Upholding values.

Which were the ITC origins? What did the company look like back then?
Carlos Valls founded Minison S.A. in 1971. The company specialised in the development and production of accessories for toys, such as voice chips and similar components. At this time, Ibi was the heart of the Spanish toy industry, and many companies here were involved in this field in one way or another.

In 1991, ITC Packaging was founded. What was the reason for this change?
At the end of the 1980s, we began to experience the first signs of the decline of the local toy industry. Companies in the area began to feel the impact of imported toys from low-wage countries and the growing popularity of video games. This was the reason why, under the direction of Rafael Valls, the son of the founder, the company began to diversify and started producing extruded cables, for which a new company was created, ITC. We are currently in the third generation of the company with Betry Valls, ITC Head Public Relations and member of the Council.

When did ITC start producing packaging?
The Universal Exhibition of Seville took place in 1992. The mascot of the fair was named Curro. It was a large white bird with elephant legs, as well as a long, rainbow-coloured beak and a rainbow crest. Curro was to be printed on the packaging for the ice cream at the Expo. Taking advantage of our great expertise in the toy industry, we were able to develop a food container but with toy look and functionality. This was the first of an extensive series of such packaging, which today is one of our strengths.
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Tell me more about ITC today.
We currently have two locations and around 250 employees. We operate two plants here in Ibi and one in Sopela, near Bilbao. Here in Ibi we produce polypropylene packaging and PET containers. Our plant in Sopela, which we acquired from the Coveris Group in mid-2014, also operates an injection moulding system. In the last year, we have sold more than 1.3 billion packages on five continents. Packaging for food and beverages, sweets and chocolates, baby nutrition and formula, and dairy products comprise 80 per cent of our production; the remaining 20 per cent is made up of containers for cleaning products, paints and other products.

How is ITC positioned on the market?
Thanks to the dedication of our employees day in and day out, we have become one of the largest producers of thin-walled packaging with IML technology on the Spanish market. In the area of ice cream packaging, we have a leading position in Spain and Europe.
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What are ITC Packaging’s specialities?
We are not specialised in one specific area or industry. Our core business is called MyPack and allows us to bespoke product packaging. For these kinds of projects, we evaluate our customers’ needs and then develop a suitable solution. Thanks to our extensive expertise, we are able to complete these kinds of resource-intensive projects in just a short time.

What is the reason for ITC’s success in the area of ice cream packaging?
Our region has a long history with frozen food products. For this reason, we have focused our efforts in this area accordingly, and gained a great deal of valuable experience in terms of handling frozen foods. Thanks to our expertise in this area, we are always up to date on the latest developments. When a new trend emerges, we can offer customers suitable offers very early on. Naturally, we also benefit from our speed and flexibility.

ITC also produces packaging for baby nutrition and formula – an industry with a great deal of regulations and requirements. Which aspects of this industry require particular attention?
Our expertise in this delicate area has motivated us to improve our processes and continually optimise our production systems. Moreover, we closely adhere to the global standards for food safety and have been BRC-certified since 2006. When it comes to producing packaging, we pay close attention to the properties of the product at hand and its production conditions.
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ITC counts a number of well-known brands as customers. Why do these companies rely on you?
We have a customer centric orientation due to our service and flexibility. We also have a constant and dynamic commitment to innovation, values appreciated and recognized by our customers that make up our DNA as a business. Our customers appreciate our company philosophy and our dedication. With ITC, they work with a team that has a great deal of in-depth specialist knowledge and expertise and puts their heart and soul into every project. The modern infrastructure and trained staff at our plants guarantee our customers top quality and absolute reliability in terms of deadlines.

Lids with integrated scoops, coffee capsules with integrated barriers, in-mould labelling: ITC keeps attracting a lot of attention with innovative products and solutions. Why is that?
A passion for innovation is in our DNA. This dedication has allowed ITC to evolve from a manufacturer of toy accessories to a producer of extruded cables all the way to one of the top packaging producers in Europe. Our Research and Development department works every day to determine which direction the market is moving in and what kinds of containers will be needed to meet the requirements of the future. We invest 10 per cent of our turnover annually into research and development, and introduce more than 20 new products every year.
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You mentioned that ITC is very fast when it comes to completing projects. How do you achieve this level of efficiency?
One reason for our efficiency is our many years of experience with complex projects. Starting with the Curro ice cream packaging for Expo ’92, we have been repeatedly tasked with bringing original ideas to life. Over time, we have developed our own processes that we use today in order to realise these kinds of complex solutions within a reasonable time frame while offering customers attractive conditions. A second reason is how quickly we react and answer customer questions. At ITC, the whole team is fully involved in our R&D projects. This ensures that no information is lost and that there are no misunderstandings when it comes to customer requirements.

Your company motto is “Trust your senses”. What does packaging need in order to live up to this slogan?
This sentence perfectly sums up our approach. As José Luis Olmedo, ITC Managing Director, usually says, “Packaging is more than just an object or an ordinary container. It’s an experience for the customer.” It conveys brand values and information, while also elevating a product and setting it apart from the competition. Packaging is only successful when it triggers positive associations in the consumer, which are then transferred to the product itself.

What are the latest trends in the world of consumer goods packaging?
It is an exciting time in the industry. The general changes that have taken place over the past few years in society are increasingly influencing packaging as well. Ready-to-go or ready-to-drink products, health foods, and the increasingly variable portion sizes are just a few examples. All of these changes require new packaging concepts.
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Where do you see the greatest potential for reducing packaging’s environmental impact?
At ITC, we have been working on decreasing the weight and wall thickness of our products for years. Furthermore, we continually optimise our production processes so that we can lower our energy consumption and reduce transport distances. We are currently working on a number of projects in close cooperation with a variety of institutions and research centres. We are looking for new materials and ways to make our packaging more recyclable, and also trying to find new features that will increase the shelf life of food and beverages in order to reduce food waste.

We have recently become a founding member of AVI, the Valencia Agency for Innovation, with Betry Valls, ITC Head Public Relations, as Agency Counselor. This organisation aims to actively promote innovations that increase sustainability in order to generate momentum for the necessary paradigm shift.

You have been working with Otto Hofstetter AG tools since 2013. What was the main reason for this step?
We first got in touch with the company when we were faced with the challenge of producing a lid with an integrated scoop. We weren’t just looking for a mould manufacturer that could offer us precision; we envisioned a partner that was specialised in the development of new technical processes and was willing to share their expertise and knowledge with us.
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And did Otto Hofstetter AG meet these expectations?
The service we received completely exceeded our expect-ations. Otto Hofstetter understood exactly what we needed and worked together with us to develop a solution that would satisfy even the strictest of requirements in terms of functionality and precision. The lid with the integrated scoop was a big hit on the market. It has even been introduced in South Korea.

Where do you see room for improvement on the part of Otto Hofstetter AG?
There are two aspects that our customers have also asked us to improve upon. The first would be a shorter design time for the injection moulds. We receive a great deal of quick turn-over projects. Because these projects are generally seasonal or in line with a current trend, the time to market is extremely important. The second aspect would be the mould price. The price itself is not too high per se, but when you combine it with the type, complexity and operating time of the product, this changes the proportion. A certain amount of flexibility in this area would make things much easier.

Thank you for this interesting discussion. On behalf of all inform readers, we wish you all the best for the future.

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