than 800 competitively priced and strategically placed fuelling locations, IDS covers all major road routes in Europe. The highquality product line and additional service package make IDS one of Europe’s leading fuel card suppliers.

We would like to thank Girteka Logistics for their partnership and trust in our international fuel solutions and we look forward to continuing our cooperation.

– Prevent potential environmental incidents and be ready to address any that might occur. ids.q8.com

28 | EME Outlook issue 45

SUPPLY CHAIN

· Best secured fuel card on the market · Separate truck and driver cards

Market leading security and more!

· 24/7 real time fuel card management · Easy access to financial information and reports · 800 strategically placed locations · 26 countries across Europe · High quality product line · Additional Toll and Novi services

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Qc006_IDS_Girteka-ad.indd 1

07/01/2022 11:04

EME Outlook issue 45 | 29

GIRTEKA LOGISTICS or less the same amount as a truck with a full load. So, when it comes to the planning and execution of truck logistics, making sure that there is an efficient network of fully loaded trucks is paramount.”

Then there are intermodal solutions, such as utilising railway networks, that

QUALITY AND SAFETY Girteka takes pride in the fact that the company, which owns over 9,000 trucks and trailers, is constantly improving the quality of services it provides to its customers. Girteka wants to make sure that every shipment, every delivery and every interaction with its customers is done with a purpose and with the utmost attention to quality.

With the goal to continuously improve, promote training to employees, and be mindful of the surrounding environment (including the goal to slash CO2 emissions), Girteka’s certificates serve as a reminder of the hard work that has led to the company in the present.

Girteka’s certificates also allow the company to expand the services that it is able to offer to its customers, including the Good Distribution Practise (GDP) and the IFS Logistics standard 2.2 certificates. In addition, Girteka’s certificates cover quality, physical cargo, including pharmaceuticals and medical products and food safety, occupational safety in the transportation of chemical products and environmental protection standards, showcasing the company’s ability to transport goods across Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and other CIS countries, as well as Middle Asia.

30 | EME Outlook issue 45

both increase the efficiency of goods transportation while being a greener solution over multiple individual trucks.

“Having some loads taken by rail allows us to increase the loads, as trains can take far more weight, and the pollution levels also lower as a result,” Sode says. “This kind of efficiency comes in very useful when transporting time sensitive and temperature-controlled goods, because if a load is stopped at a location for one day, that is one more day that the fresh fish cannot be sold or kept at a supermarket or a restaurant. So, in our business, time really is money!”

GROWING TO MEET THE MARKET Utilising the latest technology in the supply chain sector, Girteka’s digital and transparent collaboration platform mutually benefits both the company and its subcontractors.

Girteka’s goal is to be open to all carriers on the market, with the

expectation that 70 percent of the standard freight forwarding process can be digitised.

“The theme of what we are trying to achieve is our transformation from being a good trucking company to a great logistics solutions company,” Sode explains. “We will move towards increasing the provision of IT solutions and process capabilities, not only when it comes to our own trucks, trailers and warehouses, but also with strategic partners.

“We are very deeply integrated with systems, applications and products (SAP), and we use a company called project44 that specialises in improving operations, on-time delivery, inventory management, customer experience, and visibility over operations, to allow people to track and trace shipments.”

This is not the company’s only realm of investment, however. Due to the shelf life of many of its products, Girteka will also continue to expand the capabilities of its warehousing and strategic storage locations, each

SUPPLY CHAIN

Effective and flexible cargo operation Helsinki-Tallinn-Helsinki eckeroline.com/cargo

“WE ARE THE LARGEST EUROPEAN ASSET-BASED TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, TRANSPORTING MORE THAN 820,000 FULL TRUCK LOADS EVERY YEAR” - JENS ROMER SODE, COO, GIRTEKA LOGISTICS of which are important hubs for the company.

“Girteka has expanded to two new cold chain warehouses, one in Oslo, Norway, and the other in Padborg, Denmark, on top of the existing facility in Rotterdam, Holland,” Sode says. “What this allows us to do is move fresh produce in a closed network while also allowing the discharge of delivered goods in storage, for instance fresh fish or fruit, that can then be sold later at auction and taken to a different country, such as Poland, the UK, France or Spain, without spoiling the produce.

“It is like a postponement strategy,

and the cold chain warehouses keep the produce fresh without being frozen, because fresh produce like fish or fruits hold more value than that of frozen produce. By having these options, we can offer more flexible solutions to our customers, so that is the reason behind such an investment.”

in the market for making solutions in the fresh produce logistics space, so we want to sustain this and extend it further to develop a dominant edge within the Scandinavian market,” Sode elaborates. “More specific areas of focus lay in areas such as our continued digital investment in the likes of SAP and visibility platform apps.

“On top of this, we will expand our warehouse capacity because we are already reaching full capability.

In all three cold chain warehouse locations, we are going to be seeking new facilities with greater capacity to answer the demand of the future.”

PLANNING AHEAD Moving ahead with its growth plans, Girteka has its sights set on multiple areas of improvement to continue to meet the demands of the logistics space.

“We already have a leading position

Tel: +370 5 239 4090 info@girteka.eu www.girteka.eu

EME Outlook issue 45 | 31

SCAME PARRE S.P.A

THE SPIRIT OF ITALIAN INNOVATION With a heritage rooted in innovation, Scame Parre S.p.A is riding the waves of the e-mobility boom. We speak with the CEO from the company’s founding family, Stefano Scainelli Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Nicholas Kernan

B

orn and raised in the province of Bergamo, Northern Italy, Scame Parre S.p.A (Scame) has a history of being ahead of the curve.

“After almost 60 years of activity, Scame is now experiencing one of its best moments, thanks to both the intuition of our managers and the wisdom of our shareholders, who have always believed in innovation as a driver for growth in spite of recent crises,” opens CEO, Stefano Scainelli.

Scainelli takes the helm of the Scame enterprise as a descendant of the founding Scainelli family, whose proud heritage continues to define the company since inception in 1963.

32 | EME Outlook issue 45

MANUFACTURING

EME Outlook issue 45 | 33

SCAME PARRE S.P.A Offering a vast catalogue of goods and services, Scame stands as an esteemed manufacturer of electrical materials. Encompassing the spirit of growth and innovation outlined

by Scainelli, the company today has expanded its traditional offering of electrical products for domestic and industrial use, including heavy duty.

Scame now comprises three strategic business areas including the original manufacture of products for electrical installations in industrial and tertiary environments also for heavy duty purposes, and the development of a specialised articulated range of ATEX IECEx products for electrical installations in hazardous environments. Finally, the company has become a leader in the field of products and services within e-mobility.

Manufacturing products of quality in compliance with industrial standards, Scame’s footprint is vast

34 | EME Outlook issue 45

– exporting to over 80 countries and with a direct presence in 17 markets through sales subsidiaries and production sites.

“Our production sites are concentrated in Europe, mainly in Italy, but also in Slovakia and France where we have a company specialising in metalworking.

SCAME S.P.A AT A GLANCE • Products for electrical installations in industrial and tertiary environments and heavy duty.

• Special products for electrical installations in hazardous environments.

• E-mobility products and services.

“Just this year, we also acquired a company in Portugal focused on the production and distribution of direct current (DC) charging systems for electric vehicles (EVs), allowing us to complete our e-mobility offering,” Scainelli adds.

A PROUD HERITAGE Having worked for Scame since his youth during the summer holidays and subsequently undertaking a degree in engineering at the Milan Politecnico, Scainelli was destined to follow his father’s footsteps into the business.

Indeed, he reflects on his career path as a “simple story”, heavily influenced by his father and his own merits in the field.

Today, this legacy and familial heritage translates to a truly competitive advantage for Scame, lending consistency and reliability as a manufacturer of choice.

MANUFACTURING

EME Outlook issue 45 | 35

SCAME PARRE S.P.A

ALGODUE ELETTRONICA ALGODUE ELETTRONICA is a company with over 35 years of specialisation in the development and manufacture of energy management systems.

Our production covers various sectors in industrial, service and residential applications with a wide range of products: MID Energy Meters, Network Analyzers, Rogowski coils and Class A Power Quality Analyzers.

Our strengths are flexibility and the ability to provide tailor-made solutions for our customers.

The collaboration with Scame has focused on the supply of dedicated meters for the electric charging stations.

In 2018 we inaugurated the new plant, see the video on www.algodue.com!

www.algodue.com

relationship between property and management.

“Scame is a small multinational - small because we have only 800 people worldwide (300 in Italy), but we are present in many countries with both productive and commercial locations.”

“An important part of our competitive advantage certainly comes from the historical tradition of success and seriousness of our company in the market over the years,” he comments.

Aside from this, it is what Scainelli identifies as the “careful management of human resources” that continues to give Scame the edge. Regardless of the company’s significant growth, Scame retains the feel of a small enterprise where intimate working relationships are encouraged in line with a close-knit working ethos.

“Despite the size of our organisation, Scame is still a company where you can find a direct 36 | EME Outlook issue 45

SUPERCHARGING ELECTRIC MOBILITY Although perceived as a relatively nascent field of industry, Scame has been at the forefront of e-mobility since the beginning.

“We were the first company in the world to design a charging connector dedicated to electric cars in a professional way in 1999,” Scainelli states proudly.

Scame first entered the field “almost accidentally”, when the Italian EV association CEI CIVES approached the company to create a specific connector for EV charging, standard recognised in the relevant IEC 62196-2.

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EME Outlook issue 45 | 37

SCAME PARRE S.P.A

Torri Fonderie MONITORING PRODUCTION AND QUALITY PERFORMANCE IN REAL TIME The data collected by the machinery and product quality are processed and analysed in real time by our software to obtain dashboards with KPI indicators.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY Thanks to the activities carried out, we have managed to obtain more than 3,000 white certificates.

We are ISO 14001: 2015 certified and we work to reduce our carbon footprint everyday.

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“Over the following decade, we developed several solutions following the imposition of regulations, and contributing to the European standard that is in force today.”

In 2010, the company developed its first charging system for public and private areas in alternating current (AC) standard. Fast forward to 2022, and Scame is now also involved in the rollout of DC charging systems.

Still a developing field that is untapped in its full potential, e-mobility remains an exciting area of focus for Scame. The market is one rife with opportunity for developing products and solutions combining new technologies with the shifting needs of consumers. As the field advances, manufacturers must keep pace and become increasingly competitive.

“The e-mobility sector is currently booming, thanks to both technology and the political choices made by the European Community,” he comments.

“Whilst technology has provided 38 | EME Outlook issue 45

solutions with increasingly affordable prices, the European Community has made radical choices pushing the theme of climate change. Not only is this a major global issue, but also a great area of business.”

STANCE ON SUSTAINABILITY Continuing the topic of climate change, Scainelli highlights how a commitment to environmental welfare lies at the very core of Scame as an enterprise that balances its obligation to both individuals, and our planet.

“An environmental theme has been in our DNA since our foundation in 1963,” says Scainelli. “50 years ago, this was nowhere near as trendy as it is today!”

Scainelli fondly recalls his father’s efforts in instilling eco-friendly values across the business, organising waste collection days during which company staff would gather to clear rubbish from the woods surrounding

the business.

“Now that environmental issues have become a worldwide priority, we are acting on several fronts to reduce our impact as much as possible.”

At Scame, this begins with the accurate selection of materials, and extends to self-energy production from renewable sources, the recycling of waste materials and the strict implementation of energy saving policies.

“For us, e-mobility is just one of our many policies aiming to reduce our impact on the environment. Our fleet today is 50 percent electric, and I believe that we will reach 80 percent by 2025,” he concludes.

INNOVATING MANUFACTURING R&D and investment are two components that form the true backbone of innovation, feeding new ideas and fuelling future ventures. At Scame, both represent key pillars of the company culture.

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EME Outlook issue 45 | 39

SCAME PARRE S.P.A

40 | EME Outlook issue 45

MANUFACTURING

“The role of R&D in a company is vital, especially to anticipate mega trends, but also in the process of analysing and satisfying market needs,” Scainelli explains.

“This feeds into the sales network and marketing, which have the task of coordinating the entire process of innovation, implementation and launch of new products and services.”

Unsurprisingly, this represents a major area of consistent investment for Scame. Indeed, over the last three years, the company’s human resources in R&D have effectively doubled, now exceeding over 10 percent of Scame employees.

Recent strategic investments include advanced software in the e-mobility arena to stimulate the charging of EVs. Aside from advancing this segment of business, investments into automation across

the board are a constant.

“We continuously invest in automation since it allows you to control the variable cost of labour when the volumes justify it.

Automation allows for an extremely elastic production system that enables us to react quickly to changes in demand whilst maintaining our high-quality standards,” says Scainelli.

ENERGISING THE FUTURE Looking to the years ahead, Scame will continue to strategically navigate the e-mobility sector as a key area of major growth. This will begin with bringing to market a full range of direct current (DC) standard fast charging systems.

“Our primary objective is to consolidate our organisational structure in the e-mobility area, in order to continue to grow in the

future,” affirms Scainelli.

Aside from this, Scame will be committed to sustaining its industryleading reputation and strong market position as a world-class manufacturer.

“We were born as a simple electromechanical company, and now we’ve developed into specialists in the electronic field. Our challenge for the future will be to maintain our position as market leaders and exploit this position to take advantage of new synergies between different clusters.”

SCAME PARRE S.P.A Tel: +39 035 705000 scame@scame.com www.scame.com

EME Outlook issue 45 | 41

ELANDERS

STREAMLINING THE SUPPLY CHAIN

We speak to Kevin Rogers, Managing Director of Elanders, and discuss the company’s investments and success in providing international customers with end-to-end solutions Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Matthew Taylor

42 | EME Outlook issue 45

MANUFACTURING

I

n the past two years, we have witnessed the importance of an efficient global supply chain and logistical sector in the face of the impacts of COVID-19. Within this space, integrating the latest solutions is key to continued success.

Operating in the supply chain sector is Elanders, a Swedish owned group of companies, with a presence in 21 countries worldwide specialising in the development of end-to-end solutions.

“Our two business areas are supply chain and print and packaging. We develop efficient solutions that make life easier for our customers,” explains Kevin Rogers, Managing Director.

“Elanders’ services and products consist of end-to-end global supply chain solutions, e-fulfilment services for many international brands, lifecycle services for electronic products, the assembly and configuration of many devices, as well as print and packaging manufacturing.”

The group offers a broad range of services and total solutions in supply chain management. Elanders has more than 7,000 employees operating across its 21 countries in four continents. The company’s most important and focal markets are those of China, Germany, Singapore, Sweden, the UK and the US, with major customers active in the automotive, electronics, fashion and lifestyle, health care and life science, and industrial sectors.

EME Outlook issue 45 | 43

ELANDERS

ELANDERS AT THE CORE

The company’s strategy is to operate within niches in each field where Elanders can take a market-leading position. The company aims to achieve its long-range financial goals and sustainably deliver an increase in value and higher return to its shareholders year after year, and Elanders continually develops its offer to customers. With new and improved services, integrated total solutions and the implementation of innovative technology, the company creates a good platform for continued growth and development, as well as greater value for shareholders.

ELANDERS SERVICES AT A GLANCE - Print and Packaging - Global Order Management - Warehousing and Inventory Management - Fulfilment and Distribution - Custom Configuration and Assembly - Sourcing and Procurement - After Sales Services - Renewed Tech - Transport and Logistics

44 | EME Outlook issue 45

“Elanders helps its customers to more efficiently manage their entire supply chain, everything from raw materials to the product itself,” Rogers explains. “By optimising customers’ material and component flows, Elanders actively helps its customers to reduce their environmental impact and thus contributes to a more sustainable society.

“Because of this, we can take total global responsibility for the entire supply chain, including procurement, warehousing, configuration, production and distribution. Our offer also includes order management, payment solutions and after sales services for our customers, and our services are provided by dedicated business-oriented employees.”

Elanders maintains a focus on advanced logistic solutions with a large portion of value-added services. Together, Elanders develops its customers’ businesses and strengthens their competitiveness in the market.

“We help our customers optimise business-critical processes, locally and globally, through integrated and customised solutions for managing all or parts of their supply chains,” Rogers says. “Our goal is to be a leader in global end-to end solutions in supply chain management and meeting customers’ demands on efficiency and deliveries, while maintaining a focus on sustainability.”

A CAREER IN MANUFACTURING Rogers has been working in innovative fields since the late 1980s.

During the fledgling life of computers and the internet, his career began with an engineering company where he was responsible for IT setup.

“Back then, seeing the workshop in practice was fascinating and this is where I became interested in manufacturing,” he reflects. “My journey toward my current role began working in print manufacturing in the spring of 1988, starting as a

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EME Outlook issue 45 | 45

ELANDERS trainee operator for a company called Hindson Print in Newcastle Upon Tyne, where I progressed through the ranks and worked my way to Production Manager.”

In 1999 Hindson Print was acquired

by Elanders, and from this point on the UK-based company flourished, thanks to investment and being part of a European business.

