A first level machine park, design and the quality of the materials guarantee the excellence of Natural Micro containers

The pharmaceutical sector and that of the perfumes and cosmetics are very dynamic and flexible. Consumers are increasingly demanding, shorter delivery times and high levels of quality of the final product. A market segment as demanding and competitive with major brands of cosmetics in game forcing companies as Micro nature, dedicated to the extrusion of polystyrene and polypropylene foil and the thermoforming, to have a machine park of first level of the mark Illig - represented by Helmut RoegeleS. a.-, to work with high quality materials and offer the ISO 9002 quality assurance systems that ensure excellence.

Montse Ribas, Director of Natural Micro

With an innovative plant for production of 3,000 square meters located in Sant Martí Sarroca (Barcelona), the Natural Micro company manufactures sheet in coil and plate of polystyrene and polypropylene, foil of polystyrene and polypropylene and packaging and packaging termoconformados of high-end perfumes, cosmetics and pharmacy for ten years. Specializing in the production for promotions of cosmetics - requiring great immediacy-it has 24 employees at three shifts and works for prestigious Spanish firms. The line of its business strategy aimed towards the expansion to other European countries, mainly France.

According to Montse Ribas, Director of the company "work for leading companies, makes you to be very much alive because it is a sector with many competition". The Catalan company offers customized solutions, series a measure with an own design and is capable of producing film and sheets of polystyrene and polypropylene in opaque or semi-transparent, smooth or engraved colors, packaging, boxes, thermoforming and other requirements for the sector. "For the production of promotional cosmetic products, in which we are specialized, series are short and wide."

Machines Illig distributed by Helmut Roegele, S. A..

The demand and the dynamism of this market, as well as the new marketing strategies of large firms forcing Micro Natural to maintain a high degree of competitiveness: deal with very short delivery deadlines, offer a high level of quality of the product that will be the image of the cosmetic line and the ability to front the constant changes in product design. The dynamics of the market, more and more agile forces constantly perform new designs. The repetitions that succeeded before with models of success, today are unusual.

Such a degree of specialisation has led the company to create a workshop of machining of moulds itself to give immediacy to the production and control aspects of quality. Build your own moulds is also an advantage over its competitors. "This allows us to the client project samples in just 24 hours." "It was a necessity that was demanding US market". The workshop has manufactured more than 300 molds in a year. "It is hard – adds Director - because manufactured 5,000 pieces is the same effort that make 100,000 pieces".

"Thanks to our workshop of machining of moulds, in just 24 h carry customer samples of a project."

Largely, the large production capacity and quality of product that comes out of this factory is due to its world-class machine fleet. There are six automatic vacuum RV53 moulding machines and machine RV53B with precalefacción for polypropylene. All of them are automated and are characterized by a system of automatic feeding, molding and stamping. They also have two extrusion machines.

According to the Director of the company "we think that Illig was a good well-known brand throughout Europe." Also we consider it essential that all our machines were of a same brand for convenience as far as equipment is concerned. "We opted for Illig and Helmut Roegele, S. a. for being the best option because it would give us recognition of face to the market". Other crucial aspects for the choice of the brand were stamping accuracy and ease in changing moulds: "many pieces van designed with cutting without tab and these machines achieve perfect accuracy".

There are seven machines of termoconfomado

It has two extrusion machines

Natural micro consumes 2,000 tons of plastic per year between PS, PP, PET and PVC. I would like to make more use of PS but with the fashion of the transparent material, we are using large volumes of PET and PVC.

Buy rolls of PVC and PET and manufactures sheets of polystyrene of all types as well as polypropylene which later used in its production lines. "We cannot risk, I bet only the best." Let us not forget that in this market of cosmetics sold image and quality. "Is our duty to acquire materials of very high quality".

At a time when Asian competition is hurting in many sectors, the packaging quality, for the time being, not seems excessive risk-taking, for several reasons: quality, design, functionality and "timing"... Competition from Asian countries is not what most worries for the time being to a sector that requires high levels of quality.

"There are also two factors: the agility of response and direct treatment, provided that a promotion in ten days may be in the market, something unthinkable for China." This is only achieved with provider here and making an immediate action. Secondly, are the ports. "In an immediate shipping prices are prohibitive," adds Ribas.

Own mould machining workshop

"Team work, commitment to quality, the study and the agility to develop the best choice in each project, are the guarantee for every day the confidence of our customers", adds Ribas.

In addition to a park of machines of first level, a demanding market as that of the cosmetics and pharmaceuticals requires an exhaustive quality control, in the case of Micro Natural translates into the system of quality ISO 9002-9certified that he won on February 19, 2001, through the ACE certification, for the activities of the company: extrusion and plastic thermoforming.