X Days 2020 – we are here for you!

Created and inspired by principles that the Marchesini Group has always believed in – X Days focus on the extraordinary power of sharing knowledge in a time when personal contact, trade shows and international travel are limited.

Now, more than ever, the industry needs extraordinary events to remain connected. In May, the Marchesini Group, represented locally by MGSA Projects, would have connected with its customers at Interpack. But the trade show was postponed due to COVID-19.

The group was planning to showcase new technologies to package pharmaceutical and cosmetics products; instead it decided to do something extraordinary to support its customers without putting anyone’s health at risk.

The result is X Days – a sequence of exclusive online events broadcast from a specially-created space.

All you have to do is register to get your front row seat. Just like a live Marchesini Group event, the X Days feature important discussions centred on the company’s new brand positioning, its new website and the launch of industrial technologies that are set to impact the global packaging industry.

The X Days platform also features exclusive content available to anyone who has registered for a particular event, and a live chat service to answer all your questions in real time.

COSMETIC PACKAGING IN FOCUS

Pharmaceutical & Cosmetic Review attended an X Days event on 7 July to find out more about this webinar series from Marchesini. X Day 3 centred on filling and capping in the cosmetics industry, highlighting the Axoblock 160.

This machine redefines the standards of cosmetic packaging thanks to its countless strengths. Its innovative cGMP and FDA compliant monoblock design, solid mechanics and the IoT ready electronics optimise the production process, providing elevated reliability and low energy consumption even at high operating speeds.

The Axoblock 160 is suitable for creams and liquids and unstable or stable containers. Frederica del Santo, global sales at Marchesini, presented this novel technology during X Day 3, highlighting that the machine’s mechanical cams have been replaced with electronic servo motors for production efficiency and a reduced carbon footprint.

According to Del Santo, the Axoblock 160 is quick and easy to setup in less than four hours, making it ready to use in less than a day and easy to install anywhere in the world. Flexibility is also a key quality of this machine; it offers 100% accurate dosing and can fill up to two different products into the same bottle.

The Axoblock 160 is an Axomatic technology, which forms part of the Marchesini Group Beauty. The division designs and produces a wide range of packaging machines and lines for the cosmetics industry. The Marchesini Group Beauty includes the Groupowned brands Axomatic, Dumek and V2 engineering – all of which are historical names in the Italian cosmetic packaging sector.

AN EXTRAORDINARY COMPANY

When the X Days launched on 4 June, Pietro Cassani, Marchesini Group’s CEO, introduced the new brand positioning represented by the X of ‘extraordinary’. A word rich in meaning – this is the new symbol of the group, which is renowned for its originality and has always had the ability to think outside the box.

The second guest was Valentina Marchesini, marketing director of Marchesini Group. Valentina explained the additional features of this strategic campaign and offered a world preview of the group’s new website, which has been completely redesigned. The new site is more user-friendly for customers and even more appealing for anyone wanting to browse it.

The first online show also featured machines that should have been showcased at Interpack, such as the new MA 260 cartoner for vials. This incredibly versatile machine, alongside its sister models, has contributed to extending the Marchesini name across the globe.

X Day 2 focused on aseptic technologies, which have become even more important during the global COVID-19 pandemic as major pharma manufacturers are gearing up to package millions of vaccines. •

THE LATEST NEWS AT MGSA PROJECTS

In South Africa, MGSA Projects is the appointed agent and local Marchesini technical service provider. Owned and managed by Myles Davis, MGSA Projects employs two Marchesini-trained technicians, Lukas Appel and Jaco Jones, who recently joined the team. Appel and Jones have more than 15 years’ combined experience in working on Marchesini machines.

“We strive for the ultimate service experience and provide our customers with exceptional support,” says Davis.“Our admin manager, Robyn Thomas, who joined the company over a year ago, is also instrumental in upholding our ethos of excellent customer service and support.”

Over the past two years, MGSA Projects has completed various installations at South African pharma manufacturing and life sciences facilities, including an effervescents line, an eye drop line and an aseptic line for vials.

MGSA Projects is based at Gateway Industrial Park in Jet Park, Boksburg, Gauteng. The company operates out of two units, which include a show room, administrative office and factory for spareparts, as well as a site for the technicians.

Although the market is tough, the company is staying strong. MGSA Projects has some great ideas in the pipe line to meet local market demands and will continue to innovate to meet the needs of the South African cosmetics and pharma industries.

Did you know?

The live X Days are broadcast in English, Spanish and Russian. The next event, X Day 5 is scheduled for 10 September and will focus on high performance solutions for labelling ampoules and vials. Visit xdays.marchesini.com to register for this event.