“Then, in 2002, I was persuaded by one of my colleagues to move over to the ‘dark side’ of sales and marketing,” Rogers muses. “This move helped me understand the commercial aspect of a manufacturing business being in the front-line creating proposals for existing customers and those who were prospective.

“I progressed to the position of

EME OUTLOOK: WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT TAKE ON THE INDUSTRY ACROSS THE UK? Kevin Rogers, Managing Director: “The manufacturing industry is very dynamic at the moment with many challenges related to Brexit and supply chains. The dynamic nature of the UK market and the challenges we face does make it exciting and there are definitely opportunities for those who are prepared to pivot and remain agile.”

46 | EME Outlook issue 45

Sales and Marketing Director, and in 2011, I was appointed the role of Manging Director for Elanders in the UK. Previously I had made it known in an interview for the Elanders Group Annual Report that I wanted to be the first British guy to be promoted to the group management team. In 2014 I gained international experience by taking additional responsibility for one of Elanders’ supply chain operations in Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic. A year later I received an email from my CEO titled ‘something to think about’.

This was an opportunity to step up to group management level with a posting in Beijing, China – sometimes you have to be careful what you ask for!”

Rogers accepted the challenge, moving with his family to take on the position of Head of Print and Packaging in Asia. He spent the next four years working out of Beijing and gained additional experience with the Thailand Board of Investment at a time when the company was considering setting up an operation near Bangkok. Although this operation did not materialise, for Rogers, the experience was invaluable.

“I returned back to the UK in the summer of 2019, and I am now Managing Director for the UK and President of Sales and Marketing for Elanders Group, a leading end-toend industry solutions provider,” he concludes.

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EME Outlook issue 45 | 47

ELANDERS

48 | EME Outlook issue 45

MANUFACTURING

RECOGNISING EFFORT

Elanders values its people and has various reward and recognition schemes in place across the world, to make its employees feel valued and appreciated.

Elanders features team members in the company’s group annual report to highlight colleagues and their roles within the organisation. These features make a positive difference when it comes to collective motivation and creating a feeling of value within the business.

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE Elanders has a global footprint and a customer focused approach to designing effective solutions. At the forefront of company investments has been a heavy focus on automation, in order to increase its capacity and to be able to provide a 24/7 service to its international customers.

“This won’t reduce our headcount, rather it increases our capacity, reduces lead-times and enhances our competitiveness in the market,” Rogers informs us. “This automation is taking place in both supply chain and print and packaging business lines.

“ELANDERS HELPS ITS CUSTOMERS TO MORE EFFICIENTLY MANAGE THEIR ENTIRE SUPPLY CHAIN, EVERYTHING FROM RAW MATERIALS TO THE PRODUCT ITSELF” - KEVIN ROGERS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ELANDERS

“On top of this internal investment, being a Swedish owned company, sustainability is in our DNA. We have designed and manufactured branded e-commerce packaging for some of our customers which reduce the materials used and is fully recyclable!”

Sustainability is a core part of Elanders’ overall business ethos. A key component of the company’s drive to improve sustainability is the refurbishment and repurposing of IT equipment such as servers, network switches, laptops, desktop computers, tablets and smart phones.

“We provide an end-to-end service where we collect the equipment, provide a data wiping service to be fully compliant with data protection regulations, then we refurbish and re-sell the kit on behalf of our clients to achieve the best possible price for them,” Rogers explains. “For every 5,000 phones and 5,000 laptops we refurbish and re-sell to the secondary market, we save two million kilogrammes of CO2e!”

LOOKING FORWARD Moving ahead through 2022, Elanders is aiming to expand and grow in the areas of renewed tech (the repurposing of IT equipment), lifecycle services, fashion and lifestyle, electronics and e-commerce services.

“We had a target to grow our presence in the Americas and the recent acquisition of Bergen Logistics has helped us achieve this goal,” Rogers says.

“Life at Elanders is exciting at the moment, and it’s worth keeping an eye out for more growth and strategic development around the world.”

Tel: 01912 800400 addingvalue@elanders.com www.elanders.co.uk

EME Outlook issue 45 | 49

SPEA

THE TEST OF

QUALITY

SPEA conceives, invents, designs and develops industry-leading test equipment for electronics worldwide. Founder and CEO Luciano Bonaria explores the spirit of ingenuity and aspirations for growth Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Matthew Taylor

Every single electronic and micro-electronic device needs to be tested. But for new inventions or for new technologies, there is no testing equipment readily available on the market.

“For any company to be able to produce new inventions or new microelectronics technologies they need a tester.

50 | EME Outlook issue 45

We have the reputation to be the fastest company in the world to invent what is necessary to test any new device.”

For the last 45 years, leading manufacturer of electronic test equipment, SPEA, has been powered by the inventive mind of founder and CEO, Luciano Bonaria.

In a world that is run on electronics, Bonaria brings the

MANUFACTURING

spirit of ingenuity to serving a critical need by eliminating risk with a guarantee of quality.

As a producer of world-class testers for wafers, microchips, MEMS, sensors, power devices, boards, power modules, batteries, lighting and many other electronic devices, SPEA’s equipment allows Tier One companies to continue

producing the components that fuel our modern world.

Based in Turin, SPEA’s market is wide-ranging, finding customers across worldwide markets wherever electronic equipment is produced and sold. Today, its operational footprint extends to Europe, the US, and Asia, including China.

EME Outlook issue 45 | 51

SPEA As a certified Tier One tester, SPEA caters to a host of essential industries, from aerospace and defence, medical, mobile, to the automotive sector, and energy and solar applications.

The company’s manufacturing prowess oversees the entire journey of conceiving, inventing, designing, developing and bringing to

SPEA PRODUCTS ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY: • Flying probe tester • In-circuit tester • Optomechatronics tester • Power device, board, module tester • Battery tester • Light tester • Touch screen tester • Functional and EOL tester • Quality software • Automatic board handling equipment SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY: • Analogue/Digital/MixedSignal, linear and automotive tester • Power device tester • MEMS test cell • Pick and place test handler • Smart card and ID tester • Double-sided wafer prober and tester • Load board tester • Probe card tester Additionally, SPEA provides custom testers designed for special products.

52 | EME Outlook issue 45

production testing equipment.

It is a process that Bonaria himself is extremely familiar with, having originally entered the field in 1968.

After completing his studies, Bonaria was enlisted into the ranks of Italian electrical manufacturer Olivetti at a seminal time for the industry.

“When I was 20 years old, I had just finished my training at technical school when Olivetti invented the first personal computer (PC) in Turin.

They hired me and assigned me the job to design and develop the testing equipment for the first PC invented boards,” he recalls.

This was a daunting task for young Bonaria, having never produced testing equipment before. He excelled nonetheless, and soon delivered to production the first testers of boards for the newly invented PCs. The following year, when General Electric (GE) acquired Olivetti’s division of mainframe computers, Bonaria was called upon once again to design and test equipment for mainframe computer boards. An Olivetti invention, these machines powered manufacturing of crucial companies including port and airport operations.

“Specifically, I designed one big tester able to test the first

semiconductor memory of Intel, the 1101 microchip, the memory board and the memory module of the system board as one multi-purpose tester.

Through this I learnt how to invent, conceive, design, develop, test and deliver to production complicated testers for memories, for boards and other electronic devices,” he tells us.

Having refined his skills in this complex and essential area, in 1976 at the age of 28, Bonaria founded SPEA and continues to answer the need for electronics testers across the world.

THE COMPETITIVE EDGE Over the course of its history thus far, SPEA has established and continues to maintain a truly competitive edge over other players in the field.

The greatest advantage of all returns to Bonaria’s opening statement regarding SPEA’s ability to devise and invent unprecedented test equipment, which essentially enables the production of new electronic devices being bought to market.

“Secondly, due to the fact that my brain has been inventing non-existing test equipment for over half a century, we have a reputation that the testers we invent always have the fastest throughput.

“One single SPEA testing machine

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“ONE SINGLE SPEA TESTING MACHINE DOES THE JOB OF TWO TO FOUR OF OUR BEST COMPETITORS” - LUCIANO BONARIA, CEO, SPEA does the job of two to four of our best competitors,” he states proudly.

In addition, across several fields of industry, SPEA’s testers are reputed for the most advanced performance and functionality in specific applications.

Finally, it is SPEA’s collaborative way of working with its customers that makes the difference.

“We are always listening to and working together with our customers, acting in their best interests,” Bonaria comments.

“We are not just selling products to them. Instead, we have an attitude of working collaboratively so that they can successfully use our equipment until they are completely satisfied.

“Our first perspective is that the

customer must be happy, and we work together with them until we are sure that they have success,” he adds.

NAVIGATING COVID-19 Over the past two years, the COVID19 pandemic has paid testament to SPEA’s efforts in fulfilling the needs of its customers.

In these turbulent times, the critical role that SPEA performs rose to the fore, in answering society’s most important needs.

“Testing equipment is necessary for all medical equipment. We had to keep working for all infrastructures that are governed by electronics – whether that’s providing water or the supply of gas and electricity.”

As a result, SPEA executed

a tireless effort on behalf of its customers and society, upholding its technological lifeblood with the supply of electronics testing equipment.

“For the first year of COVID-19, we worked every hour of every day. We didn’t lose a single hour of operation during the first major outbreak in 2020,” Bonaria tells us. “Fortunately, since we took absolute measures to avoid infections internal to the company, we didn’t have a single case of the virus within our 700 members of staff.”

In 2021, this same pace of work continued but not without some personnel being forced to quarantine after testing positive for the virus.

“The consideration of our personnel is still the most important thing.”

Regardless, SPEA managed to navigate the crisis without a single delay in the delivery of its essential testers to its customers.

EME Outlook issue 45 | 53

SPEA NEW HORIZONS Despite the challenging nature of recent years, SPEA has continued to pursue an ambitious trajectory of growth that is feeding exploration into exciting new fields of activity.

“We grew our turnover throughout 2020, and in 2021 we grew even more,” Bonaria tells us.

Indeed, in 2021, SPEA’s turnover had increased by 20 percent, with a 55 percent increase in sales income.

This translates to a turnover of €145 million for FY 2021, and a sales income of €170 million.

This consecutive growth also translates to SPEA’s workforce. The volume of personnel employed at SPEA’s headquarters in Volpiano increased by 12 percent in 2021, totalling 760 people.

“Across the rest of the world, we grew to 900 people working for SPEA throughout that time, which was an

54 | EME Outlook issue 45

“OUR FIRST PERSPECTIVE IS THAT THE CUSTOMER MUST BE HAPPY, AND WE WORK TOGETHER WITH THEM UNTIL WE ARE SURE THAT THEY HAVE SUCCESS” - LUCIANO BONARIA, CEO, SPEA

increase of seven percent.”

As a result of this dynamic growth in both sales and volume, Bonaria is pioneering SPEA’s entrance into new fields outside of the company’s traditional market offering in testers for wafers, microchips and electronic boards.

“SPEA machines are now facing new fields. Due to the many benefits that we can offer, major companies from around the world are now coming to us.”

The advent of electric vehicles (EVs) is a major component of this new offering, as the demand for quality batteries continues to rise.

“EV companies are now creating gigafactories to produce these batteries. Some of these huge Tier One companies are selecting SPEA due to the superiority of the battery testers we have conceived, invented and produced in this new field,” says Bonaria.

MANUFACTURING

Photo taken prior to 2020 Also within the automotive field, SPEA is already establishing itself as a trusted testing provider for new power components in silicon carbide technology (SiC). A gamechanger for the industry, SiC is transforming technology, improving the way that EVs are powered.

Aside from this, SPEA is testing the latest technology for light – a vast realm that answers the need for the testing of any light emitted by LED devices and products. Necessitating extremely accurate measurements, this may be applied to anything from a car’s headlight to an entertainment system.

“We are also expanding into 5G technology components, after inventing a new concept of testing for semiconductors with microchips and wafers.

“We call this DOT (Device-Oriented Testers). This invention is a small

compact tester that is very simple, but tests extremely complex devices such as the microchips and wafers in the very latest technologies. More and more Tier One semiconductor companies are now adopting this DOT tester from us,” Bonaria explains.

To cater to the demand of this evergrowing customer base, SPEA has invested in a new building in order to expand its manufacturing capabilities, and another to further its R&D activity.

“We are undergoing a huge

investment in expanding our facilities here in Volpiano in order to further organise our company.”

By constantly enhancing SPEA’s operations, Bonaria hopes to further attract more “big lions” of the electronics market and convert them into new, loyal customers.

As a dynamic and forward-thinking enterprise, the spirit of ingenuity at the very heart of SPEA will continue to fuel the company’s growth in alignment with the relentless advancement of electronics for generations to come.

Tel: +39 011 98 25 400 info@spea.com www.spea.com

EME Outlook issue 45 | 55

TOLY GROUP

50 YEARS IN BEAUTY Andy Gatesy, CEO and Chairman of Toly Group, tells us about the company’s origins beginning with his father, and the people-centric nature of the business that has not changed to this day Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Matthew Taylor

56 | EME Outlook issue 45

MANUFACTURING and Chairman of the group, Gatesy has - and continues to - carry these family values, ensuring that they exist throughout the business.

“We are celebrating 50 years in Malta this year, it’s quite the milestone!”

Gatesy announces proudly. “Our heritage stems from the production of compacts for products like face powders, blushers and eyeshadows; that’s how it started. But all these decades later we are able to offer packaging solutions across the whole makeup category as well as those classic products we started with.

“Through our wide network of partners, we have the ability to offer complementary technologies in the beauty space, such as custom fragrance caps and skincare packs, and we have built our business serving the large legacy brands across the industry.”

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS TO A GLOBAL LEADER

We are in the beauty industry, leading with quality, innovation and family at heart - that’s our makeup.”

In 1956, a Hungarian man by the name of Dr. Zoli Gatesy left his country of birth for the UK. A toolmaker by trade, Zoli’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to establish a toolmaking and injection moulding business 10 years later. While looking for suitable manufacturing locations he turned his attention to Malta, where he founded Toly Products in 1971; the foundation of an internationally spanning business that exists today.

For Toly Group (Toly), the wholesome family core of the company has not changed since its infancy, but rather grown with the mantle of leadership having been taken up by Zoli’s son, Andy Gatesy, in 1991 – a position that he still holds. As the current CEO

Toly remains a privately owned company with a continuous focus on the beauty industry, and one that has expanded internationally in recent years, consequently diversifying its product base to include makeup, skincare, fragrance and promotional packaging. Toly’s services also include Toly Research, Toly Design Studio, manufacturing and a full-service solution designated to speed-tomarket, ultimately giving each Toly customer a unique experience.

“In 1990, Toly was approached by a large legacy brand - Chanel - to invest in a new plastic coating technology for a high gloss resistant surface,” Gatesy says. “Originally, we were a good manufacturer with a competitive advantage and great quality, but we didn’t have state-ofthe-art technology at the time. This investment and partnership with Chanel really changed our business; it was a real turning point in our company history.”

EME Outlook issue 45 | 57

TOLY GROUP

“WE ARE VERY PROUD TO HAVE MOVED FORWARD SO SUCCESSFULLY WHILE HAVING RETAINED THE VALUES THAT MY FATHER LAID DOWN SINCE TOLY’S BEGINNING” - ANDY GATESY, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, TOLY GROUP And for Gatesy, Toly’s history means more than just the development of a company, it is the legacy of a dedicated founder and father.

“Unfortunately, my dad passed away in 1991,” Gatesy reflects. “I took over as CEO and Chairman at 27 years old; I was young and at the head of a company during a critical growth period. We were at around the six-million-euro mark when it came to business value, but over time we have grown, our team has worked hard and two years ago we reached the 100-million-euro mark working with 29 out of 30 top beauty brands worldwide.

“We are very proud to have moved forward so successfully while retaining the values that my father laid down since Toly’s beginning.”

58 | EME Outlook issue 45

STAFF-CENTRIC BUSINESS Despite the overall success of Toly, the past two years has been a challenge for the company, and indeed the wider sector. By the nature of its business in the beauty industry - one that focuses on marketing image and presence – the worldwide impact stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic has been substantial.

“Over the course of the pandemic it was fragrances and cosmetics that were most impacted,” Gatesy explains. “If you think about it, the reason is quite simple. People wear makeup and dress up when they head out to the office, or to a party, or out for dinner, and when people were stuck at home during lockdown these activities became non-existent for the most part.

TOLY GROUP CORE VALUES: PEOPLE Toly is a people company with a strong family spirit. Toly is a way of life.

PASSION Toly is passionate about work, passionate about its people and passionate about packaging.

PRIDE Toly has an enormous sense of ambition and pride in seeing its people develop, the company develop, and its products being used by the world’s leading brands.

CREATIVITY Innovation is in Toly’s DNA. The company aims to be the most creative company in packaging.

These products are either produced in company factories or through Toly’s global network of trading partners.

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TOLY GROUP “Face masks didn’t help either, covering half of the face, especially as wearing less makeup was better for mask cleanliness. Last year our business was impacted around 17 percent top line, and to combat the decline caused by COVID-19 we worked together. Everybody at Toly, from management down, made salary sacrifices, and brought these back up to 100 percent over time.”

