Sealed-in success Herti

sealed-in suCCess

Bulgaria-based Herti, one of the leading European manufacturers of roll-on pilfer proof closures, plastic closures and articles and composite closures, commemorates an important milestone in 2018 – its 25th anniversary. In the last few years the company has expanded into international markets and its position is now stronger than ever. Romana Moares reports.

Established back in 1993, Herti has grown to be an internationally recognised player in its sector, offering almost any possible dimension of aluminium closures for clients producing various kinds of beverages, olive oil and pharmaceuticals as well as cosmetics.

Located 80 km from the Bulgarian port of Varna, the company’s premises in Pilska occupy 22 acres of land with 15,000m2 of production halls. Zahari Zahariev, the CEO and company owner, confirms that the last few years have been a period of continued growth, supported by substantial investment. “We never stop investing because investment drives our progress and growth. Over the last three years, we have followed a major investment programme and different projects for increasing capacity and improving the health and working conditions in the factory.”

“We have recently installed new equipment to increase capacity for our 30x60 aluminium screw caps. This gives the company more flexibility to meet customers’ needs for wine closures in terms of quantity and delivery time. Last year Herti commissioned two more lines to boost capacity and give more decorating options.”

The company has also recently commissioned a new warehouse at the production facility. The building, covering 2,500m2, has four loading platforms and is provided with two wrapping machines, a reach truck and forklift trucks. The bar code readers and the software allow easy navigation and quick service. In addition to the the new warehouse, the company also invested in a water treatment plant in line with its environmental policy to focus more on an effective use of natural recourses.

Caps for all

Each year Herti manufactures more than one billion aluminium, composite and plastic closures for almost any kind of bottle across various industries. The portfolio includes more than 40 different sizes aluminium screw caps for different kinds of spirits, wine and non alcoholic beverages. Herti develops and markets new products every year together with its subsidiary Tihert JSC, specializing in tool production.

“This autumn, we launched two new sizes of screw caps for the spirits sector,” says Mr Zahariev. “Our R&D team works closely with our customers in the development of their products and their brands, creat-

ing unique and innovative products. Our R&D and quality assurance departments strive to improve all processes related to new product development, explore new materials and technologies and implement them in production. Recently we developed a new olive oil pourer for smooth pouring of the liquid and improved the equipment to increase the capacity for producing olive oil closures.”

Herti’s customer base spans the globe – its caps are sold in more than 50 countries worldwide. The company works with several prime producers of wine in France and California, producers of alcoholic drinks in Germany, Poland and the UK, and has just started new projects with more partners from France and Australia.

“Around 85 per cent of production output is sold in our export markets, mostly in Europe but some go further afield, to customers in Australia, Russia, Asia and recently the US,” Mr Zahariev points out, adding that the company is currently experiencing a marked growth in Germany and France and expect a big increase in North America, where they have just opened a new subsidiary Herti US, in California, in the heart of North America’s wine industry, to be close to its customers and to boost position in the North-American market.

25 year of growth

The company has celebrated its important anniversary by various events organised for both the employees and the business partners from many countries. “During those years, several events marked our growth. Establishing subsidiaries in different countries has shaped Herti as a market leader. Going public in 2008 also made a positive impact on our development,” Mr Zahariev reflects.

With decades of experience and a consolidated market position, the company is set to continue its successful development. In Sep-

tember 2018, Herti was ISO re-certified and will now implement the rules of ISO 9001-2015. Following its long-term policy of sustainability in quality assurance and customer satisfaction, Herti installed further vision control systems, enabling accurate quality inspection on high speed running machines. The installation of the vision systems is a part of the management programme to continuously improve the product and process quality to achieve the highest standards.

Mr Zahariev confirms that the company is always ready to accommodate the customers’ varied requirements and duly respond to emerging market trends. “Design has become a very important part of the package vision. Clients turn to design options such as hot foil top and side printing and top embossing, so our company, just like other manufacturers, must invest in printing machines and innovative designs to secure further growth.”

The recent investment and growing demand hint at further progressive development. “At this stage I think our growth will be mainly organic,” says Mr Zahariev. “It is expected to be generated mainly by the wine closure, olive oil closure and mineral water closure segments,” he adds, confirming that the company will continue to strive to sustain its market leadership. n