What does innovation mean today? Reflections of an entrepreneur

The energy crisis, raw materials and packaging: a look at the present, looking to the future.

In this historical period characterised by an increasingly fragile geopolitical balance due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the worsening climate crisis, companies are faced with considerable uncertainty when looking to the future. 

The international economic scenario is characterised by continuous changes in the prices of raw materials and energy, fluctuating not only because of the crisis but also due to widespread speculation.

In this situation in which uncertainty reigns supreme, how can an entrepreneur plan long-term business strategies while leading the way as an innovator in the sector?

A brief reflection on international energy is essential, before we delve further into this subject.

We’ve been talking about the importance of energy independence for years, but have seen very few major government-backed initiatives of this kind. 
In the not too distant past, entrepreneurs with foresight, inspired by innovation, realised the importance of these critical issues, and were the first to take the initiative and invest some of their profits in alternative solutions to differentiate energy sources, in particular focusing on renewables, which are accessible and democratic by definition. 

The current crisis also had an impact on the cost of raw materials. The price of aluminium has soared recently for example, reaching over €3,000 euro/ton, with a knock-on effect on rolling mill processing and production costs.

We’ve been operating in the packaging industry for over 50 years, and today can honestly say that more people than ever are aware of environmental issues and the importance of sustainability. This growing awareness is something that can be seen in both consumers and governments, who have timidly started to introduce stricter regulations such as that on the production of single-dose plastic packaging or the ban on plastic packaging for certain products in supermarkets (in France).

How to innovate your production at this historical time?

Innovation today for us means anticipating the major challenges of the future, making our company as independent as possible from fossil fuel energy sources and the fluctuating prices of raw materials, differentiating wherever possible.

Thanks to the extremely competitive price of renewable technologies, basing your production on renewable energy sources like photovoltaic arrays makes you immune to fluctuations in the price of energy, with a return on your investment in the first few years.

Tacom invested in renewables back in 2014, installing enough PV panels on our roofs to cover the company's electricity consumption.

In terms of production, we decided to differentiate and enrich our offer with other materials years ago. We started with our historic aluminium dosing spout, and for some time now have also been offering a PET pouring spout, along with a certified water-repellent paperboard spout, thanks to innovations in the carton packaging industry. Breaking new ground, we created practical 100% paperboard packaging solutions like the Cloc Spout (also to replace the bag-in-box) and last but not least our Bispenser. 

Today we’re reaping the benefits of those courageous" choices of the past, to the satisfaction of many customers who share our commitment to a more sustainable world, and helped make that commitment a success.