By doing so, Toly protected the employment of its staff and kept its people safe. For Gatesy, the company’s manufacturing plants in Asia provided the business with the advantage of foresight.

“Our plants in Asia were hit by the impacts of the pandemic first, so we were able to learn and adapt early on and apply these teachings throughout the company as COVID-19 spread internationally,” he tells us.

President George Abela

60 | EME Outlook issue 45

EME Outlook: Can you tell us about the President of Malta’s visit to the company factory?

Andy Gatesy, CEO and Chairman: “We are very proud that the company has been operating in Malta for 50 years, and because of this we are an important stakeholder in the success of the country; Malta is small after all, so we are well-established here.

“Initially during the pandemic, we could not host a party as we wished, so we had multiple government figureheads visit the company, and the President of Malta also visited our factory in person.

“This was great because by profession he is a family doctor based in the village next door to where the factory is, so when he walked through the factory, everybody gave him a round of applause and many spoke to him as they knew him personally or through relatives. This is how Malta differs from other places because everything is connected, and even at the highest level of government, people are human, and it provides a great sense of community.

“We spoke to the President about our sustainable packaging and plans for the future, and it was great to have him take a look around a factory that has been a part of Malta for so long.”

Firetech – Let’s play safe!

F

iretech has been providing Fire, Safety and Security services solutions for three decades and is now a successful second generation provider committed to keeping customers safe.

First established by entrepreneur Simon J. Camilleri, Danjela Bianchi, the founder’s daughter, is proof positive that proper succession planning can reap dividends for business as well as family stewardship of assets.

Firetech provides a range of products and services that includes the supply, installation and maintenance of fire protection systems, including fire extinguishing, fire stopping and fire suppression systems; fire alarm systems including detection and control devices; access control, intrusion systems, CCTV, and other security systems; as well as a raft of related products such as hall porters, nurse call systems, gate automation, emergency lighting, safety signs, and queue management systems, amongst others.

The company has developed and deployed information technology systems that underpin a well-trained and motivated team who maintain ISO 9001:2015 accreditation. The management team is committed to systems and methodologies that recognize the importance of Quality, Health, Safety and Protection of the Environment.

Firetech aspires to the highest quality standards in the fire and security industry internationally with a track-record of projects in the region. Clients range from the Malta Police Force to Farsons, Corinthia Group, Valletta Design Cluster, Gap, Tum Invest, Elbros, Trident Park, MCAST and not forgetting Toly!

Nobody on the Firetech team ever seeks to rest on their laurels; the company is constantly looking out for the best products available in terms of performance, reliability and value for corporate, hospitality, private or public customers, whether they are at sea or on dry land. Partners include companies such as Siemens, Hochiki, Realtime, BTV, Cortex, FranklinHodge, Visonic, and Everlux, just a small selection of the world class companies who Firetech are proud to be associated with.

Firetech has invested significantly in developing a state-of-the-art workshop to deliver the best service possible.

The main office, warehouse, workshop and showroom is located on the edge of the prestigious Central Business District, opposite HSBC Bank headquarters and a stone’s throw from Bank of Valletta’s administrative centre.

All imported equipment for sale is solely manufactured to the highest BS specifications or equivalent, by ISO or other internationally approved or accredited manufacturers. The Directors visit factories and personally inspect the products.

Firetech further ensures that the products are accepted and approved by the local Fire Service Directorates in the countries in which it operates.

Danjela says: “What we do impacts on people’s lives.

It is vitally important that everyone we come into contact with can rely on us to do things right. We mean what we say and we do what we say.”

99 Mill Street, Qormi, Malta | (00356

99 Mill Street, Qormi, Malta

|

T (00356) 2278 5200 | www.firetech.com.mt

TOLY GROUP

“WE ARE DRIVEN BY OUR CORE VALUES THAT ARE SIMPLE: PEOPLE, PASSION, PRIDE AND CREATIVITY” - ANDY GATESY, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, TOLY GROUP

62 | EME Outlook issue 45

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RETHINKING MANUFACTURING Toly’s presence spans the globe, with offices in the US (Los Angeles and New York City), Europe (France, Belgium, the UK, and Malta), and Asia (Hong Kong, China and South Korea).

On the manufacturing side, Toly also boasts a 20,000 square-metre factory plant in Malta.

“The plant opened up two years ago and operates with a core focus on sustainability and agility in mind,” Gatesy explains. “Through this factory, we are rethinking manufacturing, and this is a really important aspect of us being a sustainable company.

“We are a plastics manufacturer but also offer glass and paper packaging and have a global network of partners that look into sustainable solutions.

Our joint venture with a partner in Hong Kong offers and promotes paper packaging, and we are always on the lookout for partners who offer sustainable concepts.”

This variation in services and offers

expressgroup.com

sets Toly apart from the traditional industry models seen in the manufacturing space. It is the company’s vision to create a global beauty product development platform made up of a network of internal capabilities and external partners, in order to form an ecosystem that offers an innovative new full-service.

Toly’s strength lies in its ability to offer its customers not only diverse and sustainable packaging solutions, but also design and branding services, and even audio and visual production to support customers and meet their needs.

At the core of the company, Toly’s vision is to grow from its primary position as a packaging manufacturer to a beauty development platform.

“Our mission is to partner with our customers and world leading brands, as well as new brands, to help them launch and bring their amazing products to the market,” Gatesy adds.

For Gatesy, the company’s purpose

is to make a positive impact on everybody and everything it reaches.

It is the lives that the business impacts and makes better, rather than the money made, that separates Toly from the rest of the industry.

“It’s not about the money and growth,” Gatesy affirms. “If, on our journey forward, we lose our passion, family spirit and soul at the expense of profit and growth, it will be the biggest mistake in the history of our company.

“We are driven by our core values that are simple: people, passion, pride and creativity, and these will remain central to our business in the future as it has been in the past.”

Tel: +356 21693520 info@toly.com www.toly.com

EME Outlook issue 45 | 63

ALYASRA

FEEDING KUWAIT

Alyasra is at the centre of helping to improve access to quality food produce across the GCC. We speak to Mohamed Samir, Group CEO of Alyasra, to learn more Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Harry Parker When it comes to the food and beverage industry, Kuwait has a very rich culture with around one restaurant for every 100 people. It is a prominent sector, and alongside it exists a keen nature for innovation in the field; you will find a lot of local concepts that were created in the country that have been adopted by the rest of the region.”

Mohamed Samir, Group CEO of 64 | EME Outlook issue 45

Alyasra and orator of the opening statement, works at the centre of the giant that is Kuwaiti food and drink.

“When you start to consider the food and beverage industry in Kuwait you have to take into account before, during and after COVID-19,” Samir tells us. “The past two years have been difficult, many restaurants have suffered from the lockdowns, but there has been some positive phenomena such as retail distribution and a dynamic market change towards online delivery.

“Food e-commerce will remain an ever-growing space, with the increase of online food shopping and rising trends such as the demand for 30-minute deliveries.”

DECADES IN THE GCC Established more than three decades ago, Alyasra started delivering to the retail and foodservice industry, and over the years the company has reinvented itself time and again to stay ahead of the competition.

The group has two primary businesses, the first of which is in the food and beverage industry, and the second in the fashion retail sector.

In the apparel retail space, Alyasra operates as a franchise holder for many well-known labels in different categories, boasting premium brands like Kenzo, Marc Jacobs, Jimmy Choo, MaxMara and DKNY to name a few.

It also runs a watch and jewellery division across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

FOOD & DRINK

EME Outlook issue 45 | 65

ALYASRA

ALYASRA FOODS AT A GLANCE

Alyasra Foods is a regional GCC leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to hotels, restaurants, caterers and retail.

THE COMPANY HAS IN EXCESS OF: - 30 years in the business - Many strong global brands - 2,000 employees of over 60 nationalities - 15,000 direct customers - A handful of multitemperature distribution centres across the region PRODUCT SERVICE CATEGORIES: - Meat - Poultry - Seafood - Bakery and Dessert - Beverages and Equipment - Dairy, Cheese and Eggs - Vegetables and Fruits - Grocery Products - Special Meat and Poultry

66 | EME Outlook issue 45

“Our food business also operates across the GCC,” Samir informs us.

“Our main focus is on food services.

We supply restaurants with everything including what is called ‘centre of plate’ products, which are all the poultry, meat, and other protein-based products. We also focus on potato-based products. We then have additional facilities that produce nuts, coffee, and our subsidiary meat cutting brand and solutions provider called Mr. Cleavers.

“We act in the retail food brand distribution space and work with the likes of Kellogg’s and Pringles and produce ready-made products like sandwiches and croissants to Costa and Starbucks in Saudi.”

Astoria Storm is the espresso machine developed to satisfy the needs of the most experienced and enthusiastic baristas.

In Storm each detail is the result of research and dedication in a “Barista Attitude” dimension.

Storm is a mix of craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology. With Storm, a barista is free to express himself/herself and his/her own experimentation skills through simple and comfortable actions.

Delivered coffee is at the center of every concern. The baristas’ gestures are the protagonist of the scene and have highly symbolic value.

ADAPTING TO COVID-19 Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have lacked the option to dine beyond the home, whether that has been due to lockdowns and the resulting closure of restaurants and food outlets, or through a personal choice of safety over risk, limiting the number of activities and trips beyond the home.

“We understand that it is difficult to cook the same quality food and meals at home as you find in restaurants,” Samir says. “For many people spending more time with their families through working from home, there is often a lack of ingredients needed to make these specialist meals, as some of these ingredients are not even available directly from supermarkets.

“This is where Alyasra comes in. We make ‘restaurant quality’ ingredients available to the everyday individual or family by delivering our produce directly to the consumer, and we have had a very good reaction from this!

These products have also been delivered to some businesses and smaller restaurants, and it have been doing very well. This branch of our business, called Makani, along with online services and our ability to deliver goods swiftly, makes Alyasra an appealing concept for many people.”

www.stormbaristaattitude.com

Jacobs Douwe Egberts In 1753 in the Netherlands, Egbert Douwes founded his first coffee outlet. Over a century later in 1895, in Bremen, Germany, Johann Jacobs opened his first grocery business.

Today, as JDEP we are the world’s leading pure-play coffee & tea company by revenue active in more than 100 markets around the world.

We are a publicly traded company on EuroNext, Amsterdam (JDEP), with a portfolio of more than 50 coffee and tea brands. We are serving over 4,500 cups of coffee and tea every second in the world.

As Professional division, we create richness in quality coffee experiences & our brands across cultures, add reach through our segments and build full-service solutions for our customers. In Middle East, we work with our valuable business partner Alyasra Foods who have 20+ distribution facilities in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and UAE

FOOD & DRINK

www.stormbaristaattitude.com Stormbaristaattitude

WE LOVE EASY HANDLING AND GREAT COFFEE

Want to know more? Visit jde-professional.com

EME Outlook issue 45 | 67

ALYASRA DEVELOPING DIGITAL SERVICES Stemming from this adaptability and development, Alyasra’s online services have become a key growth point for the company, especially over the past two years.

“There are two key areas of focus for us to keep in mind as we move forward,” Samir elaborates. “The first is that many of the customers that have been working with us have done so for a long time. They are loyal to us, and we have a drive to fulfil those orders on time.

“So, if we can digitise by making the orders online and direct to

EME OUTLOOK: HOW DOES ALYASRA STAND OUT IN THE INDUSTRY? Mohamed Samir, Group CEO: “I would say that the first defining factor is our service, that is complemented by our motto: ‘Wow the customer’.

“We want to wow the customer throughout every encounter that they have with Alyasra. We don’t necessarily want to be the biggest in the sector - that is not what we are aiming for - but in the future, it could be an outcome of being the best in everything that we do, especially in our food and beverage business. We also have a solid supply chain including the transportation of quality refrigerated produce that is very important to preserve.

“Because we are a family business, family values echo through Alyasra, and we have a standing critical value that equates to never selling produce to customers that we wouldn’t eat at home ourselves.”

68 | EME Outlook issue 45

our customers, their lives can be made easier as well as ours. The second aspect is aimed towards our restaurant customers.”

This latter facet of focus regards Alyasra’s drive to help restaurants organise and set themselves up in the digital realm. According to Samir, many businesses in Kuwait and the GCC are limited in their know-how when it comes to establishing an online presence, the facilitation of which can help them thrive.

“The advantages of restaurants setting themselves up online are numerous,” he explains. “You can have your supply coming in with delivery

via an online app. Businesses can also leverage digitisation for the purposes of increasing efficiency, and they can then recruit people online to help the growth of the business.”

ALYASRA MOVING FORWARD Promoting online services is not the only way in which Alyasra works to improve the lives of people and businesses. Within Kuwait, the company works with food banks, catering companies and non-profit organisations to supply food to those who need it.

“We do this all year round, but it really increases at certain times of year,

FOOD & DRINK

especially during Ramadan,” Samir says. “And this is replicated on the fashion side of our company, where we sell old stock at a very low price or give it freely to those who need it. This is particularly done during winter where there can be a severe wind chill and cold temperatures.”

This people-centric focus is one of the many core values of Alyasra as an organisation, and something that it will carry into the future as an important service to the everyday person in Kuwait and countries in the GCC. Alongside this, the company

will continue its mission of wowing the customer by being the best in the sector at what it does.

“I believe that being as customer focused as we are will continue to bring us more business in the years ahead,” Samir continues. “I also believe that building upon this reputation attracts good and skilled people towards the company.

“In terms of investments, we see Saudi Arabia as a critical market for growth following the amount of internal and external funding going into the kingdom. Lastly, the rise in

digital and e-commerce is becoming the centre of growth and profitability in the sector, and we will continue to promote our online services and help businesses establish their digital space.”

tareksadek@alyasra.com www.alyasrafoods.com

EME Outlook issue 45 | 69

LAMB WESTON/MEIJER

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FOOD & DRINK

FROM ROOTS TO HAPPINESS Adding value to a product of mother nature, we speak to Marc Schroeder, CEO of Lamb Weston / Meijer, the company focused on inspiring and serving customers and consumers with potato products they love and trust Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Harry Parker

EME Outlook issue 45 | 71

French Fry & Potato Co-product Solutions designed for your business •

Potato Handling & Storage

•

Preparation & Electroporation

•

Batter Coating

•

Frying & Oil Management

•

Energy Saving

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Pollution Control

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Seasoning & Conveying

info@heatandcontrol.com

|

heatandcontrol.com

LAMB WESTON/MEIJER

F

ew know that the humble potato arrived from beyond Europe, and even fewer know that it came from South America for that matter.

Originating in Peru, the classic vegetable would later become both a staple of cuisine and the key to growth (and in many cases the survival) in much of European society through the centuries. It was brought to Spain in 1570, followed by Ireland and the British Isles a few decades later. With the ability to last for lengths of time without spoiling, coupled with a great taste that filled bellies, the crop slowly spread across Europe as the widespread vegetable of the continent. The popularity of potatoes remains prominent today, with a wild variety of shapes and dishes being offered in the markets of every country at all times.

Within the region, Lamb Weston / Meijer operates as one of the larger manufacturers of French fries and potato specialties in the food space.

“At the roots we are a potato processing company,” introduces Marc Schroeder, CEO of Lamb Weston / Meijer. “Broadly speaking, we sell products such as regular fries, that a customer would buy from fast food outlets or large supermarket retailers for example, but also special shaped products, for example Twister fries, Dippers, Ziggy fries and Hash browns.

Besides that, we also sell potato flakes as ingredients to other products.

“We have four production facilities in the Netherlands, and one each in the UK, Austria and Russia. Even though our market focus is mainly on Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, we actually supply all over the world if you look at our total network.”

Still, Lamb Weston / Meijer is not just about producing potato products.

Through the simple, yet so powerful vegetable, the company aspires to nourish a growing world population, led by improved products and better production methods.

AMBIENT POTATO SOLUTIONS Each year, Lamb Weston / Meijer produce more than 52,000 tonnes of dehydrated potato flakes as ingredient for the food industry.

Companies worldwide process these potato flakes in all kinds of products: as the basis for instant soups and sauces, mashed potatoes, potato croquettes, crisps, gnocchi, bread mixes and potato snacks. Lamb Weston / Meijer produce a consistent quality all year round, in a variety of colours and sizes.

WHAT IS A DEHYDRATED POTATO FLAKE The shredded end-product is 100 percent pure potato, made from a mash of cooked potatoes, dehydrated by drum dryers.

Lamb Weston / Meijer turn whole potatoes, slivers, and snippets into high quality food products with added value.

Application for Flakes: • Bakery • Extruded snacks • Mashed potatoes (retail) • Ready meals • Pasta and gnocchi • Potato specialities • Soups and sauces • Ingredients • Poundo Potato meals PARTNERS IN POTATOES Lamb Weston / Meijer take great pride in working together with supply chain partners, from the growers harvesting the most delicious potatoes, to all key suppliers, foodservice professionals and end consumers.

They are all essential to achieving a successful outcome for all parties.

The company is very aware that they can’t do it alone and that they are all in this together, because as partners they’ll thrive.

