11 minute read
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
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 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
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.”
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.”
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.
“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. 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.”
President George Abela
Firetech – Let’s play safe!
Firetech 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) 2278 5200 99 Mill Street, Qormi, Malta | T (00356) 2278 5200 | www.firetech.com.mt
“WE ARE DRIVEN BY OUR CORE VALUES THAT ARE SIMPLE: PEOPLE, PASSION, PRIDE AND CREATIVITY” - ANDY GATESY, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, TOLY GROUP
RAYAIR HAS BEEN WORKING WITH TOLY FOR OVER 25 YEARS Rayair supplies Toly with automations and has installed over 15 SCARA/6-Axis Robots to new and existing assembly line automations to create more flexibility and efficiency. Thanks to Toly, Rayair is a leader in automations and its automation portfolio include clients from different sectors in the manufacturing industry.
A legacy of delivering
Rayair Automation Ltd.
KW23G Corradino Industrial Estate, Paola, PLA3000, Malta, Europe Tel: +356 21672497 Web: www.rayair-automation.com Email: info@rayair-automation.com expressgroup.com Delivering all life’s essentials from wherever, to wherever.
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 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
