On target for growth Sofidel

When interviewed by Industry Europe a few years ago, Sofidel said that it intended to become the number-two producer in Europe for tissue-related products and this is indeed what it has done, as Barbara Rossi finds out.

ON TARGET FOR GROWTH

The origins of the Sofidel Groupdate back to 1966, when the business was first established in the Lucca area of northern Tuscany (Porcari), where Sofidel’s headquarters still are. Diversification started in the 1980s, and 1987 was a landmark year, as it saw the launch of Sofidel’s flagship brand: Regina (Queen). Evolution did not stop here, as the company carried on with its growth, which has led to it becoming a group with 28 production sites and 28 companies in 12 countries - Italy, Spain, Sweden, the UK, Belgium, France, Croatia, Germany, Poland, Greece, Turkey and the USA. As well as being the second largest tissue-related producer in Europe, Sofidel ranks at number six worldwide. With its 4800 employees, it has achieved a consolidated turnover of approximately €1588 million. A major contributor to this growth has been Sofidel America, established with the acquisition of Cellynne, a tissue paper producer in the away-from-home and consumer sectors, headquartered in Haines City (Florida), and with another two US-based plants. This move has allowed Sofidel’s annual production capacity to rise over one million tonnes.

Sofidel carries out an integrated cycle at its production sites, from tissue production to manufacturing processes, through to the finished product. This cycle starts with the

processing of raw materials into jumbo rolls (or paper reels) at the group’s paper mills, continuing with their transformation into finished products, which takes place at Sofidel’s converting plants. The products are then packaged and sold to clients, through the various distribution channels. Through this process the group generates four business lines: branded products, private labels, AFH (away-from-home tissues) and jumbo rolls.

Through its own brands, Sofidel produces paper products for hygienic and domestic use, namely toilet paper, kitchen towel, napkins and handkerchiefs, starting with Regina, which today can be found in all leading markets; and then including Softis, a market leader for paper handkerchiefs in Germany and one of the leading brands in Austria; Soppalin and Le Trèfle, two traditional brands of tissue paper products in France; Onda and Volare in Romania; as well as Soft & Easy and Yumy, two smaller brands sold in Poland and Turkey.

A similar range of consumer products is manufactured for large supermarket chains, which distribute them under their own private labels or under minor labels of the group: Nicky, Valenty, Florex, Daily, Talent, Temis, Tyril and It’s Magic. These minor labels are usually provided pending the introduction of the supermarket’s own labels. In order to be close to these customers and offer them an excellent and creative service, Sofidel has created a network of plants in the different countries in which the group operates.

Not just at home

As well as its consumer market business, Sofidel is now also present and growing in the professional market, in which it aims to

arrive at positioning itself in a similar ranking to that obtained for consumer products. Its AFH range comprises tissue-related products for hotels, restaurants, the cleaning sector, service stations and government bodies. The range includes extra-large rolls of tissue paper, sheets of paper for medical use, folded paper towels, jumbo-sized toilet rolls, interleaved toilet paper and facial tissues. This range of innovative and quality products stands out for its hygienic and environmental performance and is commercialised under the Papernet brand, which offers three different colour-coded quality levels: standard (grey), special (light blue) and superior (blue), to effectively fulfil different needs.

The fourth business line is that of jumbo rolls (or paper reels), which are semi-finished products sold for finishing by third parties, used by both Italian and foreign companies that specialise in converting, but which do not produce their own paper.

The Sofidel group has a clear commitment to corporate social responsibility, proven by the certifications and accreditations held, which include ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001:2007, as well as by its code of ethics, sustainability and equal opportunities charters, sustainable development plan and, most of all, its daily practice, which includes a total commitment to health and safety in work practices. In fact, Sofidel’s reputation is that of being the most aware company in the sector in terms of environmental friendliness. It has, indeed, been the first company in the tissue related market, not only in Italy, but at worldwide level, to have subscribed to the WWF’s ‘International Climate Savers’ programme. To date the group has invested more than €25 million to achieve the target set in conjunction with WWF of cutting Sofidel’s carbon dioxide emissions by 26 per cent by 2020.

Recently Sofidel has also obtained the highest ‘Clean Production’ score in the tissue paper category of WWF’s Environmental Paper Company Index, thanks to the reduced environmental impact of its manufacturing processes, which guarantee the protection of forests, reduced water consumption and lowered CO2 emissions. The group, which is also a member of the Fondazione Sodalitas, a foundation active in Italy in promoting corporate social responsibility and dialogue between businesses and not-for-profit organisations, has also taken part, as in previous years, in the 2013 Earth Hour.

Alongside having launched Le Trèfle Maxi Feuille in France, a type of toilet paper characterised by the wideness of its sheets, the Sofidel Group has very recently acquired several well-known consumer brands in Europe, namely Thirst Pockets, Kitten Soft, Inversoft and Nouvelle, prominent on the toilet paper and household towel markets in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, and the licensing for marketing other important brands – Lotus and Lotus Moltonel – in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. This has been possible thanks to the acquisition from SCA of the former Georgia-Pacific businesses, also encompassing the Horwich plant (a converting plant) in the UK, located between Liverpool and Manchester. This is another move forward in the group’s international growth strategy, further strengthening its presence in the countries where these newly acquired brands are commercialised in very significant volumes. n