Ludovic Anceau, CEO of Texen and President of the Luxury Goods and Beauty...

Ludovic Anceau, CEO of Texen and President of the Luxury Goods and Beauty Business Unit of PSB Industries

"Like many successful companies that have become leaders in their market, Texen has grown internationally, relying in particular on a series of acquisitions, starting with Mar-Lee in the United States, followed by C+N Packaging in 2014 and Topline the following year," explains Ludovic Anceau, CEO of Texen and President of the Luxury Goods and Beauty Business Unit of PSB Industries.

Indeed, Texen’s history looks like a success story. Strongly anchored in the French "Plastics Valley", Europe’s biggest cluster of plastic converters, the company has a strong industrial culture. As part of the PSB Industries group, it can also rely on a stable family shareholding, firmly committed to its development. "Thanks to significant investments that have allowed a very high level of automation, Texen is one of the packaging suppliers that have managed to maintain most their activities in France," stresses Ludovic Anceau. A real asset when the time of relocation has come, under the pressure of requests for agility and speed to market.

Rapid reorganization

The arrival of Ludovic Anceau at the head of the company coincided with the integration of Topline. "In a context of changing demands from our customers, it was the right moment to combine industrial and trading capabilities. The acceleration of launches, the reduction of development times, the mushrooming of small series and the lower visibility in the medium and long term, meant a more agile and more responsive organization adapted to a variety of brand needs."

With eleven industrial sites around the world and four sales offices (Paris, New York, Sao Paulo, Shanghai), the PSB Industries Group’s Luxury Goods and Beauty Business Unit is now based on three pillars: Texen Industries, Texen Beauty Partners and Texen Innovation.

Mutualisation and industrial rationalization

With its strong technological expertise, the industrial base of the pole was renamed Texen Industries. It is dedicated to exclusive and personalized packaging, developed around the world as close as possible to customers through an industrial network spreading over three continents.

The Mayet (mascara, lipgloss) and CMSI (closures, perfumes, skincare and selective boxes) French sites are the spearheads of Texen Industries. Each of these factories is linked to two other sites of the group for a bigger capacity.

Industry 4.0 and acquisitions

This new organization will make it possible to rationalize and mutualize investments, in particular to continue the transformation of production sites towards Industry 4.0 with a view to greater flexibility and agility.

"Several sites of the beauty pole are already very advanced on this subject. CMSI, for instance, operates highly automated lines and Mayet is installing its first 4.0 line for a multi decoration mascara and multi formats project. This experience will serve as a basis for a complete 4.0 industrialization of the plant," explains Ludovic Anceau.

By divesting from its Food and Retail Business Unit (CGL Pack), PSB Industries has given itself the financial means to initiate its transformation while giving itself the possibility to make new acquisitions in the luxury and beauty sector. "We remain in an industrial logic to strengthen the group through complementary acquisitions where it will be useful, either in geographic terms or product and technological terms."

Development of services

The sourcing and full-service base, dubbed Texen Beauty Partners, is designed to meet the needs of customers who do not necessarily invest in individual moulds but are in need of innovation and speed to market. Organized around the group’s trading entities in Europe, the United States and a sourcing hub in China, Texen Beauty Partners relies on a strong network of partners, particularly in Asia, and enables the co-development of global solutions, from formulation to accessories, in addition to the industrial offer.

For Ludovic Anceau: "What is important in full service is to master the logistics of products and the chain of services at local and global levels. This allows to quickly be able to address a request and respond precisely to specific customer demands."

Market analysis

Finally, Texen Innovation must allow the Luxury and Beauty business unit to better analyse the markets and better target innovations and investments. Texen Innovation brings together the marketing, communication and innovation functions of the pole at the global level. Besides the marketing team, the development team was strengthened.

"More than an organizational change, it is a structural transformation. We are moving from the juxtaposition of independent SMEs to the collaboration of complementary poles and skills," insists Ludovic Anceau.

Simultaneously, Texen is strengthening its CSR policy. A manager has been recruited to meet the expectations of customers in this field, and anticipate them. Texen is also investing heavily in human resources with the creation of a "Texen School", in training and in the search for new profiles to meet the challenges of the digital revolution.

"Today, we must be ready to react to all scenarios and be moving on all positions, according to the needs of the customers. This requires agile factories, reliable partners and robust skills across different product categories," concludes Ludovic Anceau.