Piero Capodieci, GPP

He is back! After selling his company to an investment fund in 2006, which in turn sold it in 2008 to the 21 Investimenti investment fund owned by the Benetton family, Piero Capodieci had taken the reins from 2007 to 2011 of Assografici, the Italian Printing and Paper Converting Industries Association. But after the liquidation of the group in April 2012 and an agreement with the unions, the Italian entrepreneur is heading again the GPP Group, whose activity will have finally never ceased, with the aim to redress the balance.

Luxury at the heart of the revival

Our strategy will be the same as when the group was first created. In a sector where there are no real economies of scale during production, or important entry barriers, the competitive advantage comes from purchases. This is why is interesting to have significant volumes. Conversely, value added is found in sectors with moderate volumes. It is therefore interesting to be present in both mass packaging, for volume, and specialities (luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, POS materials), for value added,” says Piero Capodieci.

The Draeger Company, founded in 1886 and located in Palaiseau, France, is the mainstay of the Group’s high-end production. Since the beginning of 2013, the group has made investments in the refurbishment of the factory and an additional 1.5 million euros is earmarked for the production equipment itself, with the aim of replacing Draeger in the role of major player in the luxury industry that it was still playing in the early 2000s. Hence, significant investments are planned in die-cutting equipment, as well as in machines enabling to produce innovative finishes, offering customers the possibility for a true differentiation (3D effects, hot stamping, plasticizing). “Beyond machines, we are also investing in people,” says Capodieci.

The will to also capitalize on men was given concrete form in December 2012 with the appointment of Olivier Roussier as Commercial Director of Draeger GPP and Vice President Prestige Sales for the entire GPP group. “My challenge is of course to reinforce the position of Draeger on the road to its success and development by relying on dynamic and volunteer production, development and commercial teams whose know-how dedicated to the prestige market has remained impressive,” says Roussier. In the trade since 1992, with an 8 year stint at Nortier and then 12 years at the SPIC (now Edelmann France since 2006), Roussier can rely on his perfect knowledge of the industry and of its players.

Rationalization of flows

Olivier Roussier, GPP

To successfully achieve his mission, Roussier intends to rely on one of the main assets of the company: flexibility. “The Draeger factory is located in the suburbs of Paris, close to most brand owners, this is an important advantage in an environment where deadlines are getting shorter and shorter,” he says. “In addition, the flexibility of our production tool allows us to offer lead times twice as low as what our competitors offer on average. This enables our customers to reduce their stock levels.

This reactivity can be explained, according to the management team, by the rationalization as much as possible, of flows within the company, and by the internalization of production stages, to avoid back and forth movements with suppliers. The group also has its own design studio in France and Italy.

The group is also paying a particular interest in major advances in terms of digital print quality and has a stake in a Hungarian company specialized in this field and in POS material. “For small series or to achieve a complete differentiation, digital may be of interest,” emphasises Capodieci.

A sign of its desire to re-establish itself in the sector, Draeger GPP will be attending this year both the Gift & Pack and the Luxe Pack Monaco shows.