From global to local markets. The story of Smurfit Westrock, a giant in cardboard packaging solutions with more than 100,000 employees working in over 500 production plants, has an all-Italian way thanks to 26 plants and more than 2,200 employees. Its trump card is proximity, that closeness to the customer that makes the difference. For FARE INSIEME, Giampaolo Colletti interviewed Gianluca Castellini, CEO of Smurfit Westrock Italia
by Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
This story
is incredible because it is declined by polar opposites. It is a story of big
numbers and small daily attentions. It is an international story and a local
story at the same time. It is a story about huge transformations which at the
same time highlights attention to detail. It is a story that spans the globe,
yet can be summed up in a key concept that is proximity, even in a physical way. More than that, geographical proximity. Because with
Smurfit Westrock, even though we are talking about a world giant in corrugated
cardboard packaging with more than one hundred thousand employees operating in
over 500 production plants, the factor of presence towards the customers – and
therefore listening to their needs – clearly emerges in every service. “We have
26 plants in Italy to have a widespread presence and therefore be close to our
customers. Each plant has an average of three hundred of its own customers,
which are not only big brands, but also small local businesses. We deploy
service flexibility and listening.” So says Gianluca Castellini, CEO of Smurfit
Westrock Italia. Geographical proximity cuts transport costs and increases
relationships. In the end, it is a winning decentralisation.
Company profile. But let’s proceed in
an orderly fashion. This story begins far away from the beating heart that is
the Emilian district. We will return to Emilia very soon, but to understand how
this story began we must take a journey through time and space. Let’s start
with space. It is almost two thousand kilometres North, all the way to the top
of our Old Continent. In Dublin, the iconic Irish capital, in 1934 a small
company began the first production of corrugated cardboard packaging for the
local market. Acquired by Jefferson Smurfit in 1938, Smurfit Kappa grew rapidly
to become a leader in Ireland, listed on the local stock exchange in 1964.
After almost fifty years, in 2005, Jefferson Smurfit finalised its merger with
Kappa Packaging, a Dutch company and Europe’s leading manufacturer of packaging
and corrugated cardboard. Thus was born the Smurfit Kappa Group, which became
Smurfit Westrock in July 2024 after the merger between Smurfit Kappa and
WestRock. It is a world leader in sustainable packaging, operating in 40
countries, with more than 500 production plants and an estimated global
turnover of more than 32 billion dollars.
Product distinctiveness. Proximity, we said before. In Italy, the company can count on an
integrated supply chain that includes the entire cycle: from the paper mills to
the plants where corrugated cardboard sheets, packaging and displays are made
to the recycling plant. Added to this is the R&D centre and the branch that
manufactures packaging machinery. “Our strengths are innovation, versatility
and expertise in eco-packaging. All this allows us to analyse the customer’s
needs by delving into the entire supply chain to create a product suitable for
transport and protection of goods with the right amount and type of cardboard.
Being part of a large global group means belonging to a network of research and
development centres to share innovations and new product developments and
ensure a supply of raw material to our customers”, says Castellini. Of the
twenty-six Italian plants, ten are integrated. And then there are four box
factories, two corrugated cardboard sheet production plants, two paper mills,
seven special products manufacturing plants and a dedicated recycling plant
where almost 2,200 people work. In Emilia Romagna, 550 people are employed in
the four plants of Capocolle di Bertinoro and Forlì, Massa Lombarda in the
Ravenna area and Camposanto sul Panaro in the Modena area. It is here that
investments are planned for the construction of a hi-tech warehouse.
Diversified, innovative and sustainable range for renewable and recyclable
packaging. “We have Thermal Box-in-Box, a system of corrugated cardboard
elements that manage to keep product temperature under control without the use
of polystyrene. Then there is the Safe & Green range of punnets, designed
for the fruit and vegetable sector, but also adopted by the gastronomy and
confectionery sectors,” Castellini explains. We are talking about physical
products, but there is also a lot of digitisation. “We offer not only packaging
solutions, but consultancy that ranges from the study of the supply chain to 3D
prototyping and the virtual simulation of on-shelf packaging,” says Castellini.
Meanwhile, we look to the future as packaging becomes increasingly relevant in
the consumer’s choice of a product. “Its value will grow and its versatility
will make it a communication channel not only from a marketing point of view,
but also as an information vehicle,” Castellini predicts. Living today, but
thinking about tomorrow. This is the winning recipe for successful
organisations.
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
Read the other interviews
