In a time of consolidation, mergers, and generally weak demand across Europe, the news of a brand-new factory deserves special attention! Following a two-year development project and an investment of over €40m, the leading Bosnia and Herzegovina company Violeta has opened a new corrugated board plant as part of its growth and development strategy for the future.
Violeta was founded in the early 2000s and has since grown into one of the leading regional producers and distributors of hygiene and household products. The company launched its first product – tissues – in 2001 and gradually expanded its portfolio to include sanitary pads, wet wipes, baby diapers, and detergents for laundry and home care.
In 2019, the Group took another significant industrial step by acquiring the food company Lasta. After a comprehensive restructuring process and major investments in modern equipment and technology, Violeta relaunched the Lasta brand and began producing biscuits and wafers.
The increasing need for high-quality corrugated packaging then naturally led to a new strategic idea: building a dedicated corrugated board packaging factory.
Growing need for packaging
As the food business continued its growth, so the requirement for a wide range of corrugated transit packaging increased. At that time, Violeta were buying corrugated packaging from suppliers in the region, but they saw an opportunity to bring production in house. By early 2022, the company decided to look at the possibility of building its own corrugated packaging manufacturing site in their home market.
Ivan Penava, Project Manager, explains,“After extensive research, we concluded that building our own facility would secure our supply and additionally create a new revenue stream, as the capacity of the new plant could supply the local market with board and finished packaging if needed. Our Board of Directors approved this ambitious investment project, which we are very proud of and are now presenting to the industry.”
Open minded, hungry to learn
Violeta began exploring which equipment would be most suitable for the new facilities, considering both theoretical workload distribution and the expectations major FMCG brands have from a modern packaging producer.
“We conducted numerous reference visits across Europe, speaking with all major suppliers in the market to determine the best equipment combination for our needs. For example, we saw that some large retail chains have significant requirements for SRP packaging, so selecting equipment capable of producing it was crucial. We also knew we needed flat board to maximise the performance of our converting lines, and that high-quality printing had to be a priority,” says Penava.
Top-tier equipment
At the heart of the factory is a high speed corrugator. Running on a single shift currently, the machine is able to run single and doublewall board, in a broad range of flute variations. A complete materials handling system ensures smooth transfer of stacks away from the corrugator, into WIP, and then into the various pre-feeders fitted to the converting machines. Also included is a pallet inserting system prior to the finished goods area.
In converting, where they run on a triple shift pattern, the company opted for a high speed flexo folder gluer, equipped with four flexo print units. For high quality post-print, a six colour off line printer has been installed, and flat bed die-cutter. The converting hall is then completed with a specialty folder gluer.
With all of the machines chosen, the company wanted equipment that was state-of-the-art, easy to run and maintain and from suppliers that would work with them in a true partnership relationship. Within their business, the group tend to recruit young operators, many of whom will be new to the industry and the business. At the moment, 80% of our people are trained from scratch, so choosing intuitive equipment was a very important part of our project scope and research.
Violeta also rely on a good working relationship with the machinery manufacturers, as they have a good team of engineers in-house, who help ensure maximum up time for the machinery throughout the group companies.
Sustainability as a priority
Inside the 30,000 sqm facilities, the company actively implements energy-saving systems, the latest solar panels.
“Sustainability and recyclability are extremely important to us as manufacturers, especially since Bosnia and Herzegovina is entering the second phase of its EU accession process,” Penava concludes. “We are truly proud of the Corspack facility and are increasing our production capacity month by month while building a customer base for premium packaging.”
With five locations – four in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one in Croatia – the Violeta Group employs over 1,650 people and generates more than €300m in revenue. Each year, the company reinvests in new equipment and its workforce, ensuring continuous growth. Corspack is just one example of how this group continues to diversify.
