Global manufacturing facility drives growth for MWV's Beauty & Personal Care business through innovative expertise and sustained improvement.
MeadWestvaco Corporation (NYSE: MWV), a global leader in packaging and dispensing solutions, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Barcelona manufacturing plant. The facility is MWV's global Fragrance Center of Excellence for its dedication to research, development and superior production capabilities.
The plant manufactures a range of beauty and personal care packaging solutions including sprayers, dispensers, airless pumps and foamers. It also produces engine and head components for sprayers that are shipped to other MWV sites for local assembly and customization.
From its roots as a family business, the Barcelona center has maintained its commitment to innovation and quality, resulting in a steadily growing production capacity and a strong customer portfolio, including luxury brands such as Puig, Chanel, Interparfums and Burberry.
Fragrance Center of Excellence
Fragrance sprayers have been key to the success of the Barcelona plant and MWV's global Beauty & Personal Care business. MWV's success in the facility is the result of ongoing efforts to improve on existing models and offer innovations to solve customers' unmet needs.
Recent keystone innovations developed in the facility include the Emotions of Spray Collection by MWV, comprised of the original Melodie® pump, Melodie AgileT and Melodie ForeverT, plus three new sprayers - Melodie PureT, Melodie DelicateT and Maestro ExtravagantT - that have distinctive spray characteristics allowing brand owners to tailor the spray to the positioning and personality of the fragrance, which will result in a more luxurious perception of the fragrance and increase brand loyalty. With planned production expansion in 2014, all six sprayers of the Emotions of Spray Collection for the European market will be produced in Barcelona, with additional engine and components supplied to plants in other regions around the world for local assembly.
The facility also led in the development of MWV's patented technology, NoC® invisible dip tube, the world's first invisible dip tube which brought an end to the era of unsightly dip tubes for discerning luxury brands.
Customer Focused
With a clear focus on the customer, the Barcelona team has significantly improved productivity in the facility over the past two years with the introduction of lean manufacturing practices, enabling the company to be more nimble and responsive to customer needs. In 2013, the plant passed the ISO 22716:2007 certification audit for cosmetic Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). With these practices in place, the Barcelona facility ensures standardization for specifications and requirements for materials, products, procedures and quality management - meeting the highest of manufacturing standards and expectations for customers in the cosmetics market.
"This anniversary milestone is a reflection of our legacy in the market and the evolution of our Beauty & Personal Care business," said Sandy Gregory, global fragrance marketing manager. "MWV has continually invested in research and development as well as our manufacturing capabilities to increase production capacity and deliver the industry best solutions for our customers."
Family Business to Global Industry Leadership
The Barcelona plant was founded in 1963 by Antonio Puig with a team of 50 employees. In 1987, the plant moved to its current location in Via Trajana, consisting of more than 9,000 square meters of production space. With a team of 240 employees, MWV has continually reinvested in new assets and capabilities for the plant, including a doubling of production capacity in 2012 with the initial Melodie Spray Collection launch.
"While the Barcelona facility has grown significantly since it opened in 1963, we have been able to incorporate our past heritage and culture as a family-run business while also focusing on what it takes to be a successful contributor to a multinational business like MWV," said Ángel Fernandez-Carbonell, plant manager. "Today, the plant is a key strategic facility for MWV thanks, in large part, to dedicated team members, including some who have been with us through most of this 50 year journey."
This anniversary in Barcelona marks a key moment in the company's history.