74 | EME Outlook issue 45

H

eat and Control is an engineering and manufacturing-focused company with a global customer base and long-standing relationships with large-scale consumer and endproduct manufacturers. From a single piece of equipment through to a complete, fully integrated system with full engineering, design and food technologist input, the scope of their manufacturing facilities allows them to service a range of customers from small startups to large multi-nationals across industries and applications.

Setting benchmarks in food manufacturing process efficiency for over 70 years, their french fry and formed potato product systems are the industry standard for superior product quality, clean operation, and total reliability.

The Future of French Fries Technology and innovation continue to enhance the cooking processes of potatoes and custom designed processing equipment is allowing manufacturers of French Fries to respond to consumer demand for greater choice, better quality, and healthier alternatives. In 2020, the value of the global market for French Fries reached US$ 21.6 Billion (IMARC Group). It is expected to reach US$ 26.1 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 3.20% between 20212026.

Expediential growth of this industry has driven many potato processors to invest in processing efficiency through optimisation, and specially designed frying equipment that can reduce wastage of raw materials and energy is now available. Many factors should be considered when deciding which frying equipment

will optimise production of your specific application.

French fry processing equipment from Heat and Control has become the industry standard for superior product quality, clean operation, and total reliability.

French Fries & Potato Co-Products Heat and Control French fry and formed potato product systems are the workhorses of the industry. They process a broad range of styles, including straight cut fries, crinkle cut fries, curly fries, potato wedges, and variety of potato coproducts. Depending on the properties of the raw material processed and the desired finished product characteristics, their fryer designs consider how to heat the product, to what temperature and for how long, and the expected capacity throughputs. Their equipment solutions provide the choice of natural gas, oil, steam, thermal fluid or electric heating.

When sourcing equipment, processors of French fries should look for a supplier with solid experience in custom-designed, end to end processing lines.

Heat and Control Fryers are specifically designed for optimal product handling, uniform oil heating and flow control, efficient fines removal, fast oil turnover, and clean-in-place sanitation. By working with a market leading supplier such as Heat and Control, French fry processors can guarantee a product quality that meets customer expectations and productivity that delivers profitability.

For more information get in touch at info@heatandcontrol.com or visit www.heatandcontrol.com

E info@heatandcontrol.com | www.heatandcontrol.com

Outlook Creative Services Complementing the production of EME Outlook, APAC Outlook, Africa Outlook and North America Outlook magazines, Outlook Publishing’s awardwinning in-house team is now utilising these same specialist production skills to offer a full and bespoke range of editorial, design and marketing services via its new Outlook Creative Services division.

For more information on how we can work with you in providing a plethora of completely flexible and customisable production services, please visit: www.outlookpublishing.com/creative-services

DESIGN: Stephen Giles +44 (0) 1603 363 634 steve.giles@outlookpublishing.com

E D I TO R I A L : Phoebe Harper +44 (0) 1603 363 655 phoebe.harper@outlookpublishing.com

Devon Collins +44 (0) 1603 363 656 devon.collins@outlookpublishing.com

Marcus Kääpä +44 (0) 1603 363 653 marcus.kaapa@outlookpublishing.com

LAMB WESTON/MEIJER

A GROWING BUSINESS Lamb Weston / Meijer is a successful company with more than 25 years of experience in the food industry and has built lasting partnerships in the supply chain. Together with its over 600 growers in Europe, more than 100 suppliers worldwide and in excess of 1,700 customers in EMEA, the 78 | EME Outlook issue 45

“WE ARE A COMPANY THAT TAKES SUSTAINABILITY EXTREMELY SERIOUSLY, THAT’S FOR SURE” – MARC SCHROEDER, CEO OF LAMB WESTON / MEIJER company and its people aim for the same collective goal.

“We are proud of our almost 2,000 employees who make this possible,

and of the progression we have made together in the last 10 years,” Schroeder says. “We opened offices in Breda (Netherlands), Dubai (UAE),

FOOD & DRINK

Lagos (Nigeria), and we are looking at further expansions, such as an investment in Russia operating the first potato processing factory in Lipetsk (Russia), and an investment in a new Ambient Potato Flakes factory for ingredient solutions in Kruiningen (The Netherlands).

“We have the ambition to further

grow in our EMEA markets with a scale to create positive impact from potato to plate and have a lot of confidence for the future behind our company’s strategic plan, ‘W1N as One!’. This plan is built to continue our rapid growth (for example by investing in new production lines, such as in Russia and Netherlands),

to create the most efficient supply chain in the industry that minimises waste, energy and water while optimising value for the whole system including our growers and to lead the future in sustainability and innovation, which is underpinned by our investment in an innovation centre in the Netherlands.”

EME Outlook issue 45 | 79

TUMMERS FOOD PROCESSING SOLUTIONS P

rocess lines from Tummers Food Processing Solutions offer high efficiency and reliability.

To obtain the highest quality end-product, the Dutch machine building company will work closely together with you. Depending on your requirements, the possibilities are endless. With the greatest ease of use, Tummers process lines transform your potatoes into fries, slices or wedges, and potato flakes.

FLAKE LINE

T

ummers Food Processing Solutions is the global leader in potato flake manufacturing equipment. Years of experience result in highly-efficient potato flake lines with state of the art technologies, that manufacture massive capacities of flakes and powders with both high and low densities.

FLAKE PROCESSING BY TUMMERS: •

HIGHLY EFFICIENT

•

STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNIQUES

•

MASSIVE CAPACITIES

•

MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY

FRENCH FRY LINE

“FOR THE FRENCH FRY LINE, TUMMERS COMBINED THEIR EXPERTISE WITH THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES”

F

or the French fry line, Tummers combined their broad expertise with all the latest technologies. This production line consists of high grade equipment and uses 7 separate steps to process potatoes to delicious, directly after frying, ready to consume French fries.

FRYING BY TUMMERS: •

THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES

•

EFFICIENT AND RELIABLE

•

HIGH-GRADE EQUIPMENT

•

READY TO CONSUME END PRODUCT

“THE POSSIBILITIES OF POTATO PROCESSING ARE ENDLESS”

Ampèreweg 4

T: +31 (0)164 61 40 70

4631 SP Hoogerheide

E-mail: info@tummers.nl

The Netherlands

www.tummers.nl

LAMB WESTON/MEIJER

OVER TWO DECADES IN THE INDUSTRY Schroeder is relatively new to the company, having joined in January of 2021. Prior to this, he worked in various positions that have given him the vast experience with which to help grow Lamb Weston /Meijer in multiple fields.

“I am Dutch in origin and started working in Procter & Gamble (P&G). I then moved into an internet start-up before going to work for PepsiCo,” Schroeder explains. “For me, PepsiCo was a great mixture of a corporate organisation that 82 | EME Outlook issue 45

desired entrepreneurship and agility of its employees in an international environment within the food and beverage space. It very much fit my characteristics and in my 20-year career with that company, I worked with a lot of excitement and personal growth across the globe based in The Netherlands to Russia, the US and Switzerland.”

Yet following this, Schroeder decided that it was time for a role closer to home with his family, and one in which he could make an even greater direct impact on the business.

“My family was the key anchor to

move back to the Netherlands,” he tells us. “When I was asked to join Lamb Weston / Meijer, I actually had no idea that this company was in the business of French fries, so that was a pleasant surprise!

“This aligned well with my previous experience at PepsiCo. I used to run Frito Lay potato snacks in Russia, so I already knew about the intrinsic power of the potato, and I think this business was a perfect fit. Creating food that makes people happy out of a natural product is worth a lot in terms of the whole value chain that it represents.”

In need of specialised potato processing advice?

Talk to Tummers today!

T

ummers Food Processing Solutions was founded in 1976 as a machine building company and maintenance partner for the local potato industry. Due to over 40 years of experience in the potato processing, this company now has become a leading manufacturer of equipment for the potato processing industry. In fact, they are the world leader in the field of potato flake production.

However, being a Dutch family company, they always operate with a down-to-earth common sense.

Despite their impressive technologies, they therefore state that “Not machines, but people are the heart of Tummers”.

Passionate The Tummers organization is formed by passionate, driven and innovative-thinking employees who are continuously working on the best solutions related to food processing solutions. Tummers always combines the latest technologies to build not only efficient and reliable, but also hygienic food processing equipment. Their flexible product offer consists of machines as well as complete turnkey production lines for various processes, such as washing, peeling, cutting, flakes and fry production.

customers’ needs as their main priority. Therefore, it is not only the technical expertise of their engineers and project managers that they consider important.

They in fact believe the basis for coming up with the best fitting solutions is to be found in two things: their product and their customer. Putting together the ideal combination of machines fully based on your wishes and requirements has always been part of Tummers’ DNA.

Interaction This interaction between people and product results in Tummers serving their customers on the highest level. Therefore, when Lamb Weston was aiming to expand their production capacity extensively, they called in the experts of Tummers Food Processing Solutions. Taking their wish for a sustainable plant into account, Tummers’ project management equipped Lamb Weston with a state of the art multiple drum’s flake line, which contains all newly developed technologies.

Service The increasing global demand for potatoes and potato products is also increasing the demand for 24/7 production. Reliability, efficiency and minimal downtime are of great importance. This is why Tummers Food Processing Solutions offers not just high-quality systems, but also tailor-made services.

Regardless of how specific your requirements are, they can take care of everything from A to Z.

Innovative solutions Tummers’ goal always is to create he best fitting and innovative solutions. At developing and implementing new technologies, they consider their

The Netherlands

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T +31 (0) 164 61 40 70

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E info@tummers.nl

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www.tummers.nl

LAMB WESTON/MEIJER

AB Texel

DRIVEN TO IMPROVE “Lamb Weston / Meijer is improving itself every single day by asking questions about all parts of its process. And we talk to our customers.

This results in surprising solutions. Our potatoes end up served as part of a nutritious and tasty meal. We use our potatoes as fully as possible to produce fries, specialties or raw material for other products such as mashed potatoes.

“We don’t see just a potato, we see opportunities.

“Improving and doing business. It’s in our company’s DNA. We go beyond the status quo. This goes back to our origins, with the entrepreneurship of Cees Meijer Sr. in Kruiningen to Gilbert Lamb in Oregon. In 1960, he invented the water gun knife, an invention that is still the standard for cutting potatoes. We are the original creators of the Twister Fries and the CrissCuts.”

- Lamb Weston / Meijer

Improving together LWM and AB Texel Group collaborate intensively. As a logistics partner, AB Texel Group has been supplying potatoes to all LWM factories for over 20 years. In addition to physical transport, this also involves the entire planning of the supply chain.

Dennis Wetenkamp, CEO of AB Texel Group, says, “Based on LWM’s production schedule, we coordinate with the growers when to load at their premises. We plan the product supply and take care of transportation, including shunting on the factory sites. Our work connects seamlessly with production planning: we aim to unburden LWM completely.”

Thanks to its sheer size – 2,300 employees, 1,400 trucks and 2,300 trailers – AB Texel Group is able offer its customers optimal service. “We are flexible and always able to scale up and down quickly and easily, thanks to our dense network,” explains Dennis Wetenkamp.

He continues: “We have almost a century of experience in logistics services in agriculture and food. So much has changed in that period, but our principle has always remained the same: striving for improvement, together with our customers. Our partnership with LWM illustrates this beautifully.

FOR PEOPLE AND PLANET In his position as CEO, Schroeder ensures that the core values that make Lamb Weston / Meijer are known and felt throughout the business.

Chief among these, and the central value that echoes throughout Lamb Weston / Meijer, is that of sustainable processing practices and the development of sustainability from potato to plate.

“We are a company that takes sustainability extremely seriously, that’s for sure,” Schroeder states.

“We were the first company in this 84 | EME Outlook issue 45

industry to really have a massive focus on this and I think our sustainability reporting is one of the best and most transparent in the industry and beyond.

“Our first sustainability strategy was developed in 2011 with goals towards 2020, and therefore set the right tone in terms of how we look at our business long-term. Sustainable agriculture is very important to us and the world and is something in which we do a lot of great work with our growers ‘on the ground’ to achieve.”

As a global player in the potato

Together, we think about efficiency in the chain and take steps to optimise logistics processes. For example, we have been taking care of the transport of seed potatoes to the growers for two years now. As a logistics partner, we grow alongside LWM.”

www.abtexelgroup.com

Simply good in agri and food transport As an agricultural or food company, you need a reliable transport partner who takes the logistics process off your hands from A to Z, as efficiently as possible. With more than 2,300 specialist employees and a modern fleet of 1,400 trucks and 2,300 trailers, AB Texel Group is committed to unburdening customers in the agricultural and food chain, 24/7. Our dense network enables us to scale up and down quickly and easily.

AB Texel Group has almost a century of experience in logistics services in agriculture and food. So much has changed in that period, but our principle has always remained the same: striving for improvement, together with our customers. We do this in a downto-earth and committed way, fuss-free. We call this service 'Simply good'.

www.abtexelgroup.com

LAMB WESTON/MEIJER

Blueprint Automation BluePrint Automation (BPA), which is established in 1980, is specialized in secondary case packing.

The company manufactures case and tray packing solutions for flexible and other tough-to-handle packages such as pillow bags, doy-packs, block bottom- and four-sided sealed bags, using different packing technologies including gravity, pick and place, wrap-around and vision guided robotics.

Marc Schroeder

“WE PUT A LOT OF ATTENTION TOWARDS HOW WE MAKE OUR PRODUCTS, BOTH WHEN IT COMES TO A BALANCED DIET AND THE ENVIRONMENT” – MARC SCHROEDER, CEO OF LAMB WESTON / MEIJER processing industry, Lamb Weston / Meijer considers it a responsibility to have an active and leading role in creating a better future, and to ensure that growing and processing potatoes remains possible for many generations to come.

At the heart of the company’s sustainability agenda are three key challenges for 2030: ‘Balanced Diet’, to help prevent malnutrition and become a part of a balanced diet; ‘Zero Waste’, to drive sustainable production, consumption and prevent food waste, and ‘Climate Action’, to operate within planetary and societal boundaries in order to make a positive impact on people and planet.

“For us, it’s important to show that our fries are actually a fantastic product,” Schroeder continues. “We 86 | EME Outlook issue 45

put a lot of attention towards how we make our products whilst reducing our carbon footprint, to put smiles on peoples’ faces whilst minimising our impact on the environment. We fry our products in a healthy sunflower oil, a major shift that we implemented years ago for health and sustainability purposes and we are focusing on products for preparation in an air-fryer and oven to reduce oil and calorie consumption. This is a clear part of our ‘balanced diet’ strategy.”

Since the foundation of BPA, the potato processing industry has been the number 1 key-market for BPA. The French fry production has still a very strong focus from BPA when it comes to innovation, new technologies and sustainable entrepreneurship. Our present French fry case-packing solutions are a result of our long term partnerships with the leading global potato processing companies, such as Lamb Weston / Meijer. The same drive and motivation Lamb Weston / Meijer has to improve the processing of potato’s to excellent innovative potato’s products, BPA also has to design and manufacture case-packing systems for around the clock operation of packing bags with frozen or fresh potato products. The BPA systems are known worldwide for their quick change over, flexibility, speed and simple design. BPA is all about innovation, flexibility and partnership and know it is their reputation to exceed customer’s expectations when it comes to secondary end-of-line case-packing solutions.

BluePrint Automation wishes Lamb Weston Meijer lots of success with their major plant expansion in Kruiningen.

ZERO WASTE On another side of the sustainability drive, Lamb Weston / Meijer is aiming towards producing zero waste and creating a fully circular approach when it comes to the everyday running of the business.

www.blueprintautomation.com

GRAVITY 100R Blueprint Automation has the best solution to pack your bags with fries!

The new GRAVITY 100R is the latest development of BPA case packers for the frozen food industry. u u u u u

optimized case filling with the least amount of broken fries through revolutionary compacting technology (patent pending) highest OEE and lowest TCO case packing, compacting and case closing in one design simple, clean and robust design for 24/7 production

More information? marketing@blueprintautomation.nl

case and tray packing machines vision guided robotics turnkey packaging systems

LAMB WESTON/MEIJER

Van den Pol Elektrotechniek Smart innovation in industrial automation With a worldwide experience of over thirty years, Van den Pol Elektrotechniek is considered an expert in the industrial automation of potato processing: operating systems, wiring and software. Key assets are their Lean-approach and the focus on sustainability.

“For many years, we support Lamb Weston in upgrading and expanding their production facilities,” says Ronald Kiens, business unit leader Industrial Automation at Van den Pol. “Among others at plants in The Netherlands, Argentina and the UK. In Russia we took on the operating system of the production line, as well as the automation of subsidiary processes. Currently our softwareand electrical engineers are working on a second production line in Russia.”

“This all starts with the potato,” Schroeder elaborates. “To make a kilo of French fries you require two kilos of potato. So how do you make sure that the full potato is utilised and the pieces you cannot use will not go to waste? You repurpose the by-product into something that can be used elsewhere, such as dehydrated potato flakes for alternative food products and potato peels that are used to feed livestock, helping to make these farms also more sustainable.”

