Page 10 - Packaging News Magazine Nov-Dec 2018

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COMPANY PROFILE
The future’s in the can
NCI Packaging has been around since 1954 – and after 60 years, it’s still moving forward, Cinstalling a brand-new aerosol line and developing home-grown technology. Tim Grey reports.
ONSUMERS might not notice it, manufacturing in the northern sub- gion’s top paint, food and aerosol but the packaging of everyday urbs of Melbourne’ since 1954. brands, including plastic pails, aerosol goods has changed radically. “Having been involved in packaging cans and high-quality paint cans – the The contents of the kitchen or for a long time, often these things that company’s foundational product. bathroom cupboard have are subtly refined over the years, the Many companies that have such a transformed in subtle but pro- consumer doesn’t notice the differenc- long history struggle to keep up found ways, using materials es,” he explains. “But they continue to with the times. It’s difficult to alter that are manufactured faster, improve, or the technology improves attitudes and adopt new technolo-
cheaper and more robustly. Take the ubiquitous aerosol can, for instance. In the course of sixty years, it has gone through revolutionary change: it’s lighter, safer, stronger and uses far less material. However, to the end user, most of these develop- ments are totally invisible.
It is a fact not lost on Anthony Hengel, CEO of NCI Packaging, a family-owned company that’s been
so packaging can be more lightweight, material is taken out of it. But because they’re driven by performance criteria, they can use technology to deliver the same performance. And so as the con- sumer, you say, ‘Oh, how I use it hasn’t changed.’ But the packaging still im- proves and develops.”
The people who do notice, however, are NCI’s customers. For sixty years, NCI has been making vessels for the re-
gies when your roots are in a differ- ent era. That kind of thinking was one of the concerns Hengel had when he was first approached to move over from Orora in 2016 – but he was quickly impressed by NCI’s progressive culture.
“Joining the business, I was a bit nervous about that, but I’ve been abso- lutely satisfied with the way NCI is outward looking,” he admits. “The
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November-December 2018