Young, modern, efficient reality, managed by a young entrepreneur, who after experiences in leading companies in the sector has chosen to take his own path and has specialized as a service for companies and brand owners of flexible packaging. Last December in San Marino, GaiaPack headquarters, a big party with collaborators, partners and suppliers celebrated the first 10 years of activity…
“Welcome to the ancient land of freedom”, this motto welcomes you at entrance of Republic of San Marino, 62 square km for about 33 thousand inhabitants with a very strong economic and industrial framework where GaiaPack is based. The company was founded in 2009 by Nemo Mazza, who inspired by the motto of his native land, at the age of 34, after very formative experiences in companies in the flexible packaging sector, first in production and then in commercial and logistic business, with two collaborators and one slitter-rewinder, started the service activity in a small shed of 500 sm in San Marino.
Important growth
The growth of GaiaPack took place in small steps but was absolutely continuous at such an extent that today the numbers of this beautiful reality are important: 37 collaborators, 1 Super Simplex laminating machine by Nordmeccanica, 8 Bimec twin-shaft slitter-rewinders, all very recent that make GaiaPack the biggest cutting center in Italy, 1 fully automatic cardboard cores cutter again by Bimec, 1 automatic machine for pouches production by Elba, equipped with all possible options which will be complemented by another sister line next August, in order to respond to the growing needs of pouches market which in recent years experienced an incredible development. Now GaiaPack is manufacturing 2 million pieces per month. The company structure also includes a warehouse with 900 pallet places, where are stocked jobs that must be delivered within 5 working days, while the remaining production is stored daily at a logistics center in the area. GaiaPack’s warehouse management system is interfaced with that of its customers, in order to be able to monitor and manage requests for new supplies from both sides.
GaiaPack moves around 850,000 kg of material per month, a considerable amount, especially in light of the fact that customers are numerous, and orders are splitted into small lots, therefore a structured and precise organization is essential.
2017 is a turning point for GaiaPack: the company specializes in the production of flexible mono-film packaging, laminated multilayer (2,3,4 layers) and flexible pouches, contributing to increase the company’s turnover in an important way, so much that management foresees to reach € 10 million by 2021.
“We have grown since the beginning, and in a short time we made all our machines work on three shifts. To focus on pouches market was a well-thought choice, dictated by the fact that in cutting we had reached the maximum of our production performance and we wanted to grow and specialize in other converting sectors. Looking into this sector, characterized by extraordinary growth in recent years, we had a flying start thanks to Elba technology, which allows us to offer many kinds of pouches: flat, stand-up/doypack, gusset with seams and zip closure, in short, a complete range for all needs. The latest trends that
point to 100% recyclable solutions have prompted us to specialize in the production of single-material pouches, much more complex to manage, especially in the sealing phase, but thanks to our partnership with suppliers of raw materials of the highest level, we have managed to develop two materials that guarantee very high performance, consequently we can use the same type of material used for another customer who packs fresh pasta. Then we invested in a laminating machine, alongside the machine we recruited an expert in this field, who allowed us to achieve remarkable results straight away, because in this way we completed the range of our offer for the converting sector”, tells Nemo Mazza.
The company works on three shifts in all production departments, except for the laminating machine that works on two shifts, but the forecasts are to make this machine work on three shifts within half a year and therefore to invest in another machine, also by Nordmeccanica, because as Nemo Mazza told us, in order to offer a very high quality service to its customers, we need a partnership relationship with our suppliers. “For all our production machines we have signed contracts maintenance with the manufacturers and every three months ordinary and extraordinary maintenance is carried out. On the one hand this may seem a cost, but the advantage is undoubtedly that we don’t have unexpected downtime and are certain of the maximum efficiency and productivity of our equipment. Only in this way it is possible to guarantee a delivery service also overnight”, says Nemo Mazza before letting us enter the production department, a place inaccessible to outsiders, which we had the privilege to visit, not before having worn protection clothing, caps, over-shoes and going through air purifiers, to comply with the very strict dictates imposed by the BRC Certification with which the company is equipped. The company includes among its customers important food & beverage brands, chemical and para-pharmaceutical, for which it is not possible to work without this type of certification.
In the future of GaiaPack there is a landing in Italy
Saturated all spaces, and optimized the productivity of all the machines, it was the turn of the expansion of the headquarters, and a strong investment in staff, with highly qualified professionals in key roles, from production management to the commercial structure and the quality assurance function with excellent results immediately. Visiting the departments, from offices to production, you can breathe a great dedication to work and a strong sense of belonging; indeed it is no coincidence that the first three employees of Mazza are still present in the company and together with him represent the historical memory of a company, which although young, is rapidly making itself known on the Italian flexible packaging market. In the future a new plant could be opened, because growth (+ 18% on average in recent years) cannot be stopped and the conditions for the future of GaiaPack are more than positive. “I am proud of what I have done, I was lucky enough to work with people who live daily activities as if the company were their property and this has contributed to create a special relationship between all of us. Last year I transformed GaiaPack from Srl into Spa, fully paying the share capital, because I believe that in order to work with certain brands, both on customer and supplier sides, a company must give signs of solidity and have a certain ethics. All these financial actions, which have strengthened our company structure and external perception, will allow us to raise the bar more and more to position ourselves in a medium-high market segment”, concludes Mazza.
2009-2019: a party for 10th anniversary of GaiaPack
Last December GaiaPack organized a big party, inviting about 160 people to San Marino including collaborators and families, customers and suppliers who were able to visit the company, participate in the gala evening, receive awards and experience the Christmas atmosphere of San Marino during the weekend. “This party was very exciting for me, and on this evening, surrounded by loved ones and people who contributed to achieving these results, I relived my entire professional career, from my first experience as a worker to the extraordinary entrepreneurial adventure”, Nemo Mazza commented satisfied.
