Decoufle: Follow up Customers'' Trend

Source from:  Tobacco Asia 09/02/2014

Jacques Chateletis the managing director of Decoufle, one of the oldest manufacturers of tobacco industry machinery.  He is based at the company's headquarters in Paris.

TOBACCO ASIA:  How many years has Decoufle been active in the cigarette MakePack machinery market? 

JACQUES CHATELET: For 150 years, since Anatole-EdouardDecouflé delivered the first machine in 1864.

TA: Can you briefly summarize how the demand for machinery, and for which kinds of machinery, has evolved?

CHATELET: Through the years Decouflé has always responded to the prevailing cigarette trends. Without filter, then with filter, or for specialties like oval-shaped cigarettes and now for filtered paper tubes for the MYO [make-your-own]sector. The driving force of Decouflé is to find solutions for the innovative cigarettes through time and for times to come.

TA: Do global cigarette industry regional markets play an important role in this for Decoufle. How radically do these regional markets differ or has globalization taken the lead?

CHATELET: We follow our customers' trends wherever they are.  As when Russia opened the door, this has been a boom for us, although not now. Same with the Indian market, or the Asian market, when machines are required, we move our forces to the appropriated areas.

TA: Speed is all? What line is drawn for the makers/packers for varying levels of manufacturer demand?

CHATELET: Speed is one factor, but not the only one. We can name"flexibility," "adaptability," or maintenance cost, or ROI, oroperator/maintenance oriented machines. We focus our engineering design ideas to bringing easier solutions to the end users. Our technology is hidden under the covers. We strive to keep it simple and make factory life easier.

Make/pack is always on open question where each market, and/or each customer have their specific needs. For example, Decouflé making machines can be connected to every packer, as the customer requires; soft/hinge lid packs, in 20/19/12/10 cigarettes per pack, and so forth.

TA:　Is price now playing a more important role in the machinery market?

CHATELET: Price is always an important parameter. But the technology does not allow the supplier to create any price reference, the ROI is driving the customer decision because this has to be in balance with the global CAPEX of the customers.

TA: Is the stagnant world market for cigarettes changing the make/pack area,for example: emergence of new demands?

CHATELET: "Stagnation" is always a parameter which is derived from yesterday's figures. Our philosophy is not to accommodate to such a situation, rather to create solutions for the customer's changing requirements. Our NANO maker is a perfect illustration of this statement as instead of racing for the "speed record" with this machine we race for the best capability and market adaptation. Lower output is a feature of the appropriate ROI.

TA: What is new from Decoufle? 

CHATELET: Machines – NANO-S, from 5,000-7,200 cpm[cigarettes per minute]has been available since 2012. Now we have introduced an 8,200-stick version, named the NANO-8, to match the 400-pack per minute packers. These "Nano Brothers" have beenour winning horses for more than two years already.

TA: How many national markets is Decoufle selling on?

CHATELET: Decouflé is selling on every market, without any limitation, from Mongolia to Madagascar to the US. There is no limit for us.

TA: Can you give some measurement of your growth in make/pack?

CHATELET: It is always difficult to properly quantify this make/pack combination as "one" because a filter cigarette maker can not exist on the floor without a packer. What is more important is to underline that solutions are available for every market request and one of the keys for success is the lead-time in combination from maker to packer.

TA: Could you estimate how many Decoufle lines are running in cigarette factories?

CHATELET: This figure is constantly changing, related to the machines we delivered and also depending on the customer's plant activities. Are some factories closed/moved or refurbished? We know how many machines we've delivered every month/year, but this is not enough to extrapolate the number of "lines running" all over the world.　Enditem