The same goes for how the company looks at its product packaging, as well as climate action when it comes to emission reduction and water usage.

“We aim for zero emissions in the future and to make sure that our water usage is at it’s the lowest possible level, and reuse water where possible.

There is still a lot of work to do in this area, so clearly this is a clear focus for us going forward.”

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All these investments make Lamb Weston / Meijer more resilient, give room for innovation and create positive impact on the company’s sustainability performance.

Sustainability is a pre-requisite and needs to be engrained in everything the business undertakes and is designed into the company’s products, processes and production locations.

GROWING HERITAGE The company acknowledges that its current and continued success also hinges on its positive relationship with its growers.

“When I visit the fields and talk to the growers, I realise just how much of a family value-based company this is,” Schroeder tells us. “Many of the contracts we have closed between individual growers and the business were actually signed by their fathers and carried on by their children.”

The importance of automation in potato processing is increasing. “In connection with this, we have a keen eye for an integrated approach at large and complex projects. If required we take responsibility for managing all of the parties at a project, with focus on the overall goal.”

Van den Pol sees the cooperation with Lamb Weston as a partnership, based on a long-term vision. “Major aspects for us are the further automation of the production, sustainability and the collecting of data to optimize all processes.”

Remote monitoring is also expanded.

In addition to that, Van den Pol uses augmented reality. “This smart innovation enables remote commissioning and maintenance of production lines. Augmented reality is one of the great potentials for the potato processing industry.”

industrial-automation-vandenpol.com

we

Smart solutions

industrial-automation-vandenpol.com

LAMB WESTON/MEIJER

DLG Logistics Seeing possibilities in potatoes.

To take advantage on these possibilities we are proud that Lamb Weston / Meijer has a sustainable vision and mission on moving beautiful ready products through the complete supply chain. Frontrunner on sustainable logistics and distinctive from its competition.

We at DLG are very proud and honored that we can take part on this sustainable journey and support the logistic activities throughout Europe with a strong focus on reducing the environmental impact. That is what we do together. We. Get. Things. Done!

Lamb Weston / Meijer’s long-term relationships with its growers is a point of pride for the company, and the trust and care that follows is exemplified by actions taken during the COVID-19 lockdowns. During this time, the company upheld its contracts with its farmers, growers and employees to help everyone pull through, for the benefit of the future for the people and the business.

As a result, there exists an understanding and loyalty between employees and the company that will remain a central aspect of the business moving ahead.

MOVING OLD VALUES FORWARD “What I truly find amazing is that we operate in an environment that surrounds a seemingly simple staple crop, yet we reach and connect with a lot of people throughout the process and in the market, including industries, companies and people,” Schroeder explains. “The industry is rooted in the US, with the invention of the ‘water gun knife’ by Gilbert Lamb in 1960. This great (patented) invention is still the industry standard today and facilitated an exponential global growth in the past decades of our industry. We are one of the 90 | EME Outlook issue 45

leading companies moving it forward, which is very exciting!”

For Lamb Weston / Meijer, there is a real task in bringing more value to the total value chain for all partners involved, especially the growers.

Because of that, there is a lot of hard work needed to ensure that they all benefit from it, to ‘W1N as One’.

“We adopt a ‘win-win’ stance in the whole value chain,” Schroeder adds.

“We are in the middle of an ecosystem that brings happiness to families and friends through food that people love and trust all over the world. This is exactly what we stand for, and it includes everybody from our growers to suppliers and those that transport our products.

“Maintaining this future forward win-win approach whilst promoting sustainability in its many forms throughout our business, is the key to the future for both Lamb Weston / Meijer and the people it serves!”

Tel: +31 88 00 33 200 info@lambweston.eu www.lambweston.eu

We deliver together possibilities in potatoes.

dlg-logistics.com

Food Process Solutions FPS Food Process Solutions, a global leader in turn-key freezing and cooling equipment, employs over 500 staff around the world with a combined space of 450,000 sq. ft (42,000 sq. meters) across five continents.

Offering a range of Individual Quick Freeze (IQF) tunnels and Spiral Freezers for a wide variety of food products combined with our hygienic design principles, FPS ensures you have a high-performance freezer with the highest in food safety standards.

That is the FPS standard.

www.fpscorp.ca

FOOD & DRINK

We deliver partnership.

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EME Outlook issue 45 | 91

GEOCYCLE

ZERO-WASTE

FUTU

Geocycle rethinks waste challenges and provides innovative solutions, as outlined by CEO, Axel Pieters Writer: Jack Salter | Project Manager: Nicholas Kernan

G

lobally, almost four billion tonnes of municipal and industrial waste is generated annually, the large majority of which is uncontrollably dumped, landfilled or incinerated.

The challenge of waste management evidently requires smarter, more sustainable answers, and thankfully, Geocycle offers this.

As a leading worldwide provider of industrial, agricultural and municipal waste management services, Geocycle partners with over 10,000 customers across 50 countries.

The Geocycle name alludes to the company’s holistic vision of turning unusable waste into a safe, usable resource, in turn contributing to a regenerative circular economy and minimising the wastage of scarce resources.

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“It’s a passion of ours to clean up the world and do something about plastic waste,” opens the CEO of Geocycle, Axel Pieters.

“We are really committed to waste management and want to serve communities and society; this makes us different.”

INNOVATIVE DRIVE Based in Switzerland, Geocycle applies co-processing technologies and utilises existing facilities in the cement industry to resolve waste challenges sustainably.

“We are a subsidiary of the biggest cement company in the world, Holcim, who are one of the very few to have a dedicated waste management business,” reveals Pieters.

A wide variety of waste materials are pre-processed by Geocycle into a homogenous waste mix with uniform, defined characteristics to make it suitable for co-processing in high-temperature cement kilns, which are internationally recognised for recovering and recycling all kinds of waste material.

ENERGY & UTILITIES

URE EME Outlook issue 45 | 93

GEOCYCLE

CUSTOMERS SERVED

BY GEOCYCLE INDUSTRIES – For industries, dealing with waste can be costly, time consuming, and can create business risks and operational liabilities.

MUNICIPALITIES – Smarter, more sustainable and economically feasible solutions are required to solve municipal waste challenges.

AGRICULTURE – In many countries, the management of post-harvest agricultural residues is a major problem, often causing pollution and other major health impacts on the community.

WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANIES – Dealing with a wide variety of waste necessitates extensive capacity, flexibility and expertise in their waste management partners.

The management and treatment of waste through pre-processing and co-processing is carried out in a scientific and professional setting, where exposure to temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Celsius guarantees the compete destruction of waste, leaving no residue at all.

“On top of our phenomenal waste management expertise, Geocycle has the innovative drive required to provide novel solutions in a futureoriented way,” Pieters states.

One such innovation is the Geocycle Bubble Barrier, a smart, non-invasive technology that efficiently removes plastics from rivers before they reach the ocean and co-processes them at the cement plants.

The bubble screen is created by a specially designed air tube, which is placed diagonally on the riverbed, bringing waste to the surface and channelling plastic to the riverside, where it is extracted.

“We recently launched the Bubble Barrier in India, and there’s another one operating in Amsterdam,” notes Pieters.

Vecoplan and Geocycle Two Strong Partners for the Recycling Industry Geocycle, a company in the LafargeHolcim Group, processes construction waste, mineral waste and other materials for the cement industry. It relies on equipment for shredding, conveying and storage from Vecoplan, which specialises in mechanical material processing for companies that are engaged in recycling.

Surplus production material, bulk waste, large packaging material and commercial waste can be processed to generate refuse-derived fuel (RDF) of different qualities. For example, fractions with a medium calorific value can be supplied to waste incineration plants, and high-calorific waste can be fed to the main burners in cement works. Geocycle, a disposal company with a worldwide network, provides services for recycling organic and inorganic waste from a large variety of industries and municipal facilities.

It also offers advisory services. The company’s disposal solutions range from recycling of waste and residual materials in the cement industry to nationwide trading in mineral waste.

One of the companies Geocycle relies on as a recycler of various materials is Vecoplan AG. Based in Bad Marienberg in the Westerwald region of Germany, Vecoplan develops and manufactures machines and plants for processing and handling alternative fuels derived from plastics, paper, domestic waste and commercial waste.

At present it has about 500 employees worldwide. The company’s services include consultancy, finding effective solutions and detailed planning. Its integrated project management covers installation, commissioning and comprehensive service. Customers receive everything from a single source.

www.vecoplan.com

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GEOCYCLE PLANET SOLUTIONS With increased consumer awareness regarding the plastic waste challenge currently facing the world, there is an increased pressure on big fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies to address this issue.

In response, Geocycle has launched PlaNet Solutions, a unique platform to finance sustainable, innovative circular waste plastic management projects through the voluntary purchase of plastic credits by FMCGs.

ABOUT PLANET SOLUTIONS PlaNet Solutions helps businesses to achieve plastic neutrality by closing the plastic waste loop via integrated, impactful solutions.

The platform is centred on six pillars: 1. A financing model based on FMCGs purchasing plastic credits.

2. The implementation of new waste collection technologies.

3. Advanced sorting for recyclables.

4. Traditional recycling.

5. Non-recyclables sent for co-processing.

6. The provision of plastic neutrality credits to FMCGs. PlaNet Solutions moves partners beyond the traditional waste disposal paradigm, creating a positive impact on their brand whilst contributing towards a zero-waste society.

Plastic credits in particular support the creation of a waste management system that is efficient, transparent and equitable.

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Plastic credits are a transformative, incentivising way of driving investment and innovation in the collection, sorting, recycling and recovery infrastructure of plastic waste.

It helps companies to offset their plastic footprint as credits are purchased according to an amount of plastic that they are unable to reduce. The money spent by FMCGs on credits in order to achieve plastic neutrality pays for an equivalent amount of plastic to be collected and recycled elsewhere.

PlaNet Solutions thus provides an avenue for plastic waste generators to invest in solutions to tackle plastic pollution and marine littering, and will further catalyse innovative and smart plastic waste collection and treatment solutions where they are needed the most.

“What we are promoting is what we call a plastic credits system; we truly believe this will help to clean up the world,” Pieters says.

“The biggest problem with cleaning up plastics in the developing world is that they can’t afford proper waste management systems and plastics are ending up in the ocean.

“What we try to do is sell plastic credits to big FMCGs to fund the deployment of collection methods in these countries. That way we can stop so much plastic going to waste,” he adds.

Through PlaNet Solutions, Geocycle is proud to support Nestlé Mexico on the path towards becoming the first plastic neutral company in the country.

Geocycle collects and sorts plastic waste on behalf of PlaNet Solutions partners such as Nestlé. Recyclable materials are channelled towards the recycling industry, whilst nonrecyclable plastics are managed safely and effectively co-processed.

Nestlé is committed to a wastefree future where none of its postconsumer packaging, including plastics, ends up in landfills or oceans.

UNTHA Why UNTHA? Because we have the experience and the skills. UNTHA shredding technology, based in Kuchl near Salzburg, Austria, stands for 50 years of reliability when it comes to shredding technology.

Ever since the company was founded in 1970, we have been developing customised shredding systems our customers can rely on in a wide range of applications.

The goal of processing different materials in an efficient manner is to utilise them for further processing.

That’s exactly what UNTHA does: Whether it is C&I waste, bulky or commercial waste, tyres, pulper ropes or other material flows, the UNTHA shredding solutions are perfect for processing these input materials for the production of RDF, SRF and TDF.

www.untha.com

As such, they have chosen Geocycle as a partner in Latin America to achieve this ambitious target.

In Costa Rica, meanwhile, the partnership has resulted in the first local industrial-scale sorting station to divert packaging waste from the biggest landfill in the country.

“We have commissioned a sorting station in Costa Rica, serving Nestlé and achieving plastic and packaging neutrality. We sort waste plastics out of municipal waste, recycle and recover them,” Pieters says.

COMMUNITY SPIRIT Geocycle is currently working on 325 projects worldwide, investing over one billion CHF in installations, innovations and operations.

In Morocco, Geocycle recently launched the country’s first municipal solid waste (MSW) pre-processing platform, expected to play a significant role in professionalising the Moroccan MSW sector.

ENERGY & UTILITIES

Reliable shredding solutions for the production of RDF, SRF and TDF XR3000C mobil-e in operation at Geocycle Ecuador

www.untha.com

Windshifters and screens

for main burner and calciner RDF/SRF

DRS disc screen

SDX windshifter

nihot.nl EME Outlook issue 45 | 97

GEOCYCLE By safely managing MSW at this one-of-a-kind platform, established near the Rabat landfill in the Moroccan capital, Geocycle will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a circular economy in the country.

“We have installed a platform where we can dry and reuse municipal waste using innovative drying technologies,” shares Pieters.

“In China, we also have a very interesting operation where we take

98 | EME Outlook issue 45

all the municipal waste from the city of Wuhan and use drying columns to dry the waste, so we are quite innovative when it comes to developing drying technologies.”

With a track record of regulatory compliance, high health and safety standards, and open and transparent communication with stakeholders, Geocycle considers itself to be an integral part of the communities it serves.

The company contributes to

economic development around its plants by creating local jobs in the waste management and treatment sector for disadvantaged communities, collaborating where possible with the likes of rag pickers, farmers and waste collectors.

“We always try to empower local communities and the poorest of the poor, in our case the rag pickers on landfills,” Pieters emphasises.

“We have even developed a smartphone app where we can create value

ENERGY & UTILITIES

“ON TOP OF OUR PHENOMENAL WASTE MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE, GEOCYCLE HAS THE INNOVATIVE DRIVE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE NOVEL SOLUTIONS IN A FUTURE-ORIENTED WAY” – AXEL PIETERS, CEO, GEOCYCLE for those working on landfills. We ask them to give us non-recyclable plastics, and in return we give them a payment through the app.”

Geocycle also works with farm associations in the north of India, incentivising farmers to collect their agricultural waste. In doing so, farmers are provided with an avenue to manage their post harvest agricultural waste safely. Not only is

this an alternative source of income for farmers, but it also helps Geocycle support the decarbonisation of the cement industry.

It all adds up to Geocycle’s ambitious future plans which consist of doubling the amount of plastic waste that it recovers as well as sustainably managing close to 24 million tonnes of all types of waste by 2030. “Today, we deal with 12 million

tonnes of waste every year, but we have huge ambitions. We are really passionate about doing this, and through incentives such as plastic credits we should be able to achieve this,” acclaims Pieters.

With these tangible contributions, Geocycle is bringing society a step closer to a zero-waste future.

Tel: +33 (0)4 74 82 81 06 veronique.reby@geocycle.com www.geocycle.com

EME Outlook issue 45 | 99

SUMITOMO SHI FW (SHI FW)

DRIVING THE ENERGY TRANSITION

We speak to Tomas Harju-Jeanty, CEO of Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW), and discuss the company’s mission to pave the way to a decarbonised world Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Nick Kernan

100 | EME Outlook issue 45

ENERGY & UTILITIES

I

n an increasingly technological world, the topic of sustainability, environmental welfare and green methods of practice are at the forefront of individual, business and governmental thought and focus. At the core of this, and fuelling society at every level, is the energy sector.

Across Europe especially, the incorporation of innovative and clean energy is widely regarded as a must, giving rise to a new generation of companies that specialise in supplying sustainability-focused fuel to many diverse sectors over vast regions.

Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) is a strong player that has been in the market of sustainable energy solutions for decades. Headquartered in Finland, the company’s operations stretch from USA to Europe and across several Asian countries, with its solutions expanding from the world-leading circulating fluidised bed (CFB) technology to long-duration energy storage, waste-to-value solutions, carbon capture, and services for the global power and environmental markets.

“What we represent is the future of energy generation technology, and in light of this we are focused on a very progressive trio of directives within the industry: decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation.

SFW has already made investments into organisational development, and we have hired new talent as well as reorganised the way we operate and invest in technologies,” begins Tomas Harju-Jeanty, CEO of SFW.

CO-CREATION, PARTNERSHIPS, AND ECOSYSTEM COLLABORATION While SFW has always prided itself on being a proprietary technology company; that is to say in the business of developing its own technologies, pilot testing, and commercialising them in the market, the company builds its future focusing on technology partnerships EME Outlook issue 45 | 101

SUMITOMO SHI FW (SHI FW) and collaboration in order to answer to fast pace of change in the transitioning world energy industry.

SFW’s dedicated Innovation Programme develops the best decarbonisation ideas from employees and partners alike. The programme plays a key role in helping SFW’s customers phase out fossil fuels and transition towards sustainable energy production.

Innovation can come from anybody and anywhere ­– either inside or outside an organisation. People see

things from different perspectives, so it’s important to create spaces where they can come together and share ideas.

“We’ve brought in new talent and created the Innovation Programme to identify and develop new products and services for our portfolio that accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable future for the energy industry. The programme takes a customer-centric approach, starting by identifying market needs and then selecting problems worth solving.

