PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2021

TOP TALK PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 01+02/21 www.petpla.net 10 Full capacity despite the crisis In our interview, David González, Business Director of Novapet, reveals how reliable continuity still exists even when everything is upside down and why the summer of the pandemic year 2020 was the right moment for implementing strategic plans up to 2030. PETplanet: Mr González, how Novapet coped with the past year? González: It’s been quite a chal- lenging year, indeed. No need to com- ment on the depth and the rapidity of the changes and disruptions we all had to face in our markets and sectors of activity because of the pandemic. From the basic supplies of our raw materi- als, to the end point of our marketing activities, almost everything had to be reinvented from one day to the next, while ensuring, at the same time, the normal continuity of our production, technical assistance and deliveries. We cannot forget that from the very first day of our Spanish lockdown, our company was considered “strategic”. I can now say that this situation has demanded an important extra effort from our team in terms of concentration, dedication and personal responsibility. Luckily, Novapet had previously paid special attention to our Business Contingency Plans in all our divisions, you know, the kind of provisions you make in ordinary times when you don’t even think this might be ever used. It has been used! And now we can say that thanks to these plans, Novapet has maintained its activity at full capacity during all these difficult months, and we have even been able to fulfil an extraordinarily high demand in our three markets: PET resins, PET preforms and bottles. PETplanet: Spain imposed strict contact restrictions early on. How did the customer support succeed at a distance? González: Mostly via virtual tools. But our technical assistance team has kept travelling around when and wher- ever a customer really needed them. And this has been the case even in the hardest moments of the lockdown. Obviously, we have adopted the strict- est safety protocols for these travels, but I repeat: we have always been very aware of our responsibilities as a strategic industry. The other day, out of curiosity, I checked the number of kilometres covered by our techni- cians during the pandemic. And I can assure you, it’s quite an impressive number. PETplanet: Were your logistics influenced by the lockdown? González: Not that much. All the transportation sector was consid- ered strategic as well, and I person- ally think society should recognise the very special effort this sector has deployed to keep all our industries and the shelves of our supermarkets fully supplied. Of course, we have had some minor disturbances affecting basically transportation by road, but with a negligible effect on sea, rail supplies and freight transport. PETplanet: Digitalisation is one of the buzzwords associated with the pandemic. In our industry, too, the pressure is growing, for example to build digital trading platforms for com- modities or to ensure better network- ing. You have already mentioned digital tools to keep in touch with your customers. Besides this, how are you positioned digitally, or how urgent are such developments on your agenda? González: My personal vision is that, from both ends of the value chain, the PET or the PET packaging market, were already highly “digital- ised” in virtually all the operations (supply, planning, production, logis- tics, technical assistance, etc.). This is, no doubt, our case as a company. Obviously, this trend is becoming more and more intense, and you cannot stop benchmarking and updat- ing your tools. PETplanet: Have you also taken advantage of offers such as digital trade fairs and congresses? González: Yes, certainly, we have attended several congresses and conferences in their virtual editions. We think it is always important to keep updated on what is going on in our sector. Most especially during these uncertain times. PETplanet: Did you benefit from the fact that the pandemic has shown plas- tics in a good light, and helped dispel negative criticisms of the sector? González: No doubt! From the first moment, plastics in general, and PET in a very particular way, were widely iden- tified as a basic means of fighting the pandemic and its effects on our lives. From the most visible medical, sanitary and protection equipment, to the omni- present bottles of handwashes, or other hygienic and food articles, plastic has shown in the clearest possible way that it is an irreplaceable material to provide safety, cleanliness, lightness and ease of use. Let me add that the plastic industry has also proven its amazing capacity for response and adaptation to a world in disruption, because of its technological flexibility, training in fast decision-making, and the robustness of the value chain. PETplanet: It is often said that the pandemic has acted as a driving force, accelerating developments that would have happened sooner or later anyway. If this is the case, what changes have been implemented in your company that you expect to last? And are there also any programmes that you had to abandon, or cuts that you were forced to make? González: This last summer, once the first impacts of the sanitary crisis were more or less under con- trol, we started a strategic reflection on the moves the markets and soci- ety were expecting from us to make in the coming years. We were helped in this process by the political and public debate on the priorities for the future, and obviously by a long series by Gabriele Kosmehl