Tikkurila enhances image, saves €1 million in costs, with help from 25-year partner, Crown Holdings

Citation

(2004), "Tikkurila enhances image, saves €1 million in costs, with help from 25-year partner, Crown Holdings", Pigment & Resin Technology, Vol. 33 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/prt.2004.12933aab.012

Tikkurila enhances image, saves €1 million in costs, with help from 25-year partner, Crown Holdings

Tikkurila enhances image, saves €1 million in costs, with help from 25-year partner, Crown Holdings

Tikkurila Oy (Vantaa, Finland) began the production of paints and lacquers in 1862 and has since grown into the industry's leading manufacturer in Europe. With production units in ten countries and 76 percent of the company's net sales generated outside Finland, Tikkurila needed an efficient way to package its products under multiple brand names to reach customers throughout Europe.

Tikkurila relies heavily on its 25 year partnership with Crown Pakkaus, an affiliate of Crown Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCK) (Crown), to efficiently market paints for do-it-yourself (DIY) and professional painters, as well as industrial coatings for metal, wood and coil coating. During this extended cooperation, Crown has helped Tikkurila enhance the image of its brands with highly decorated containers and reduce the need to invest e1 million in automated labeling costs. In addition, the companies have streamlined the supply chain so packages meet the specific requirements of each export market.

“The relationship has developed into a win-win situation for both companies,” said Tom Nurmi, Vice-President of Technology for Tikkurila. “With such a solid partnership, Tikkurila has been able to expand its reach into target countries in Eastern Europe, and Crown has been able to support its businesses in the same regions.”

Enhancing its image

With a corporate strategy of growing in both developing and stabilized markets, Tikkurila needed a partner that could supply containers wherever expansion took them and could provide innovative solutions to issues that arose along the way.

Tikkurila's paints and coatings are packaged in standardized tinplate containers, ranging in capacity from 1/3 to 20l, with high-quality printing. As the company continued to grow, serving customers in countries like Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Hungary, Poland and Italy, the need to print anywhere from four to eight languages on a single container became a challenge.

“Since Tikkurila markets its products under different brand names from country to country, manually applying labels on non-decorated containers became difficult and costly,” said Nurmi. “We needed to find an alternative solution that would allow us to better manage our inventory and would enhance our brand image at the same time.”

Working together with Crown's technical experts, Tikkurila abandoned the automated labeling strategy in favor of increasing the appeal of its local paint brands with highly decorated containers. Crown's Speciality Packaging division provides an on-demand supply of highly decorated tinplate containers to most of Tikkurila's ten production units, with product information and instructions printed directly onto the packages.

“This approach has reduced the need to invest e1 million in an automated labeling process,” said Nurmi. “The daily shipments of highly decorated tinplate containers allows us to provide locally focused products, while maintaining an efficient filling process and avoiding large warehousing expenses at the same time.”

Adding color

In addition to supply chain advantages, the collaboration between Crown and Tikkurila has resulted in a packaging solution that offers numerous marketing advantages. There are some very basic advantages to tinplate packaging, such as its protective internal coating that allows even the most aggressive solvent and water-based products to be packed. In addition, the inherent toughness and seam closure strength of tinplate guarantees security and protection of contents against light, air and humidity and maximum resistance to temperature change. As a result, paint products can have a shelf life of up to 5 years.

Tinplate packages also offer the flexibility to mix additives in the original container. This is ideal for Tikkurila, whose advanced Monicolor Symphony tinting system allows shop owners to offer their customers a wide array of color options with just two base paints. To produce the desired color, shopkeepers simply punch a hole in the container's lid, add the desired colorants, reclose the hole with a transparent plastic cap, and shake the container. Crown worked closely with Tikkurila to incorporate the right solution into the container's lid.

As most competitive products require shop owners to physically remove the container's lid and mix colors by hand, which can be an inconvenient and untidy task, this innovative technique has enhanced Tikkurila's brands in the eyes of retailers and consumers.

“Producing paint in this fashion allows store owners to see an acceleration in inventory turnover, reduce the amount of capital that is tied up, grow profits and save floor space in the shop,” said Nurmi. “Customers also benefit because they are no longer limited to the colors a particular store may choose to stock.”

More growth ahead

While already a leading paints and coatings manufacturer, Tikkurila still has its sights set on additional growth.

“Our strategic partnership with Crown will certainly contribute to the future growth of Tikkurila,” said Nurmi. “We look forward to continuing our partnership for another 25 years.”

About Tikkurila

The Tikkurila Group produces paints and coatings for private consumers, professional painters and industrial users. In 2001, the Group had a staff of 2,500 and net sales totaled e445 million (Plate 1). For more information, visit www.tikkurila.com

Plate 1

About Crown Holdings, Inc

Crown Holdings, Inc., through its affiliated companies, is a leading supplier of packaging products to consumer marketing companies around the world. World headquarters are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

For more information on Speciality Packaging, contact: in Europe, Didier Sourisseau, Sales and Marketing Director, Europe. Tel:+33 1 49 18 4454; E-mail: didier.sourisseau@eur.crowncork.com; in the United States, Liz Goodwin, National Accounts and Marketing Manager. Tel: (410) 273-1885; ext. 234; E-mail: liz.goodwin@crowncork.com