EME OUTLOOK: HOW DID YOU COME TO WORK FOR SFW? Tomas Harju-Jeanty, CEO: “I have actually worked in the energy industry my entire career, having joined as a Trainee Engineer working for a Finnish company called Ahlstrom who were the first company to invent and commercialise CFB technology for power generation.

“This would break into the global market, and it was then that I realised the importance of the new technology that Ahlstrom had created. Originally an American engineering company, Foster Wheeler recognised the potential of this, acquired the business from Ahlstrom and commercialised it. I moved to work for Foster Wheeler and eventually headed their European division as well as the company’s Asian power business.

“Sumitomo Heavy Industries, the overarching parent company of SFW and a long-term licensee of Foster Wheeler for the CFB technology, was sold Amec Foster Wheeler’s power business. Meanwhile, UK-based Amec had acquired Foster Wheeler, and they asked me to take over the new SFW company created under Sumitomo Heavy Industries.”

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HP Valves EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS TOGETHER As reliable partner of Sumitomo in multiple ASME and DIN-EN projects, HP Valves excels in project execution, thanks to open communication, flexibility and supply of bespoke products.

HP Valves specialises in the development and manufacture of a comprehensive range of medium and high pressure valves for power generation, oil & gas and the petrochemical industries worldwide.

Together with our subsidiaries KVT (South-Korea) and BVT (Sweden) we have the ability to serve our demanding customers with isolation valves, control valves and steam conditioning products and complementary services.

www.hpvalves.com

“One of our most prominent partnerships is with Highview Power, and under the leadership of Javier Cavada, CEO and President, the company has done an amazing job.

SFW and Highview Power collaborate in the development and execution of projects, and their energy storage technology has revolutionised the market and industry.”

For Harju-Jeanty, this relationship between SFW and Highview Power has promoted each collectively and has paved the way towards a very promising future for both companies.

“A combination of our capabilities is beneficial for both sides in the area of long duration energy storage, specifically bringing Highview’s cryo-battery technology to the market,” he tells us.

“Having been involved with Highview Power for over two years and undertaken a complete technology transfer, we are now involved together in the first projects based in the UK, wider Europe and the US.

ENERGY & UTILITIES

Medium & High pressure valves In accordance with ASME, EN, BS and API

HP Valves bv Haaksbergerstraat 55 7554 PA Hengelo The Netherlands

+31 (0) 74 782 0000 sales@hpvalves.com

www.hpvalves.com

EME Outlook issue 45 | 103

SUMITOMO SHI FW (SHI FW)

POWERING A DECARBONISED WORLD FOR EVERYONE “SFW has been providing innovative and environmentally sound energy solutions to our customers for over 100 years. Our mission is to enable the energy transition to a carbon-free future through decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation.

“Our solutions expand from the world-leading circulating fluidised bed (CFB) technology to long-duration energy storage, waste-to-energy, waste-to-value, carbon capture and services for the global power and industrial markets. Through co-creation, partnerships, and ecosystem collaboration SFW aims to accelerate the speed of decarbonisation and create more value to our customers.

“We are global energy experts with more than 1,800 talented staff, across multiple locations, covering the globe from North America through Europe to Asia.” - Tomas Harju-Jeanty, CEO, SFW For more information, please visit: https://www.shi-fw.com

“The growth and need for a competitive, long duration, multipurpose energy storage solution is absolutely necessary, especially if we are to achieve net zero climate goals. Many companies have invested in and demonstrated such technologies, and collectively with Highview Power we are meeting the demands of the market.”

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GLOBAL EXPERTISE “We have 17 locations across four continents,” Harju-Jeanty continues.

“We are made up altogether of approximately 1,800 employees with a broad collective experience from key markets and technologies.

“But we are also close to our clients; we speak their languages, we understand their wants and needs at

a localised level, and this has really helped us conclude on what we should provide in terms of technology and service offerings.”

When it comes to the SFW team, the company is made up of dedicated engineers and energy experts in various key operating centres in the US as well as in Europe and across Asia. This variety of global locations allows SFW to operate internationally, share knowledge and expertise between its hubs of activity, and provide its clients with the latest in the field of energy technologies.

CFB TECHNOLOGY “Outside of China we hold between 40 and 60 percent of the market share when it comes to CFB technology,” says Harju-Jeanty.

“We have supplied a full range of CFB boilers totalling 36 gigawatts electrical (GWe) in power capacity and 30 million hours of operational experience.”

SFW has the largest global delivery network for fluidised bed technology, with nearly 50 percent of the world’s operating CFB fleet in the company’s markets, and the largest number of staff who are experienced fluidised

ENERGY & UTILITIES

RESEARCH AND QUALITY Next to its people, SFW’s technology is vital to its business so the company strongly invests in protecting and advancing this field. To ensure the highest level of attention, SFW’s technology steering committee (TSC) reports directly to Tomas Harju-Jeanty, CEO of the company. The TSC steers and oversees SFW’s intellectual property, research and development (R&D), innovation and technology strategy and is an important part of the company’s technology management system.

SFW’s R&D resources and capabilities are among the best in the industry, built on a network of the company’s own R&D department and labs as well as partnerships with universities; government R&D agencies, like Finnish VTT and Business Finland; and industry R&D groups, such as the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the High Temperature Corrosion Centre (HTC). SFW also works in close collaboration with other technology suppliers and end customers towards the definition and demonstration of novel solutions. Lastly, SFW participates in networks such as CLIC and ETIP-SNET for the creation of the strategies and the roadmaps that support the regulatory and legislation process in EU. SFW’s R&D Department is a world-class research organisation, leading in the development of fluidised bed technologies, while expanding expertise in new areas of decarbonisation, digitalisation and energy storage. The department is represented at several SFW locations and headquartered in Varkaus, Finland.

bed experts, with industry-leading R&D resources and capability.

“CFB is a great example of what we can do as a company as we have changed the conventional markets in the past through offering innovative solutions, and by providing more fuel flexibility, increasing environmental performance, and more opportunities

for our customers,” Harju-Jeanty tells us. “The company has always built itself on innovative spirit and leads with the latest in the field.”

CFB is a type of fluidised bed combustion that makes use of a recirculating loop to increase the efficiency of combustion during the process of creating energy at the

same time as causing lower emissions.

When enhanced with oxygen combustion it supports carbon capture of any solid fuel with sound and demonstrated technology.

THE FUTURE IS CARBON-FREE SFW aims to address greater demands in the market by providing a broader variety of energy and technology solutions to its international clients.

“We want to invest in the new technologies that tomorrow’s world will need, and already today we are providing technologies that the world needs to decarbonise,” HarjuJeanty elaborates. “We are going to be focused on our base business, making sure that we remain the world technology leader when it comes to CFB, while keeping close to the digital side of things for the benefit of the client experience.

“Our strategy will be focused on delivering decarbonisation solutions based on our technologies as well as those of our partners to a wide range of industries.”

SUMITOMO SHI FW (SHI FW) Tel: +3581 039311 www.shi-fw.com

EME Outlook issue 45 | 105

ANNABELLA GROUP

KEEPING ROMANIA IN

GOOD HEALTH Annabella Group takes pride in the provenance of products. We unpack the evolution of a Romanian food and drink giant with Marketing Director at Annabella, Alexandru Jitariu Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Vivek Valmiki

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The most important thing for us is to give our customers a good shopping experience and diversity with a facile customer journey,” opens Alexandru Jitariu, Marketing Director at Annabella Group (Annabella).

Over 25 years of operation, Annabella has established a significant footprint across Romania’s

RETAIL

food and drink industry, opening 96 stores across the country’s retail landscape.

As a vertically integrated business, Annabella is reputed as the largest independent supermarket chain in the market, and its preserves factory - Râureni - is an iconic name in Romanian food and drink.

What distinguishes Annabella, is

that despite its size, the company retains a close-knit, familial feel.

Indeed, its status as a family-owned company is what initially drew Marketing Manager Alexandru Jitariu to his current position. That, and the chance to return to his hometown.

“I have always been interested in family businesses,” he says.

Jitariu’s entrance to the company

pioneered Annabella’s launch into the digital sphere, before he segued into the Marketing Department.

This digital acceleration has proved essential in recent years and remains critical as Annabella adopts modernisation programmes in order to maintain competitiveness in the dynamic field of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG).

EME Outlook issue 45 | 107

ANNABELLA GROUP As supermarket stores, Annabella stocks everything from fresh fruit, to specialised non-food products. The group’s retail chain operates within three different formats, with every grocery store boasting between 5,000 to 14,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs).

“Our clients are diverse and their age ranges vary from 16 to 70 years old and more than 41,000 clients a day buy their favourite products from our modern stores, specially designed for an optimum customer experience,” says Jitariu.

For those unable to access the stores, Annabella also offers home delivery services that customers can access by calling an operator and placing an order directly.

Interbrands Orbico

Dorina Mutu

A GOOD-NATURED COMPANY ANNABELLA AND CSR Annabella is actively involved in the CSR life of the community.

“Over the years, we have been involved in all types of CSRrelated projects by supporting both individual cases and charitable organisations not only from Ramnicu Valcea, but from all over the country,” says Jitariu.

In the past two years alone, the business has donated over €320,000 to charitable causes and is dedicated in particular to local schools and hospitals in providing essential equipment and materials.

Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Râureni Canning Factory donated five percent of its revenue to two of Romania’s main hospitals to support the fight against the virus.

Dan Mutu

FROM GREENGROCER TO RETAIL GIANT Retail giant Annabella had humble beginnings, originally established as a single fruit and vegetables shop by Dorina and Dan Mutu.

“The starting point was rough with few resources, but the owners learned to adapt quickly to consumer needs and market requirements, opening another fruits and vegetables store in 1996 and purchasing a local fruit and vegetable canning factory in 1999,” Jitariu explains.

Under the tireless ambition of the Mutu’s, Annabella went on to open its first grocery store with self-service counters in Ramnicu Valcea.

“In 2001, the first hypermarkets of the International Key Accounts opened in the city and the passion for retail and the spirit of competition is what kept the founders of Annabella

The story of Interbrands Marketing & Distribution and Annabella started almost 30 years ago. We began our collaboration not knowing how it would develop, but trusting each other and doing our best to succeed together and build a win-win relationship. Now, after almost 30 years, we can proudly say that our businesses grew together, and our partnership continues to be strong and reliable. Having diverse brands and products in our portfolio, we distribute through Annabella’s growing store network, both food and non-food, like Philip Morris, P&G, Kellog’s, Rio Mare, Tchibo. Further on, we plan to expand our portfolio of products in the store chain with other superbrands from different categories, such as Lindt, Lipton and Wella Professional.

The success of our relationship was built on both companies being reliable partners, open-minded, honest and fair. Our people put their energy and creativity to work in finding the best solutions, brought valuable input from the market, and created relevant events, and consumer engagement activities. This strong partnership helped us create visibility, space, and the opportunity to expand our portfolio.

Since 2019, Interbrands became part of Orbico Group, the largest distributor in Europe with business of almost 3 mld. Eur. Starting 1st October 2021, the Group’s four local companies in Romania merged into ONE; thus the company will continue to operate as Interbrands Orbico.

This transformation strengthens our relationship since our common business objective is to offer our clients best in class products and services.

Together we are committed to demonstrate and promote Integrity, Respect, focus on People and getting Better every day. Therefore, our motto: “Stronger together” is a lived reality in our partnership.

www.orbico.com/ro/

108 | EME Outlook issue 45

STRONGER TOGETHER Part of the European largest distributor and supply chain management company, we offer future proof holistic solutions in FMCG and Beauty industry.

Laurentiu Lacatusu Commercial Director

Ivanka Ivanova Operations Director

Ioana Boghenco General Manager

14th Viilor, Bucharest, Romania T +40 372741454 | office.ro@orbico.com | www.orbico.com/ro/

ANNABELLA GROUP motivated to grow their businesses to another level,” he adds.

“When the international retailers came into our country, there were no rules, no clear strategies, there was simply nothing. But what could we have done? We could have either chosen to confront them, or we would have been declared quitters,” states owner, Dorina Mutu.

And confront them Annabella did.

Now with almost 100 stores spanning the three regions of Valcea, Arges and Olt, Annabella is an established and much-loved national retail chain.

In 2008, Annabella expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of Râureni - one of the most well-known Romanian factories producing

Râureni production plant

110 | EME Outlook issue 45

confitures, jams, compotes, apple juice, spreads and canned fruit and vegetables.

Nevertheless, the stores remain the group’s core business. Over the past two years, Annabella has undergone a period of significant expansion, opening over 30 stores throughout the course of both 2018 and 2019.

“We are proud to announce that we will close 2021 with 98 stores.

Altogether, our global strategy entails expanding in new areas and consolidating the actual stores,” beams Jitariu.

PRESERVING RÂURENI Aside from the chain stores, the Râureni factory is the jewel in

Annabella’s crown.

“Râureni is one of the most wellknown Romanian factories and brands, with a long-standing tradition in preserving fruits and vegetables following authentic recipes.

“Its story began in 1968 at the Râureni factory, with their first marmalade recipe, and it continues to this day with more than 150 products, born from the passion for nature and healthy food,” says Jitariu.

When Annabella took over the factory in 2008, the company championed a significant investment in technology across the facility, whilst maintaining its authentic product range.

RETAIL

Annabella takes great pride in taking control over the quality of fruit and vegetables

“We have developed our production capacities. We have grown and spread the love for nature and healthy food around Romania and beyond its borders to more than 25 countries. At present, we have a modern factory with 370 employees, and we deliver up to 35,000 tonnes of delicious products each year,” comments Dan Mutu, CEO at Râureni.

The portfolio from Râureni encapsulates the best of nature’s produce, bottling its goodness into everything from conserves to juices, canned fresh vegetables and gourmet specialities.

“When we say we put nature in a jar, we mean it,” states Jitariu.

“All of our products come directly from nature. No shortcuts. Just natural ingredients, fruits and vegetables, in their perfect imperfection like nature intended them to be.”

To complement the demand for hand-picked healthy ingredients, both at Râureni and in the stores, Annabella continues to acquire its own lands for growing quality fruit and vegetables.

“In order to fill the missing link, Dan Mutu purchased orchards and greenhouses so that Annabella could grow its own fruit and vegetables. Now, Annabella has more than 650 hectares

of land in its portfolio at Dragasani, Otesti, Gradinari and Sannicolau Timisoara, where it cultivates healthy, authentic and tasteful apples, cherries, tomatoes, eggplants, cherries, apricots, cucumbers and so on.

“Therefore, most of the fresh fruits and vegetables from the Annabella stores and in Râureni’s products come directly from our harvests,” Jitariu explains.

Annabella takes great pride in taking control over the quality of fruit and vegetables that are sold across its stores or processed in its factory.

Continual investment is maintained in advanced farming equipment and greenhouses to guarantee a reliable supply chain for both retail and production during harvesting seasons.

The same modernisation of operations and investment that defined the early years of the Râureni acquisition continues today across the Annabella enterprise, centred on the optimisation of processes and operations across stores and warehouses.

Multiple projects are currently ongoing at Râureni, including continuous technical development and modernisation in the process of canning fruit and vegetables. A rebranding journey is also on the

agenda as the company undergoes a visual refresh, whilst growing new business lines aimed at the HoReCa industry.

In 2016, Annabella also launched a new concept store that is a competitive advantage against the traditional trade store model.

“We want to multiply this concept in order to recondition the majority of our stores in this certain format.

EME Outlook issue 45 | 111

ANNABELLA GROUP

“We will continue both rebranding the old stores and creating new ones in the same unitary concept that will maintain an integrated key visual for our customers,” outlines Jitariu.

A FINAL THANK YOU Both staff and suppliers are the formidable backbone of the company that Annabella has been able to lean on in turbulent times, particularly throughout the course of the COVID19 pandemic.

“We aim daily to create the best work conditions and we are constantly on the look for finding new career opportunities for our 1,700 colleagues. We have also started training programmes in which we help them develop their career paths.”

Jitariu is keen to emphasise Annabella’s appreciation for its

“WE CARE ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF OUR INGREDIENTS. WE HAND-PICK THEM FROM WELLVERIFIED SOURCES AROUND THE COUNTRY AND FROM OUR OWN ORCHARDS, FARMS AND GREENHOUSES” - ALEXANDRU JITARIU, MARKETING DIRECTOR, ANNABELLA staff as an invaluable asset for the company.

“We would like to show our utmost gratitude to all of our colleagues for being part of the Annabella family.

We would also want to thank them for the commitment and dedication, especially during this delicate context we are facing.

“They are the ones who contributed leaps and bounds to the success of Annabella, making our way to the

top of the FMCG and retail industry in Romania,” Jitariu states proudly.

Similarly, Annabella credits its robust suppliers and partners for establishing the relationships that have defined the company’s successes over the past 25 years.

“We aim to continue developing these relationships in the same manner over years to come. We value our partnerships, and we offer reciprocal support whenever needed.

RETAIL

“Annabella wishes to express our thanks to all of our partners for building and developing fruitful collaborations and wish them prosperity and resilience in their businesses.”

Through this network of collaboration, Annabella also seeks to uphold and develop the community through job creation, offering opportunities within its highly valued workforce.

