Ilapak to Open New European Manufacturing Centre in Lugano, Switzerland

Ilapak's state-of-the-art Product Centre will also be based at this new facility; this will be the hub of Ilapak's R&D programme for horizontal machines where engineers will focus on developing new ideas, applications, designs and technology.

13 May 2010 --- Ilapak is to open a new European manufacturing and R& D centre in Lugano, Switzerland. The new 2,500 sq metre facility will be dedicated to the design and manufacture of rotary-jaw horizontal, form, fill and seal machines as well as complete automated systems. It is located adjacent to Ilapak's existing factory which specialises in horizontal form, fill and seal machines for extended shelf life of fresh products. The entire complex, which also includes offices and R & D facilities, covers nearly 8,000 sq metres, making it one of the largest packaging machine manufacturing facilities in Europe.

Due to open in the summer of 2010, the new facility will allow Ilapak to consolidate production of their HFFS (horizontal form, fill and seal) range of Delta and Carrera flowrappers for all European Countries and sigificantly improve efficiency. The rotary horizontal and extended shelf life machine production facilities will remain separate and continue to be staffed and managed by specialist application teams, allowing Ilapak to maintain their high levels of technical expertise in each product area. Cost savings will be achieved by the integration of facilities such as R&D, software development and administration.

Ilapak's state-of-the-art Product Centre will also be based at this new facility; this will be the hub of Ilapak's R&D programme for horizontal machines where engineers will focus on developing new ideas, applications, designs and technology. New machines and technology will then be rolled out to Ilapak's other manufacturing facilities in Europe, China and the USA. The new factory is a key part of Ilapak's strategy to bring significant benefits to its customers, as Ilapak president Luciano Sottile explains: The move to a larger, integrated manufacturing complex serving the whole of Europe is part of Ilapak's long-term business strategy. Although our manufacturing strategy has worked successfully for many years, and in fact in 2010 we are proudly celebrating the company's 40th anniversary, we will no longer be producing Swiss/Italian packaging technology to sell to all the markets our subsidiaries operate in, as it no longer suits many of today's customers. Instead, we are looking ahead to meet the needs of a more global marketplace by building dedicated manufacturing facilities on each continent to meet the specific requirements of our customers.

This gives us specialist knowledge of the requirements for each particular market and also provides faster lead times for customers when ordering new equipment. For example, we recently opened a new factory in Beijing (manufacturing horizontal machines) to serve the rapidly expanding Far East market. We also have a manufacturing facility in Arkansas, which serves our US clients and specialises in manufacturing complete packaging lines for bakery products. For many years, we have focused on providing a first class sales and service facility local to our main markets and with the construction of new local manufacturing centres, we are taking this a step further to offer our customers the very highest standards in manufacturing, sales, service and technical support. Ilapak's specialist technical teams will also transfer from the existing factory in Milan to be based in the new building in Lugano Sud Industrial Park. This thriving commercial zone is where Ilapak set up its first factory in 1985 and is now one of the most successful industrial areas in the region.