Packaging is becoming increasingly important for La Molisana
The Italian quality pasta brand La Molisana places the highest demands on itself and its partners. When it comes to packaging machines, the company now relies exclusively on Made in Germany.
The company La Molisana from the Molise region can look back on over 100 years of history. In just eight years, the pasta manufacturer has changed its brand design five times. Currently, the company focuses on a matt front and no colours on the sides of the packaging. Although the matt design variant was not easy to implement from the point of view of packaging technology, the company opted for this haptically appealing variant. Dr. Flavio Ferro, Chief Operations Officer at La Molisana, assumes that a new, drastic change in design is imminent: “In my opinion, a conversion to paper packaging could become necessary in the near future,” says the plant manager.
“Plastics are currently being demonized in politics and society – and we are following this development closely. We cannot ignore this global campaign against plastics, although the use of paper requires the felling of trees”. Ferro draws an interesting comparison: Just as the Italian market is experiencing an increased demand for recyclable paper as packaging material, so too has the discussion on the company’s own raw materials for pasta production developed.
“In Italy, numerous politicians and social groups have spoken out against the use of Canadian wheat, which is allegedly treated with glyphosate. As a result, we experienced a strong demand for Italian wheat.” To take account of this development, La Molisana has added the slogan “Grano Italiano” to its brand image. This emphasis on the local origin of the grain led to a 13 percent growth in the national market within three months. “We need to adapt to change as quickly as possible,” says Ferro.
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The systems of German manufacturers Rovema play an important role for La Molisana. “We want to standardize our machine supplier,” Ferro announces. “With immediate effect, we are relying on Rovema as our sole partner for our packaging machines. Through this standardization, we hope to gain advantages not only in terms of spare parts, but also in terms of communication: “We only have to talk to one company!
The Italians have a large number of pasta shapes in their portfolio, some of which are particularly sensitive. The Italian pasta experts are also convinced that Rovema’s systems can score points due to the high level of product protection, and not only because of the doubling of the output rate, which rose to 160 bags per minute. Almost all heat-sealable packaging materials can be processed with the system – including biodegradable and new packaging materials that can contribute to the reduction of plastics in the current environmental debate. First and foremost are packaging materials made from renewable raw materials.
Conversion kits can be used to convert the machine to processing these packaging materials, while retaining the option of continuing to use traditional mineral oil-based plastic films. This ensures investment security for future applications. For the pasta manufacturer, the subject of packaging is of enormous importance. Ferro assumes that 75 to 80 percent of its success depends on packaging design.