For the years ahead, Annabella endeavours to surpass 100 stores in the retail sector, continuously improving and expanding its services to maintain its industry-leading

position. Adjacent to this, the company will continue to expand its agricultural footprint to acquire more land in catering to the demand of locally-grown fresh produce.

In the digital realm, exciting times are ahead for Annabella, as Jitariu hints at the adoption of e-commerce within the coming year.

“For me especially, an important objective for 2022 is to create an e-commerce platform and to make sure that our customers will be as satisfied online as they are offline when using our stores.”

Tying all the group’s activities together will be a unifying effort in consolidation across Annabella businesses, particularly due to the global economic and social context under COVID-19.

“When it comes to Râureni, we aim to become the best canning factory in Romania in terms of numbers and tasteful products made from the heart inspired by nature, in the next two years,” Jitariu concludes.

With its leading focus on the customer experience, catering to their wellbeing both through a natural diet and convenience with its stores’ seamless shopping experience, Annabella is guaranteed a healthy future in Romania’s FMCG industry.

Tel: +4 0250 746 901 office@annabella.ro www.annabella.ro

EME Outlook issue 45 | 113

JLL

BETTERING

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT A leading professional services firm, JLL creates rewarding opportunities, amazing spaces and sustainable real estate solutions.

We speak to Head of Sustainability at JLL Ireland, Rami Nassar Writer: Jack Salter | Project Manager: Sam Love

114 | EME Outlook issue 45

CONSTRUCTION

I believe this is the most pivotal and exciting time to be working in the real estate industry.”

As the Head of Sustainability at JLL Ireland, Rami Nassar recognises that real estate is undergoing a once-in-alifetime transformation to curb climate change.

The industry is one of the biggest contributors to global emissions, with the built environment responsible for almost 40 percent of the planet’s total

carbon footprint and 50 percent of raw materials consumed globally.

Though real estate is part of the problem, in turn, it’s also part of the solution. Thus, a fundamental shift is expected in the sector, with real estate becoming key in both making net zero goals a reality and driving socioeconomic equality.

“Every region has its challenges, and Europe probably has the biggest stock of old and existing buildings to tackle,” Nassar observes.

“This is a completely different and unique challenge, more so locally in Ireland with many historically listed buildings and housing shortages further adding to the task.”

Driving this fundamental shift is JLL, a world leader in real estate services tasked with buying, building, occupying and investing in a variety of industrial, commercial, retail and hotel real estate assets.

From tech start-ups to global firms, JLL’s clients span a number EME Outlook issue 45 | 115

JLL of industries, from banking, energy and healthcare to manufacturing, hospitality, technology and more.

SHAPING THE FUTURE A Fortune 500 company with an annual revenue of $16.6 billion in 2020, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 90,000 employees, JLL is “shaping the future of real estate for a better world”.

It is undeniably leading the real estate transformation by example, and is at the forefront of sustainability in the industry having aggressively committed to achieving global net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Together with clients and partners, JLL is committed to embedding sustainability into everything it does through a global sustainability strategy focused on four key areas with 16 flagship commitments.

JLL SERVICES AT A GLANCE Locally in Dublin, JLL’s service offering includes: LEASING – Offering full-service brokerage between landlords and tenants.

CAPITAL MARKETS – Advising on investment sales and acquisitions, debt placement, equity placement and financing arrangements.

ADVICE AND CONSULTANCY – Offering workplace strategies, digital solutions and valuations.

PROPERTY AND FACILITY MANAGEMENT – Providing management and outsourcing of properties and real estate portfolios.

PROJECT AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES – Designing and managing real estate projects, including fit-out services and building consultancy services.

RESIDENTIAL – Offering new homes, land and residential sales.

HOTELS – Advisory and sales services.

HEALTHCARE – Advisory and investment consultancy.

SUSTAINABILITY – Strategic, operational, and compliancy advice.

Universal Floral Universal Floral has been providing internal and exteral landscaping services for the last 50 years.

Our clients include all types of businesses in industries ranging from Technology to Pharmaceutical. We work with direct clients, facilities companies, and architects to attain their vision of planting schemes that create beautiful working environments for their employees and visitors.

We offer plant rental and maintenance, Living walls and moss walls, moveable living walls, and external landscape maintenance.

We have a diversified chain of suppliers that help us provide many different types of plants and planters to our clients.

Our products are sustainably made from recycled materials, and our plants can be traced from nurseries where the plants are grown to their final destination.

The Universal Floral process begins with a call out from one of our friendly designers, who will design a planting scheme to suit your environment.

Notes are taken of the lighting, décor and other conditions at your site.

A plan is put in place to ensure the right plant for the right space and planters are decided upon that will become the finishing touch to your site. Our team of maintenance technicians will then ensure your plants are kept healthy and vibrant.

We are now servicing offices throughout EMEA, so if you want a bespoke planting scheme with one point of contact, please get in touch, and let us continue to grow together.

www.universalfloral.com

116 | EME Outlook issue 45

“Delivering high-quality plant installations and bringing life to your environment.”

Services provided • • • • •

Corporate plant displays and maintenance service External plants, Trees and landscape maintenance Living walls Moss walls Biophilic and Plantogram design

+353 1 2695031 info@universalfloral.com

www.universalfloral.com

50 years and still growing

JLL

Burlington Engineering “Burlington Engineering are delighted to support JLL in their continued drive to bring experience and expertise to the growing energy and sustainability markets.

We look forward to continuing to develop innovative approaches to projects with JLL in 2022.

Our aim as always, is to deliver effective solutions to the many challenging opportunities that now exist to bring a Greener perspective to the construction and services industries.”

Peter Lynskey – Managing director

JLL’S GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY TACKLING THE CLIMATE AND NATURE EMERGENCY – Working towards a world where carbon emissions are reduced, and biodiversity is restored.

CHAMPIONING A JUST AND EQUAL SOCIETY – Contributing to a world where quality of life and social resilience is improved across all communities, with a specific focus on those most at risk.

GROWING RESPONSIBLY – Advocating for positive change in the business community and encouraging responsible employee behaviour.

FOSTERING INCLUSION AND WELLBEING – Creating an environment that values diversity, rewards talent, develops skills for tomorrow’s challenges, and fosters wellbeing.

118 | EME Outlook issue 45

www.burlingtonengineering.ie

JLL’s global sustainability strategy strives towards ‘Building a Better Tomorrow’, helping people to achieve their ambitions, enabling them to explore new opportunities, investing in their growth and development, providing an inclusive culture, and putting safety first.

People are a central pillar to this strategy, with JLL’s staff considered essential to the success of the company’s sustainability targets.

“Their skills and performance are vital to our growth as a business, so not only do we support them to grow and progress, but we make sure the working environment is a safe and rewarding place to share ideas and innovations by maintaining an open mindset,” Nassar outlines.

“It’s the resourceful ideas of our staff that give JLL its entrepreneurial spirit and edge.”

In building a better tomorrow, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is integral to JLL, who have created

shared value by forging charitable partnerships and contributing to meaningful causes.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, for instance, JLL supported – and continues to support – the communities it serves, with a particular focus on helping the most vulnerable.

“We also have a committee that picks a diverse multitude of charities every year to support through fundraising events and donation campaigns, and we partake in yearly beach cleans through the Clean Coasts initiative.”

ETHICAL LEADER Ethics are held in high regard by JLL, and the accolades that the company receives every year are a testament to that. Indeed, it has been recognised as one of the world’s most ethical companies by Ethisphere for 14 consecutive years.

“No matter which end of the table you are sitting at, ethics are a highly

CONSTRUCTION

Burlington Engineering are a leading Mechanical & Electrical building services provider working with clients in the provision of engineering solutions to all key business sectors. We support our numerous customers with innovative problem solving skills matched with 40 years of experience. Operating through our projects and service divisions, our highly trained staff cover the following areas: • • • •

Mechanical / electrical building services Environmental controls Energy and sustainability services LEED and WELL services

We offer full technical support and turnkey solutions to our wide client base and look forward to continued growth in 2022 and beyond.

Burlington Engineering Limited | Units 17/17A, Port Tunnel Business Park, Clonshaugh, Dublin 17, D17NY07, Ireland Phone: 00-353-1- 8712468 | Email: info@burlingtonengineering.ie | Website: www.burlingtonengineering.ie

EME Outlook issue 45 | 119

JLL valued trait in a multi-stakeholder industry such as real estate, and even more so given the global sustainability push where transparency in governance is key,” Nassar emphasises.

EME OUTLOOK: ARE THERE ANY OTHER KEY INVESTMENTS YOU ARE WORKING ON? Rami Nassar, Sustainability Director: “As part of the JLL commitment to sustainability and technology, I’m lucky to be part of an integral project to develop a net zero carbon facilitation platform.

“This will enable clients to clearly see their options and the path to take in order to meet their emissions targets, one step at a time.

“I believe the platform will enable much better communication and coordination between the technical and financial elements of the net zero journey, and is essential to its success.

“I can’t wait to be able to showcase this tool to our clients and see the impact it will have on facilitating decision making to drive the built environment closer to net zero.”

120 | EME Outlook issue 45

“We not only thrive for excellence in serving our clients, but we always act in their best interests, and they know they can trust us for that.”

To further enhance, streamline and add value to its services, JLL has always embraced and developed its own technologies, supported startups, and partnered with industry pioneers.

“Investing in technology is key in any industry these days as the world becomes more digital around us, and that transformation is even more prominent in the building sector,” says Nassar.

“It’s never just one thing that makes a company a leader in its field, but a culmination of attributes, be it dedication to quality service, putting clients’ interests first, or leading by example.”

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS As much as JLL values green certifications, the company can still offer attractive, high-performance

spaces, even if the building is not certified.

Nassar highlights a fit-out project carried out by JLL for a major global financial institution who, despite having green aspirations, settled on a new office location in an older building without any green certifications.

“After the entire project team was selected and ready to start, the client asked us if we could get Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for their office,” shares Nassar.

“With no impact on the project timeline and minimal-to-no impact on construction costs, we were able to deliver LEED-ID+C v4 certification for our client’s office.

“We know that green certifications are not the only way to be sustainable, and in this case a seemingly older, uncertified building was no reason to not have an efficient office fit-out,” he adds.

CONSTRUCTION Different View on Sustainability Environment Society Society

Economy

Environment

View Forward

Market is shifting Be ahead of the curve

Legislation is changing Mitigate your risk

Resilience is indispensable Future proof your assets

Critical window is closing Start the transition today

View on the Sustainability Market

40% of owners & investors reported 2 to 10% increase in sustainable property value

up to

10%

increase

45% of green retrofits reported reduced operating costs of over 10% within 5 years

On another project, JLL was able to show how many sustainability improvement opportunities remained uncaptured in assets.

A net zero prediction analysis also highlighted what investments were needed to ensure an asset meets emission requirements in the future, and doesn’t become obsolete.

Fed into JLL’s valuation exercise, this eye-opening information informs clients on how much more there is to know about an asset, and how crucial it is to properly evaluate the risks and benefits before investing.

SUPPLY CHAIN SUCCESS Pivotal to JLL’s success is its supply Environment chain, the value and importance of which is even more prominent Society given the success of the company’s sustainability goals.

Economy

60%

45%

40%

n Sustainability

ent

Economy

over

10%

reduced

60% of stakeholders consider ‘Health & wellbeing’ as the top benefit of sustainable buildings

Health & wellbeing

“I BELIEVE THIS IS THE MOST PIVOTAL AND EXCITING TIME TO BE WORKING IN THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY” – RAMI NASSAR, HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY, JLL IRELAND When it comes to delivering sustainable solutions to clients, JLL relies on its partners, reaching out to specialist, expert service providers as and when required.

“Take building maintenance or cleaning services as an example. You can develop all the green policies you want for your building operation, but if your teams, partners and suppliers

50% 50% of asset owners are implementing or evaluating sustainability in their investment strategy

Investment strategy

can’t deliver on those requirements, these policies are just poetry,” Nassar explains.

“Sometimes the suppliers lead us, sometimes we lead them, and at other times we move forwards together.”

At all times, however, they are central to JLL’s overall value offering, as the company makes haste with ambitious growth plans and targets in which sustainability is a key component.

JLL Tel: +353 1 673 1600 www.jll.ie

EME Outlook issue 45 | 121

ASTUTE GROUP

122 | EME Outlook issue 45

AEROSPACE

REDEFINING DEFENCE Encapsulating both innovation and agility, Astute is the UK-based technology-driven solutions provider powering the global defence sector. We explore its industry-leading services with Director of Aerospace and Defence, Freddie Roe Writer: Phoebe Harper | Project Manager: Matthew Taylor

The defence sector has really driven the evolution of our business and what we are today. As our customers have needed more from us, we’ve continuously evolved and innovated to be what they want us to be.”

For leading defence supplier and global sourcing expert Astute Group (Astute), the name says it all. As a company with evolution and agility embedded in its DNA, Astute is reputed for its ability to accurately assess the market and make timely moves to the advantage of both its customer base, and the future sustainability of the company.

With multi-faceted strengths spanning product design, fulfilment, and support, Astute demonstrates a malleable ability to cater to the demand of customers and innovate, maintaining a strong position of relevance and competitiveness in a dynamic and advancing field.

As a technology-driven franchised and independent distributor and supply chain solutions provider, Astute has a growing footprint that currently spans 10 offices worldwide complementing its base on home turf in the UK.

A STORY OF EVOLUTION

Freddie Roe, Director of Aerospace and Defence, Astute Group

Astute was founded in 1989 by Geoff Hill, after he identified a need within a customer base of aerospace and defence companies seeking support once OEMs had obsoleted a product and needed assistance in finding that product available on the market.

Freddie Roe, Director of Aerospace and Defence at Astute, and orator of the opening statement, has witnessed the company’s journey of evolution since first joining the business as a salesperson in 1999.

“I’ve been at Astute for 22 years, joining fresh out of college. Astute was a very different business back then to what it is today. When I joined, there were roughly 15 of us in the company and we only turned around roughly £5 million a year,” he recalls.

“The type of business that we went after back then was also very different, since we were far more of an independent distributor, taking on broker type business.”

Roe himself grew through the ranks from his original sales position to Global Business Manager, then joining the company’s Board of Directors and heading up the defence sector overall, devising Astute’s strategy in EME Outlook issue 45 | 123

ASTUTE GROUP navigating aerospace and defence.

Simultaneously, the company itself grew to develop three different business units with additional strengths in design, fulfilment and support.

Throughout this time, Astute has maintained a constant strength in retaining its original customer base. These include iconic names in the defence sector, such as Thales, BAE Systems, and Leonardo - the latter of which was one of Roe’s first customers.

“As the business has evolved over the years, the Defence customer base has been a constant,” Roe comments.

This evolution comprises a journey of growth from an SME to a mediumsized, privately-owned business with a turnover of £120 million in FY 2021 and a global network across nine different regions. This includes two offices in the US and Mexico, Astute GmBH in Germany, subsidiary offices in Turkey and Israel, Astute PTY in Australia, and Astute Asia, which is headquartered in Malaysia.

Nevertheless, Astute maintains the crucial agility and flexibility that is characteristic of an SME. “We are still able to react extremely fast for a customer and give them the agility required in the procurement of products, manufacturing, support solutions and services – both commercially and financially,” Roe tells us.

“The experience, knowledge, and the education that we’ve gained throughout our extensive evolution is what gives us a competitive advantage.”

This competitive advantage is sustained through continual growth, acquisitions and Joint Ventures (JV) that push the boundaries of the industry whilst pursuing trajectories of growth in strategic global markets such as Asia.

Keeping pace with innovation, in early 2021 Astute made the acquisition of ISMOsys – a Pan-European 124 | EME Outlook issue 45

representative company, comprising commercial, sales and technical expertise in electronics.

“This is a different type of business model that is very concentrated on early concept technology, so it’s a slight change of direction for us,” Roe adds.

As a heavily technology-driven enterprise, the ISMOsys acquisition not only extends Astute’s extensive component portfolio, but also provides further opportunities for alignment in growth areas.

“We don’t stay stagnant – change is everything.

“Our ability to evolve from what was essentially just a broker to where we are today – heavily involved in the conceptual phase of the design and innovation of new products, managing and fulfilling the production phase of a customer’s key equipment, and then supporting that equipment throughout its lifespan - is a huge benefit to the customer,” states Roe.

Amphenol Amphenol is present in high-growth segments of the electronics market: Military, Commercial Aerospace, Industrial, Automotive, IT Datacom, Mobile Networks, Mobile Devices and Broadband. Our goal is to develop leading technologies that enhance the performance of our customers products, systems and networks.

Our products enable many electronics systems, from sophisticated military communications, to mobile computing platforms, from next-generation airliners to advanced automotive electronics, from vast data centers to internet-connected devices, and from high-speed trains to the latest wind turbines.

We are excited too by our latest solutions in many new markets including next-generation electric and autonomous vehicles, advanced battery storage systems, alternative energy generation, enterprise data centers and wearable consumer devices.

