“It is fundamental that the clients see us as specialists in the field”
How is ULMA Packaging facing the difficult economic and financial situation seen in recent years?
It’s been a difficult situation for us and although we are internationally strong, we have suffered with an important decline in sales during 2012. We are not only facing a drop in the market here in the peninsular area but also in several other countries such as USA, UK and France where the drop in sales has been steep.
On the other hand, commitments to debt repayments and other such promises that we have acquired, together with the restrictive conditions in expanding funding, mean that we have to work under very tight financial management.
The tight management and consequent decisions will be key elements in the coming years.
From the company’s point of view, what strengths does ULMA Packaging have in taking on such an adverse environment?
I would like to mention two factors, the first is that ULMA Packaging has a wide product range directed at different sectors and the second is that we are an international company. Last year over 80% of company sales were international.
Although it’s true that the Euro zone and the USA have suffered a decline in product demand this last year, and we cannot hope for full recuperation this coming year, sales in faster growing countries like those in Eastern Europe and Latin America have helped us greatly.
The wide range of products that we have has helped certain lines more than others.
Of course, although the following are not strictly business aspects, being a cooperative and having such flexible tools in these times of need also help us greatly.
What goals have you set for the future entrepreneurially and which business strategies support them?
We want to be the first choice for customers in certain target sectors, and for this it is fundamental that the clients see us as specialists in the field. We see how important it is to be innovators and to offer solutions that are both comprehensible and reliable in such fields.
We are ideally targeting medium/high end clients for they are not only interested in the price, but they value key decision factors such as innovation, comprehensive solutions, quality, service and client-customer proximity.
