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Lageen reveals its strategy to Packaging Europe Magazine…


Lageen has expertise in a range of different packaging solutions.
Abigail Saltmarsh looks at recent developments at its Tubes Division. 

Packed with promise 

At Lageen Tuboplast there are plans for expansion but, according to managing director Amos Perlis, this needs to happen at a steady pace. The company, which produces plastic, aluminium and laminate tubes for the international cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industries, is, he said, determined to remain manageable. 

“We are a family-size operation and our model is not to become a giant but to set up companies that are similar in size to our Israeli one in a number of different places. We want to be large enough to be flexible without becoming too big,” he explained.

 A growing market

 Established in 1939, the Lageen Group’s aim has always been to provide manufacturers with the widest range of packaging solutions possible.

Riding on the motto ‘Packed With Promise’, it  is jointly owned by Kibbutz Yagur and a private holding company, and is a world leader in the production of packaging solutions for a wide range of applications. Today it employs 200 people in total, sees an annual turnover of around €150 million and is looking for 15 per cent growth year on year.

 In the last three years, the former Lageen company has restructured into two separate companies. As well as Lageen Tuboplast, it now has Lageen Food Packaging, encompassing the former Lageen Cans, which produces tin cans in various shapes for the leaders in the Israeli food industry; and Lageen Aluminum Trays, which produces disposable aluminum baking and serving trays for international wholesale markets.

 “Lageen Tuboplast represents about 40 per cent of our activities but this is an area of activity that is now growing,” said Mr Perlis. “Because of the economic crisis, 2009 saw us place emphasis on efficiencies and improving our competitiveness. We feel the crisis is now over and we are seeing a growing market.”

 Advanced methods

 Lageen Tuboplast has a history reaching back to 1967. Today leading the Israeli tube-manufacturing market, it uses the most technologically advanced production and printing methods, while achieving the highest standards of quality in its products, its service, and its ability to provide real-time customised plastic, multi-layered, laminated, and aluminium tubes solutions.

 The company prides itself on the wide range of quality, professional solutions it offers for a broad spectrum of international labels, including hundreds of types of cosmetics and personal care, medical and hair colouring products, as well as toothpastes, and more. Lageen Tuboplast has a dynamic research and development department staffed by professional chemical, plastics, and mechanical engineers. The accumulated know-how, coupled with years of experience and combined with the latest technologies, is added to excellence of service and the ability to provide fast solutions, said Mr Perlis.

 “We have a continual  focus on developing innovations,” he continued. “One we have recently launched has been our metallic and pearl effect tubes. Another has seen us introduce a new extrusion system that enables us to supply our customers with special tubes where the inside is a different colour from the outside.”

 He continued: “We are also focusing on decreasing the weight of our tubes and other components, which will enable us to improve the environmental side of our business. At the moment we are developing lighter flip-top caps for cosmetic and haircare products.”

 This new generation of flip-top caps sees weight reduction of more than 35 per cent. The company has decided to reduce the thickness of its tube sleeves by 16 per cent for the big diameters.

 Other green steps have seen ultraviolet varnishes promoted to prevent emission of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) into the atmosphere. Lageen is also promoting the delivery of the goods by ocean freight to reduce emission of CO2 and has started the process to go the environmental certification 14001.

 Higher quality

 Mr Perlis said the company was also determined to ensure production remained efficient and at the cutting edge. This has recently seen new investment of million euros in equipment.

 “We are soon to bring in a new flexo printing system that will be state-of-the-art and will enable our customers to put high resolution pictures on their tubes with direct print, thereby avoiding labels. This is much more environmentally friendly and will see a much higher quality of production,” he said.

 Another recent introduction has been sleeves for its flip-top caps. This enables customers to avoid cardboard boxes while also ensuring first opening proof and adequate display.

 Medium-size companies

 Lageen Tuboplast currently exports some 60 per cent of its production. The aim is to grow its international presence through the establishment of companies similar to the one based in Israel.

 In 2008, the company announced a joint-venture agreement with Lean Group (Bolisbel), a Belarusian company specialised in tubes packaging, to establish a manufacturing facility in Minsk, Belarus, for the production of plastic tubes for the cosmetics and personal care market. The new company has been named Mirupack LTD.

 “This company has been active since 2009. It uses the same technology as in Israel and supplies the CIS countries. Our plans for the future are to continue to expand in this way, to try to become closer to our customers in North America and Western Europe, as well as the Far East, by setting up more of these medium-sized companies. The next one might be in North America or India,” he said.

  “We are a company that is committed to its business 100 per cent. Our secret is to ensure we have highly skilled people and benefit from the multi-cultural natural of Israel by working with our customers and partners in places like Europe, North America, India and Russia,” he said