DESIGN, FULFILMENT, SUPPORT The Astute entity today is composed of three business units, each of which intersect and work in conjunction to effectively oversee the entire life cycle of products and components. With each customer’s needs ultimately unique, this allows Astute to offer a bespoke solution, tailored to individual requirements.

Beginning with the conceptual, design phase, Astute’s world-class engineering team collaborates with the customers’ engineers on a concurrent basis to access the most advanced technology on the market – for anything from a submarine to a radar. Managing and mitigating the risk of obsolescence is integrated into this early stage of the process.

Fulfilment comes into play as the design concept becomes a production item, supported with global sourcing and the franchise division delivering stock solutions.

“Throughout the production period,

we can make sure that product is readily available, provisioning stock from around the globe and putting together stock profiles from our facility in Stevenage,” Roe explains.

Although Astute has evolved significantly from the early days of buying and selling product, the franchise side of the business remains a key area of investment and growth moving forward, with the continuous review of its technology offering, adding new lines, partners and areas of technology.

This original model of independent distribution has proved essential in recent years, as stock in semiconductors and electronic components is at an historic low.

With global sourcing a key aspect of the fulfilment division, Astute becomes increasingly attractive for customers navigating an open market in search of reliable stock from around the world when their original

AEROSPACE

STINGRAY 7 Body-worn Magnetic Connector

Mary Egan - Distribution Manager T +44 (7595) 204768 | m.egan@amphenol-roe.eu AMPHENOL International Military Group, part of Amphenol Corp Via Barbaiana 5 | Lainate, Milan | 20020, Italy amphenolmao.com

Outlook Creative Services

Outlook Publishing’s awardwinning in-house team is now utilising its extensive production skills to offer a full and bespoke range of editorial, design and marketing services via its new Outlook Creative Services division.

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N V I S I T: www.outlookpublishing.com/creative-services

The Most Reliable Flash Storage and DRAM Modules for Industries Becoming Better Partners

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EME Outlook issue 45 | 125

ASTUTE GROUP manufacturers and distributors may be struggling.

This is where Astute’s role as the first line of defence against substandard product comes to the fore. The company not only sources

ASTUTE – DESIGN, FULFILMENT, SUPPORT DESIGN – 50+ Lines, Engineering Workshops, Design Consultation, Obsolescence through design Astute Electronics provides component engineering support across franchises, modifying and adapting customers’ projects, and supports them throughout the design cycle with experienced technical advisers.

Astute can engineer components to suit customers’ needs, while allowing direct support from the manufacturer.

FULFILMENT – Global Sourcing, 3PL, Kitting, Vendor Reduction, Tail-end Speed Astute’s global sourcing experts, working across a network of international procurement offices and authorised markets, supply cost-effective, fully-traceable electronic components – helping achieve supply continuity despite challenging market conditions.

SUPPORT – Counterfeit Avoidance, Obsolescence Management, Long-term Storage Every effort is made to supply components through fully traceable routes, but many customers will occasionally need a supply-chain for obsolete and ‘difficult-to find’ products.

Astute’s bespoke project support services offer secure solutions for these occasions.

126 | EME Outlook issue 45

product from around the world, but it also implements rigorous testing procedures to ensure that it is of guaranteed quality using the protection of ACAP (Astute Counterfeit Avoidance Programme).

“The threat of counterfeit product and sub-standard material is growing.

We invest heavily in our laboratories, both in the UK and the US, where we test components and perform destructive analysis to ensure that it is original,” Roe explains.

Meanwhile, the support unit, formerly known as Astute third-party logistics (3PL), offers complex supply chain solutions that are instrumental in reducing touch-time with products for customers, creating a seamless and reliable experience.

“This is of huge importance to our prime defence customers, who want to be as close to no-touch procurement as possible.

“In many cases, the customer wants a built system to turn up on their doorstep, and that’s where we come in. We look to bring the best in class of supply chain technology businesses and manufacturing companies from around the UK – as much within the UK as possible - and deliver them a best-in-class solution,” he outlines.

Even if customers are not building in-house themselves, Astute can manage the process so that contract manufacturers deliver straight to the customer, offering unparalleled support. If needed, Astute holds 17 nitrogen storage cabinets in the UK that can house customer’s products safely for as long as required.

“This is a model that begins with the early concept phase, right the way through to end of life.

“Our complex supply chain solutions 3PL business encapsulates all elements of design, fulfilment, support. We work concurrently with the customer to develop and manage a bespoke solution from concept to production, and beyond. It’s a joined-up approach from the very beginning right through to the end of the product’s life,” he surmises.

AUTHENTIC

COUNTERFEIT

ASTUTE GROUP MANAGING RISK Not only is a segment of the Astute business model entirely dedicated to eliminating risk through stringent measures in counterfeit avoidance, as seen with the Astute Counterfeit

Avoidance Programme (ACAP), but the company itself mitigates risk by working with the concrete support of a robust network of partners and suppliers.

Astute’s method of working

SALUS - INNOVATION ENCAPSULATED As Astute’s Franchise Manager, Kevin Baker and his team are responsible for taking the latest technology and designing it into the end-customer base by working with a customer’s engineering department.

The latest example of this is the development of SALUS – an innovative product designed to track the life and condition of high value assets.

“SALUS is a joint venture that we have with our partner company Convert Technologies. We initially encountered Convert through a line that we represent for a wireless technology that we were developing. Convert adopted that technology within their platform and over the course of that development in that past two years, we now go to market as a JV under the product name SALUS,” Baker explains.

“Effectively, we’ve installed a demonstration system within our facility in Stevenage where we can now invite potential customers in for a demonstration if they’re interested in tracking assets - whether it’s plant equipment, tools, machinery, or even people.

“It’s essentially a wireless technology mesh network composed of a network of anchors and modems with tags on each asset. As these assets are moving around, the system uses their coordinates to tell you exactly where they are,” Baker adds.

This latest innovation adds a greater degree of security and visibility on behalf of Astute customers.

128 | EME Outlook issue 45

with the customer hand-in-hand throughout the entire process, reflects the collaborative partnerships that are fostered throughout the business, endorsing close-knit, mutually beneficial relationships.

“The words partner and relationships are absolutely paramount to our business. We don’t class our franchise clients as suppliers - they are very much partners to us and it’s imperative that we manage these relationships so they understand what we are trying to achieve,” states Roe. Wherever possible, Astute channels reciprocal business by working with its customer base, building relationships and ultimately creating trust.

“Trust as a word is hugely important to us. Breeding and building trust over many years is crucial,” he adds.

Indeed, Astute’s original customer base, who remain loyal clients since day one, is testament to these efforts.

“It is our aim to be the partner of choice every time.”

These solid relationships proved crucial over the course of the COVID19 pandemic, as stock plummeted and risk increased throughout the industries that Astute serves.

“The aerospace and defence sector was slow to react in forward buying

AEROSPACE

and securing stock on the market in advance,” he comments.

“But as a core part of what we do, our global sourcing team reacted fantastically. This coincided with a large investment we made into a new system, so that’s worked very well for several of our customers giving us true insight into the global supply chain in terms of stock available around the world.

“We did a lot of design work throughout the early days of the pandemic, but now it is our global sourcing and counterfeit mitigation that has come to the fore, as people need product so badly that they’re having to go into a grey market that they don’t necessarily understand. We are able to manage that and mitigate as much risk as possible.”

Astute responded to this challenging market environment with further investment into the capacities of its laboratories, working closely with customers on the inspection of

products and creating a ‘Lab Lite’ solution that offers a quicker method of getting product to the door.

“I believe that a lot of our customers will agree that Astute has handled the challenges of the pandemic extremely well, and has continued to mitigate the risk of impact on their behalf in a professional way,” Roe concludes.

FUTURE PLANS Looking to the years ahead, these elements of risk remain, but Astute is well-geared to cater to its customer’s needs.

“I believe it will be Q4 2022 before anyone starts to see some stabilisation in the supply chain and that’s a fairly consistent message across manufacturers,” he states.

“Our main goal is to continue working alongside our customers and ensure that they continue to build in what is an extremely challenging market. We want to be the most important supplier in their books.”

Growth within the business also shows no signs of abating.

“We are managing a strong growth period for the business, and Asia and the US are clear areas of growth in our strategy. We will also continue to expand in Europe with our ISMOsys acquisition,” says Roe. Aside from this, the introduction of new products provides exciting opportunities in new dimensions, as the company brings to market its own suite of products, as seen with the development of SALUS. Shaped by a dynamic amount of ceaseless activity, for Astute, the journey of evolution continues.

ASTUTE GROUP Tel: 01438 909 909 enquiries@astutegroup.com www.astutegroup.com

EME Outlook issue 45 | 129

THE FINAL WORD To round off each issue, we ask our contributing business leaders for their views on the same question

What qualities are needed to succeed as a businessperson in your field?

Jens Romer Sode COO, Girteka Logistics “The logistics space is an international sector, so speaking multiple languages can be really helpful. At the end of the day, you are signing contracts with people, so being able to meet them and speak in their own language can prove worthwhile.

“It is also very difficult to do something alone, so teamwork is very important. Lastly, on the financial side you must be able to understand the cost of your drivers at every transactional stage; we drive around the world 75 times a day - if we lost one cent per kilometre, we would be bankrupt within a few weeks!

“It is critical to understand the international nature the supply chain and logistics sector, the importance of teamwork, and how to make your operations efficient.”

130 | EME Outlook issue 45

Stefano Scainelli CEO, Scame Parre S.p.A “You must have curiosity to always do something new and the desire to compete and compare with the market. To do so, I take inspiration from our founders and above all the figure of my father, who established these qualities in our corporate imprinting from the beginning.”

Axel Pieters CEO, Geocycle “With the global organisation that we have, you need cultural adaptation.

My corporate team in Switzerland includes nine different nationalities, and we work with people in countries such as India, Bangladesh and Nigeria, so I think that adaptation towards local cultures is absolutely necessary.”

Freddie Roe Director of Aerospace and Defence, Astute Group “From a personal point of view, having been in the business for 20 years, if you do this without passion and no focus on what you’re trying to achieve, then you’ll just exist and quite honestly, you’ll fail. You need to align passion and focus with an element of patience and diligence in the defence sector since nothing happens very fast. The ability to build solid relationships is crucial because these relationships will ultimately underpin your level of success.

“Secondly, as a business you must have a willingness to change, evolve, and do things differently. If you stand still, opportunities will pass you by and your customers will soon follow them.”

Are you a CEO or a Director with a company story to tell?

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The efficient transport of fresh produce across Europe...

GIRTEKA LOGISTICS

SUPPLY CHAIN

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00 22 MEETING LOGISTICAL DEMAND

GIRTEKA LOGISTICS “Girteka is a growing logistics company,” Sode tells us. “In Scandinavia, we want to grow somewhere between 20 and 30 percent top line, and of course we have our four- and five-year plans, but in a year we want to become a half billion-euro company.”

And Girteka is set to do just that.

Combining its reliable hardware (trucks, trailers and warehouses), skilled employees, high quality processes and IT capabilities, the company is moving forward in the all-important logistics space, underpinned by a focus on greener operations.

IMPROVING THE INDUSTRY According to Sode, the current logistics environment in Europe is unique.

“There is a limited, and even diminishing, number of available

Efficient logistical solutions are the key to moving time-sensitive produce across Europe and beyond. Jens Romer Sode, COO Scandinavia of Girteka Logistics, discusses the company’s latest investments in the space

EME OUTLOOK: CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN INDUSTRY IN THE PAST? Jens Romer Sode, COO: “I have been in the logistics and supply chain sector for about 30 years or so. It was around the early 1990s when I became interested in this space, and it was a time when global sourcing and the international supply chain became a centre of focus for many people.

“I joined Maersk Line back then, and they were (and have been since) one of the leaders in the shipping logistics space, and I found the international processes very interesting. The technology was very rudimentary at the time but even then, there was an understanding to combine a global network through technology and new trade routes, and this especially gained momentum with China joining world trade organisations.

“From the 1990s up until the 2008 financial crisis the sector saw significant growth, and since then the complexity of supply chains have only increased, so it remains a continually engaging space.”

S

uper Cargo has been in charge of lorry transportation in the Adriatic for more than two decades, due to its dynamism and ground-breaking practices.

extensive network of partnerships, Super Cargo can provide you with train services ensuring the cheapest and quickest means of transporting your cargo throughout Europe’s most favorable routes.

Today, it provides integrated solutions for the transport and movement of vehicles and freight in the wider Mediterranean area as well as the sea routes to Western and Northern Europe.

Moreover, Super Cargo can provide you with bookings for the most known tunnels amongst cargo carriers, Mont Blanc and Frejus. However, Super Cargo does not stop here. Since 2018 we are the preferred distributor of EUROTUNNEL services in Greece, hence being in position to provide our clients with multiple choices in crossing the English Channel whether these are over or under the sea.

At the same time, using our online booking platform, you save on time and cost, while maintaining constant contact with your vehicles and loads.

Super Cargo undertakes all the preparation and issuance of the required documentation for the transportation of any oversized vehicle throughout Greece, as well as the wider Balkan region.

Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Eddie Clinton

On request, we can provide you with escort vehicles in order to ensure that your oversized cargo and vehicle conforms to the highway code and safety regulations throughout it’s journey.

Each year, our drivers collectively travel the equivalent of 75 times the length of the world’s equator, delivering our goods to people in Europe, Scandinavia, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region and beyond.”

This tremendous undertaking is made by none other

than Girteka Logistics UAB (Girteka), the logistics companies group that blends traditional trucking with modern technology, to safely transport products ranging from ice-cream and fresh fish to valuable electronics and lifesaving medicine on time and across a swathe of countries in the three regions.

“We are the largest European asset-based transportation company, transporting more than 820,000 full truck loads every year,” continues Jens Romer Sode, COO Scandinavia at Girteka. “Overall, we have around 18,000 drivers across the whole of the company and own and operate about 9,600 trucks and trailers.

Across the company’s Scandinavian brands, Girteka operates around 1,500 trucks and trailers, manned by 3,000 drivers and supported by an additional 1,200 people in our offices. With its eyes set on continually improving this environmentally friendly fleet, the company is the first choice in efficient and sustainable time-sensitive digital logistics.

2 | EME Outlook issue 45

EME Outlook issue 45 | 3

Super Cargo maintains constant contact with the Greek tourism industry, a major part of which is yachting. In this context, we carry out the formalities, arrange transportation and undertake the escort of all types of recreational vessels to their destination, in the most important marinas of our country.

Speed, flexibility, consistency & ffficiency since the founding of Super Cargo, these have been the four main pillars of our operation.

We have the specialised personnel and state-of-theart technology that enable us to offer personalised solutions, quickly, accurately and with guaranteed results. Our commitment to the basic principles and quality of our services has ensured our company a leading position in its field.

But above all else you will have...

A trusted partner at your side, whatever your requirements may be.

Whether you choose to send your cargo through sea, road, or rail, Super Cargo can fully accommodate your needs in the most professional way. Through its

booking@supercargo.gr | www.supercargo.gr

6 | EME Outlook issue 45

EME Outlook issue 44 | 13

undertaking the same training level, with all Papa John’s employees ensure that all staff are at the same world. Robust training processes that the brand delivers across the for guaranteeing the consistency Staff training lays the foundation success. pizza to which the company owes its from this, it is the people behind the in sourcing only the very best. Aside with the company taking great pride its approach to quality ingredients, Papa John’s greatest differentiator is

made the decision that we were not with all of our costs. At that point, I to sit down and think of what to do “At the height of COVID-19, we had UAE. shopping mall closures across the of its business due to widespread pandemic, when the chain lost half the disruption of the COVID-19 retaining all employees even during asset, Vaidya was adamant on As the company’s most precious they can expect from the company.” what is expected from them, and what that right at the outset they know values of the company. I make sure communicate the vision, mission and with all new joiners every week to “I specifically spend half an hour communication. approach, opening a direct avenue of himself extols a more personal Complimentary to this, Vaidya modules at the Pizza Academy. processes by participating in online

www.papajohns.ae Tel: +971 4 5140115 PAPA JOHN’S UAE

Girteka Logistics has told its story.

UNCOMPROMISED QUALITY

JOHN’S UAE - TAPAN VAIDYA, CEO, PAPA PAPA JOHNS” THINK OF RETURNING TO SO THAT THEY WILL ONLY IN EVERY TRANSACTION CARE OF EVERY CUSTOMER “YOU MUST TAKE GREAT

for us.” relationship has worked very well had not penetrated earlier. This quick access to areas that we from six of their kitchens. It allows cloud kitchens, we operate currently with Kitopi and set up PJ in their based in the UAE, we joined hands “As a cloud kitchen operator

years to come. indulgence across the UAE market for will continue to deliver oven-baked returning customers, Papa John’s emphasis entirely geared towards showing no sign of abating, and an With innovation and expansion he tells us. actually opened 12 new restaurants,” “Since that decision, we have recruiting.

We soon started expanding and would we find talented employees? going to come back and then where restaurants - I knew they were all going to let anyone go, because malls,

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