The group’s 4 000 employees are united by one passion: to protect the quality and add value to the image of some of the world’s leading alcoholic, beverage, soft drink, wine, oil, pharmaceutical and cosmetics brands.
Each year, hundreds of millions of bottles of the most prestigious alcoholic brands are counterfeited by refilling with locally-produced spirits or industrial alcohol. Not only can this have fatal consequences for the consumer, it causes irreparable damage to brands and costs the global economy some €300-billion/year.
For more than 50 years, Guala has implemented the most advanced research programmes to design and produce safety closures that reduce the threat and danger of counterfeiting. It offers a wide range of solutions, often customised to customers’ requirements, from simple tamper-evident closures to the most complex non-refillable systems using up to 13 individual components for each closure.
One thing that André Barnard, now appointed Guala’s national sales and export manager, is thrilled to have in-house is Guala’s creativity and innovation.
‘We now have access to the biggest R&D centre in the world for safety closures,’ he delightedly notes. ‘We have five R&D centres, situated in Italy, China, India, Mexico and the UK, which is a big add-on benefit for the South African market. The company has developed more than 20 new products during the last three years and boasts 70 active patents.’
Guala acquired MCG Metal Closures not only to serve the South African market but also to gain a foothold for the rest of Africa, with André and his Cape-based team responsible for business in sub-Saharan Africa.
‘The benefits of this acquisition are vast and we’ve received a lot of positive feedback from our South African customers,’ André explains. ‘Local brand owners now have many new products to choose from to differentiate their products, with the peace of mind that our closures are locally available and locally supported. Another key strength this acquisition adds for the African market is access to global trends and markets, thanks to Guala’s large global footprint.’
The Guala Closures Group offers a customised approach to producing closures in an infinite range of colours, sizes, shapes and materials to satisfy the most complex requirements and to create value for bands’ images. The most advanced decoration techniques are offered, including tampo print, silkscreen, hot foil, offset, relief and negative embossing.
Constructing previously unknown shapes, exploring new possibilities and creating integrated designs to overcome traditional aesthetic rules, as well as offering winning solutions in an ever-more competitive market, is what it’s all about for Guala.
‘It’s about pioneering research in the most advanced technologies with the most innovative materials and continuously challenging the frontiers of design,’ André declares.
From an eco point of view, Guala Closures is aware of the impact that aluminium production has on the environment and has begun a long-standing commitment to sustainability. This includes a commitment to reducing energy consumption and offsetting CO2 emissions by 100% – both controlled by an independent accreditation organisation.
Guala Closures continues to manufacture MCG’s range of aluminium ROPP closures and remains the sole South African agent for the André Zalkin range of capping equipment and after sales service.
Guala Closures South Africa
T +27 021 5087100
abarnard@gualaclosures.co.za
www.gualaclosures.co.za
