API Foils : The art of ‘must-have’
Published : October 2006
Debbie Giggle reviews investment and innovation at API FOILS in conversation with sales and marketing director, Mike Conner
The API Group provides a valuable service to brand managers of consumer goods. It develops and supplies a range of materials, designed with high quality decorative, tamper-proof and security-related qualities. These are used to create shelf impact for maximum sales, and to protect brands worldwide.
API Group is a publicly quoted, international holding company with businesses located in the UK, Europe, US and the Asia-Pacific. With sales for 2005 approximately £118 million, and around 1400 employees, its strategy for growth encompasses continuous improvement of customer service and product quality, through process innovation and capital investment in new technology.
The product range can be divided into two major categories: foils (including security foils), and laminates.
The company’s foils are used all over the world for a range of items including labels, cartons, greetings cards, picture frames, flexible food packaging and blow-moulded bottles. The development of the different finishes has to a large extent been driven by the decorative, marking, identification and security requirements of its customers. The range includes metallic foils, (capable of fine detail and half tone effects in gold, silver and colour) and pigmented foils, which suit applications such as substrates for hard plastics, leather and cloth. The API Foils division also produces materials featuring 2D or 3D prismatic effects. Clear holographic patterns are stamped over ink designs to give them depth and refractive gloss. Other parts of the product range include pearl and pastel foils, special effect foils and materials for coding and identification.
Here in the UK, there are production facilities covering the complete product range. The API Foils site in Livingstone specialises in the production of decorative foils. The Salford API Foils facility produces holographic materials. The third factory, based in Poynton, is part of the API Laminates business and specialises in metallic, holographic and textured finishes for carton board and paper. All three facilities have attracted capital investment over the last two years.
Mike Conner, sales and marketing director of API Group, explained: “Our customers have an on-going need to differentiate their products from others in order to capture the attention of consumers. In many sectors the variety and choice of products is growing rapidly providing an extremely competitive environment. By continuing to invest in our production capabilities we can assist our customers in two ways. Firstly we introduce new ideas and materials from which designers and brand managers can develop new packaging concepts. Secondly, new production capability, combined with our in-house continuous improvement initiatives, can help to reduce costs to make ourselves more attractive as a supplier and to enable our customers to remain competitive themselves.”
New applications are likely to involve a collaboration between a number of different parties. “There’s usually a product development triangle where we will liaise with the brand management team, packaging designers and printers,” explained Conner.
Internally, product development across the API Group is handled on a division-by-division basis, structured around key production processes. Each of the UK sites has its own product development team tasked with interpreting consumer responses to packaging, and creating appealing new materials using the technology at their disposal. New product development has been greatly assisted by the group’s capital expenditure strategy.
Investment at the Livingstone site has enabled the company to offer a wider selection of colours of foils than ever before. At the Salford facility, advances have been made in the variety of visual effects and patterns now possible for holographic foils. “Investment in Salford has enabled us to offer improved quality in terms of fewer shim and repeat lines,” said Conner. “This gives a truer, less obvious holographic pattern, enhances quality and reduces the potential for waste.”
At the API Laminates site in Poynton, investment has enabled a sheet to register capability, which minimises waste and improves product consistency. A new sheet fed laminating machine has also been installed complementing Laminates traditional long run expertise with a fast turnaround short run service. “There has been a move in recent years towards shorter runs,” commented Conner. “The equipment now in place at the Poynton site provides the flexibility and fast changeovers needed to manage these orders more cost-effectively.”
Around three years ago the API Group embarked upon a continuous improvement programme. Key priorities include the reduction of waste, improvement of productivity and the enhancement of customer service with more rapid response to requirements and shorter lead times. The programme is supported by in-house training.
“Product and technical training has always been a feature of API’s employee development activities,” said Conner. “This has been expanded with the addition of an executive development programme involving all middle and senior management personnel. It has been a broad ranging programme including aspects of manufacturing strategy. In a separate initiative we have been training individuals to green and black belt level in six sigma and other lean manufacturing techniques.”
The company’s lean manufacturing activities have extended beyond its in-house teams to encompass collaborative projects with major customers. API Foils has worked on initiatives to improve efficiency across the supply chain. Projects have explored opportunities such as alternative stock holding arrangements and the finishing of materials on-site at customer premises.
“For some of our customers, manufacture is being relocated to different sites across the world,” commented Conner. “Increasingly, we are working with them to provide local supply from our overseas production facilities. API Foils, for example, manufactures in China and has three production facilities in the US in addition to its UK capability. Our distribution network covers more than 70 countries and we have wholly-owned sites in the UK, France, Germany, US, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. “Customers change and grow, and it’s important to change and grow with them,” he concluded. ?