An Interview With... that Intralox has planned.
JJ: That’s mainly driven in the US now. It’s important to look at it together with our customers, “where are the spoilage points in the line”, and then we are going really to work on those point by point through the line to see where together we can improve our efficiency, and that depending on the causes of the drop-off efficiency, we can help each other to implement those improvements. Big project activity is still very much
capabilities set up to find the right balance between people and teams having the opportunity to work together in small meeting rooms or in areas where teams that sometimes work remotely can meet between themselves in breakout areas. The new facility allows for more
efficient processes and enlarged production capacity by utilising very narrow aisles in the warehouse and increasing the production area by nearly 3,000 square meters. This additional space improves set-up for modular plastic belting assembly and fosters an environment for continued growth of ThermoDrive and Activated Roller Belt technologies.
AF: You guys pride yourselves on lead times being one of the best within the industry. Has that been reflected in the desire for a new facility here?
JJ: We have been consistent during the past few years, even for example during Covid. But I think the important thing is that when we moved to this new facility, we gave continuity, and during this intensive time of moving from one building to the new building, we constantly continue to secure the lead times that we guaranteed to our customers.
AF: Are you bullish in terms of growth within the container segment, or perhaps conservative in your estimate?
JJ: Well, we can say I’m relatively new to the container industry. So, I started 18 months ago, but I’ve understood they always have ups and downs for sure. During the Covid period, a lot of investments had been brought forward. What we see now is that there is a
time of stabilising. Our customers are looking at how can we ensure that all the lines that we have installed
new facility allows for
more efficient processes
The
are commissioned correctly and are brought to the efficiencies which are expected. And during this period, it’s very important to be close to our customers, to be present at the plants. We are bringing a lot of programmes
and enlarged production capacity by utilising
warehouse
very narrow aisles in the
in terms of spoilage reduction, but also improvement of safety in the plants and working closely with them during this period because we know that soon that moment will come back. We’re also very active in the replacement parts business. So that gives some more stability for our partners in the container industry. But yes, we know that this is a
moment when maybe the new investments have slowed a little, but we also see that there are drivers in terms of sustainability, the replacement of PET bottles, and the recycling rate of cans that is growing. So, we also know that this is temporary and will come back.
AF: It sounds like, not to put you on the spot, but I suppose you’re quite optimistic that the industry is in a good place…
JJ: We’ve seen that probably in the last five years as many investments have been made in that time as they would have in the past 20 years. This slowdown was expected. It did
come quicker than we had foreseen though. I assume that it will be there this year, and probably also next year, but hopefully then to say at the beginning of 2026, the project activity will come back again. But for us, at this moment, we have a lot of programmes also in terms of service, where we look together with our global accounts on how we can support their lines most efficiently. AF: So now it’s almost as if the
industry has taken a pause for breath and looking into efficiency savings and optimisation is key and important. I’m interested to hear some of the efficiency savings and some of the programmes
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metalpackager.com
reduced at this moment. But yes, we are confident that it will come up. Maybe not as much, and in such a big wave as it has been during the past five years, but we are very confident that 5% of growth yearly will come back.
AF: I just want to move the conversation back to one of the comments you made earlier when you suggested it is a mature market with some individuals within the business potentially retiring in years to come. So, I’m just wondering how Intralox is looking to maybe leverage that.
JJ: To say within the teams that we have in Interlox, it’s quite common that people move from one team to another. I think we have a strong global canmaking team, with a presence in all the different regions. We have had a very good
combination of people within the industry for many years, and together with some new people coming in, it’s also bringing in new views, which I have seen so far been welcomed a lot by our customers in the can making industry.
AF: Are there any trends or issues that you guys are mindful of moving forward in the next few years?
JJ: We are working with all the larger accounts and with the OEMs to implement and hopefully consolidate that new technology in the coming year. That for sure is an important one, but that is a continuation of the innovations that have been brought by the people that have worked throughout their time in this industry. We’ve seen inflationary pressures,
supply chain pressures, and it’s easy for industries to turn to those that are the cheapest. So, it’s by having that different level, that unique selling point as a business.
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