Charles Chang, founder and CEO of Topline

Premium Beauty News - This new plant in Mexico and your desire to be more present in France were strategic moves for you?

Charles Chang - Yes, of course! At one stage, you must let intuition take the lead. Clearly it was necessary to build the plant in Mexico. This is the story of the pendulum. Production has left the U.S. to go to Asia. But costs are increasing a lot in Asia and a reverse movement will occur. Cost and service concepts will still be the key considerations. Don’t forget that we acquired for this purpose, in June 2010, in Dundee, Michigan the former Motor City Plastics injection factory that was producing compacts and caps. For certain types of operations, Mexico is also the right choice. As for Europe,the acquisition of Primapack was an important step. It allows us to provide high quality products and services at a regional level and to streamline the production line, while increasing at the same time our responsiveness to the market. Europe is a dynamic market for innovations in the beauty and skin care sector and this acquisition will strengthen our competitiveness on this market with the help of Topline’s multiple production sites.

Premium Beauty News - But you are not stopping there?

Charles Chang - The U.S. and Mexican industrial experience are very instructive for us. And I haven’t overlooked anything for Europe. What matters is our ability to meet the needs of the market. Obviously, this demanded a "1st class" organization which we are building. Similarly, I can announce that we are opening a sales office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where I’m not excluding anything either.

Premium Beauty News - Industrial tools are important! But men are even more! And you wish to take every offered opportunity to highlight your commitment in this area.

Charles Chang - It’s true! And I must thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so. Nothing is possible in our business without adequate training. That’s why I’ve decided to take part in the development of Packaging Engineering at Rutgers University. In this area, "network" and "financial means" are both crucial tools. So I created the Rutgers Packaging Engineering Advisory Board (RPEAB), which consists of leaders and decision-makers from the fields of business, industry, government and education who provide guidance and assistance to Packaging Engineering and its students at Rutgers University.

The purpose and mission of the Advisory Board are:

 Supports and promotes Rutgers Packaging Engineering as a premier packaging program in US;
 Provides Rutgers with assessment of the curriculum, both existing and proposed, and with a sketch of what is going on in the industry including trends and needs;
 Helps to build specialty programs for specific industries such pharmaceutical, cosmetics, household and personal care, printing, corrugated, food, plastic molding and other sectors;
 Provides internships, co-ops and other training opportunities for students, continues to assure the development of excellence and outstanding graduates at all levels, and provides productive employment where feasible;
 Fosters truly cooperative activities between industry and Rutgers Packaging Engineering including packaging research sponsorships and new, innovative technology development;
 Actively raises funds for student scholarships and more teaching staff for the program through an annual fundraising event, industry seminars and the UPPER (University Partnership in Packaging Engineering at Rutgers) program. Last year we raised $110,000.