Heading into 2022: review and outlook

Between a sudden halt in production in 2020 and an intense recovery in 2021, we have spent two years under exceptional circumstances due to Covid. 2022 will present us with new challenges, and flexibility will become more important than ever.

Let’s take stock of the past year and look towards the coming one.

Putting investment at the core our decisions

For the Wauters group, 2021 has been a year of investment and innovation.

With B.Pack equipped with a new offset printing press, the Villebon-sur-Yvette site welcomed a duo of high-tech equipment:

• Firstly, the CX104 printing machine. This is Heidelberg’s latest press, and Wauters was the very first company to enjoy the use of one.
• Secondly, the Vinfoil Optima cold transfer module opens up a world of gilding possibilities for Wauters by expanding our abilities.

These two top-of-the-range machines open new doors in terms of packaging solutions when it comes to performance, design and environmentalism.

Acknowledgement of our commitment

The Wauters group has also received a number of awards and renewed its certifications, the results of its tireless efforts.

• Ecovadis: Ecovadis has awarded two of our sites (in the Paris and Burgundy regions) the gold medal, putting us in the top 5% of companies in terms of CSR.
• PM’UP: For the second time, Wauters is a PM’UP winner (an award for Ile-de-France based SMEs who most contribute to the region’s social and economic development). This recognition of our expertise and development strategy has earned us the support of the Ile-de-France region.

Imprim’vert: For the 12^th year, the group has been certified by Imprim’Vert, an acknowledgement of our environmental commitments.

Recent launches

2021 was also a year filled with a number of fantastic launches that we’re very proud to have participated in.

– Packaging that is more eco-friendly, particularly through the use of bio-sourced inks:

• Kenzo Homme Eau de Toilette Intense
• La Chênaie Eau de Toilette Chêne Blanc
• Givenchy L’Interdit Eau de Parfum Rouge

– Technically challenging packaging:

• The flocked and gilded packaging for the new Scandal pour Homme Eau de Toilette by Jean-Paul Gaultier
• A number of technical finishing touches for the new Miss Dior Eau de Parfum
• Colour and embossing challenges for Kate Spade New York

Realising human potential

At Wauters, we pride ourselves on preserving and sharing our expertise.

Despite 2020’s impact on business and the recruitment challenges faced by the industry, we’ve managed to maintain our workforce.

Expertise and adaptability are the keywords that guide our employees’ professional development.

We regularly renew our teams and dedicate sufficient time to training while continually recruiting new employees to ensure we constantly gain and share new knowledge and skills. Each new team member is assigned an experienced mentor for training. It’s a hands-on learning process that doesn’t happen overnight. Some areas of expertise require years of practice, such as:

• Acquiring the manual agility and understanding and mastering increasingly technically sophisticated machines
• Developing the mental agility to cope with unexpected challenges and to start all over again to find solutions
• Embodying the brand’s quality standards and developing a keen eye for detail in order to choose the perfect colour, understand different qualities of papers, predict embossing pressure, flawlessly lay a gold film for gilding…

Training is an ongoing process as our teams are rotated between multiple workshops to help develop our company’s adaptability. Everyone shares their areas of expertise, and through learning and teaching, versatility becomes an integral part of our community.

These last 2 years have developed our ability to adapt, stay focused and be responsive. We are ready to meet the demands of 2022, with even more flexibility, and a smile as always.

Wauters and B.Pack teams

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