In Modena, some ideas take shape and look to the future. And then they
fly, going all over the world with 137 patents filed. "We make automatic
machines: We start with the idea and then we make the machine. On the other
hand, if you want to do something completely new, you need a completely new
machine". For FARE INSIEME Giampaolo Colletti interviews Andrea Taglini, founder and CEO of Easysnap
di Giampaolo Colletti
@gpcolletti
Photocredit: Giacomo Maestri e Francesca Aufiero
“The best ideas come not
from reason, but from a lucid, visionary madness”. The Dutch philosopher and
essayist Erasmus from Rotterdam repeated this as a mantra at the end of the
sixteenth century. Head and heart. But it is also important to understand one’s
own time and properly care for the environment. Because to put a good idea
together, you have to have the strength to conceive it, build a prototype,
create it, and make it useful and sustainable. After all, that was the
experience of a young entrepreneur from Emilia, to all intents and purposes the
inventor. His name is Andrea Taglini, founder and CEO of Easysnap, a company
from Modena active in the production of single-dose sachets and known for
developing an easy-to-open system suitable for liquid or semi-liquid products.
Easysnap — a name that opens up and looks out at a whole world. Because it is a
portioned package that can be opened and dispensed with one hand.
"Companies are a journey that has a starting point and then situations that
change their course over time. I became CEO of Easysnap when the product
already existed, although it was completely different at the beginning. Now we
make lots of different products", says Taglini, 44, holder of a degree in
economics and an MBA from Bocconi University. One thing leads to another. It all started with the traditional
Easysnap packaging — mostly made of plastic materials —, but the pandemic
period has inspired an innovative and sustainable new product. This is how
Papersnap was born, Easysnap's new flagship product, 80% of which is made from
paper. The new packaging not only maintains the same revolutionary one-handed
opening system, but it is also the single dose for liquids and semi-liquids
with the largest percentage of paper in the world. We are based in Modena and
our administrative and commercial headquarters is in an early 20th-century
villa near the motorway exit — a real gateway to Europe. It is a head office
that is easy to find and reduces travel to a minimum, as it is just 800 meters
away from the manufacturing plant where the machines are made. But the
geography of Easysnap is interesting for another reason. The world giant
Tetrapack is also located on the same street. David and Goliath, you might think. Today, Easysnap is part of the
EUR 300 million giant Gualapack Group, which has held 60% since June 2021. The
company has a consolidated turnover of EUR 12 million and 25 employees. The
average age of the staff is 40 and they are a team of specialized, passionate
and competent mechatronics technicians. "We make automatic machines: We
start with the idea and then make the machine. Our strength is engineering
because we make products from machines. On the other hand, if you want to do
something completely new, you need a completely new machine", says
Taglini. For him and his team, ideas are like pieces of a wonderful, new
patchwork that just need to be sewn together. "Today we have 137 patents
registered in countries around the world and we also focus on materials: They
tend to insist on the finished product and having “Easysnap” on the engraving
part for the opening", clarifies Taglini.
The future of packaging. One-handed opening. All with one hand. This container is meant to
be opened with one hand, making it a liquid packaging for everyone. Moreover,
if an egg can be opened with one hand, why not design a system to do the same
for liquid products in single-dose portions? The result is technology that
delivers the contents accurately, cleanly, and without waste, with benefits in
terms of use and access. "In a market where single-use products are
difficult for people to open, we have a different concept: For everyone to be
able to open the right dose. The technology is suitable for use in the
packaging of all product sectors: food, cosmetic, chemical, medical and
pharmaceutical. Easysnap can replace any traditional single-dose packaging that currently exists on the world market. An
Easysnap package is easy to use, durable, economical and environmentally
friendly", explains Taglini. Today’s society has a mission that is
actually a way of life: making sustainable and inclusive products, to try to
turn the need for sustainability into a great opportunity for innovation. This
is all a question of practical improvement: if a family goes to the beach at
the weekend, each person should have the right sunscreen and it would make
sense for them to have the right portion for the amount of time that they are
there. All of this means saving on product while protecting the environment and
the individual. Individual, community and environment — three closely related
concepts. Moreover, this is made clear by one of Easysnap’s pay-offs: “easy for
people, sustainable for the planet”. Speaking of people, ideas take shape
because of the team, which is always the decisive factor. Taglini is convinced
of that. "You can't get heat with a spark. You need fire. That is why it
is crucial to bring skills on board that can take your company a long way. What
about the future? It will be better because it will be sustainable and driven
by the new generations — an unstoppable train. Tomorrow belongs to them".
https://podcast.confindustriaemilia.it/
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