L’Usine Nouvelle – What are your challenges in moving from a family company to a sustainable production model?
Xavvier Gagey, general manager and chairman of the management board of Pochet – The first is that of competence. We need strong teams in product development, industrialization and therefore technical expertise.
The question is to make them want to stay for the long term. The second challenge concerns CSR. We must integrate increasingly complex requests to “premiumize” packaging, while meeting the ambitions published by our customers. This year, the group invested between 45 and 50 million euros to, in particular, electrify one of our ovens in Guimerville (Seine-Maritime) (which will be operational at the end of the year, editor’s note) and transform our galvanizing line in Aurillac (Cantal). It will be the most ecological on the market.
After a first electric oven, do you plan to distribute them?
We are waiting to see if the technology is well mastered and if it is satisfactory. If this is the case, the decarbonization of our industry will probably involve the electrification of all of our ovens. In 2033, the Pochet group is committed to reducing its carbon footprint by 50% compared to 2014. This energy transition is also accompanied by better management of our energy consumption. This is the meaning of our collaboration with the start-up Metron.
The group is increasing its partnerships. Is it no longer possible to work alone?
It’s a solution to a world that is evolving more and more quickly. The only way to respond to the many challenges posed by our customers is to expand the group into its ecosystem. We are proactively opening the chakras of an industry that is traditionally closed and constricted on itself.
You go so far as to collaborate with your competitors…
We signed an agreement with Koa Glass, a Japanese glassmaker whose culture is close to ours. A collaboration that is both technical and capacity-based. We are committed to helping each other. This involves sharing know-how on hot glass, decoration techniques and even exchanging molds.
You are involved in the processing of glass, metal and plastic. Which activity is experiencing the strongest growth?
Glass remains the heart of the group’s reactor. On the plastic and metal side, the decision was to refocus our activities. In May 2024, we sold Pochet do Brasil, a Brazilian plastic injection factory. Last year we closed one such site in China. These operations illustrate the strategy for redeploying our assets. The group empowers itself to look at growth opportunities on glass or other activities. Pochet is not looking to increase turnover at all costs. It aims for performance and profitability.
What is the impact on your activities of slower consumption in Asia?
China remains an important source of growth for global perfume, even if the market is a little less dynamic. Concerning the drop in healthcare consumption, on the other hand, there is definitely an impact on the market. But for us, the main subject is that of the massive destocking carried out by our customers since the end of 2023. The financiers have asked the supply chain teams to manage their stocks after the complicated supplies linked to the post-Covid crisis. Consequence: orders are down. On the glass part, we are taking advantage of a fortunate combination of circumstances by shutting down the oven which will become electric. The effects are felt more on the plastic-metal part. The question now is to know when this destocking will be finished, and when customers will relaunch orders to match their real demand which, in perfume, to date, remains good.
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
