Interview with Albert Llaveria, Operations Director, Atlanta Stretch Ibérica
With less than three months to go before Hispack, the trade fair can confirm the attendance of leading companies in the industry. One of them is Atlanta Stretch Ibérica, the Spanish subsidiary of Atlanta Stretch, the Italian multinational that leads the sector of automatic and semi-automatic packaging machines. Albert Llaveria, its director of operations, offers a preview of the firm’s expansion plans focusing on the Latin American market and reflects on what customers are currently most in need of when it comes to packaging machinery.
Atlanta Stretch Ibérica produces film wrapping machines for all kinds of industries. Which sectors do you regard as most inclined to invest in the development of these kinds of solutions?
The virtue of the packaging machinery sector is that it works with all types of industries. So we find a large number of different needs to be covered by the customer. The food and bottling sector is perhaps the largest user of our solutions. Even though there’s a crisis with difficulties in the market, they always remain active when it comes to innovation in packaging and new wrapping solutions.
And the sector or sectors that are most restrictive in terms of their use?
It depends a great deal on the point in time and the specific situation facing the industry, but construction is one of them. Specialities such as ceramics, cements and construction materials have well-established processes and needs in terms of packaging and cargo security.
What innovations in proprietary wrapping machines can you present to us?
Atlanta Stretch is always undergoing constant evolution. We’ve recently presented Nova, a ring wrapper for medium speeds, and a mobile wrapping machine with an automatic film threading system. They’re solutions designed to optimise the wrapping process and adapt to all kinds of customers. We want to break down the barriers between automatic and semi-automatic machines and enable all kinds of companies to opt for a higher machinery segment if they so decide. The creation of Nova is designed for companies that don’t need a packaging speed such as the one we offer with Omega, our most representative ring machine, but want to use a high-quality ring system that goes a little more slowly.
Where do you think the sector is heading in terms of trends and types of packaging machines?
The trends in recent times have been abundantly clear: efficiency and optimisation. We’re moving towards a future in which machines have to be able to adapt to much faster processes and, in turn, optimise the material. Whatever the sector that they come from, customers are very clear about their requests: production speed and efficiency.
Atlanta Stretch Ibérica operates mainly in the domestic market. Do you have any international expansion plans?
After positioning Atlanta Stretch Ibérica in the national market, we’ve embarked on a new path towards Latin America. The sum total of Atlanta Stretch’s know-how and the possibilities on offer in the Latin American market has led us to draw up a roadmap in that direction. We’ve reached agreements with new partners and developed strategies that will allow us to expand a great deal in this region in the coming years.
Wrapping machines mostly use plastic. How are you striving to achieve greater sustainability?
Sustainability has been in Atlanta Stretch’s DNA since its creation. Our main pledge has always been to improve the machinery so that we can work at greater pre-stretch capacity. The machines can use films with fewer microns, thus contributing to a drastic reduction in material and greater packaging sustainability.
What would you like to find at the upcoming Hispack?
On the one hand, further work on brand presence in the packaging sector. We like Hispack because the main manufacturers in the industry take part. The deployment in our region has already taken place, and, as I mentioned above, we also have our sights set on Latin America, so we believe it will be an excellent opportunity to continue in this direction. Besides, there’s always a chance to identify new customers and potential partnerships.
Cristina Benavides, Hispack partner
