Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/550310
50 tobaccoasia JC: "Stagnation" is always a parameter which is derived from yesterday's fig- ures. Our philosophy is not to accommodate to such a situation, rather to cre- ate 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 adapta- tion. Lower output is a feature of the appropriate ROI. TA: What is new from Decouflé? JC: 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 been our winning horses for more than two years already. TA: How many national markets is Decouflé selling on? JC: 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? JC: 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 re- quest and one of the keys for success is the lead- time in combination from maker to packer. TA: Could you estimate how many Decouflé lines are running in cigarette factories? JC: This figure is constantly changing, related to the machines we delivered and also depending on the customer's plant activities. Are some facto- ries 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. ITM and IMAtec, A Succcesful Match With the acquisition of IMAtec last year, ITM- Group has strengthened its services portfolio with attractive upgrade kits for make/pack equipment. Continuous improvement is the driving force behind IMAtec's upgrade kits. With crafted, cost- competitive engineering, the easy-to-use "upgrade kits" for earlier generation machines can enhance the customer's competitiveness and production efficiency. IMAtec has installed many upgrade kits world- wide, including in the Asia-Pacific region. One of their customers, TTM in Bangkok, wrote: "TTM staff like IMAtec for many reasons, such as a short installation period, the way they solve problems, Dutch tobacco machinery specialist ITM Group teams up with IMAtec, a recent acquisition, to provide upgrade kits for make-pack sector machines having friendly engineers who are getting along well with staff from operator all the way to man- agement level." For flexibility in production and marketing some of ITMGroup's offers include post shrink kits, clear wrap kits, printed inner-liner registra- tion kits, perforation kits, and more. The ITMGroup has become one of the leading developers and suppliers of technology for the tobacco industry. ITMGroup consists of different companies supplying technology to the complete tobacco industry. ITM focuses on the cigarette industry, while SCM/GTS targets the cigar-industry, and TDC provides world- class solutions to the OTP market, or other tobacco products such as MYO/RYO, shisha, e-cigarettes and so forth. ITMGroup has production sites in the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Dominican Re- public, Luxembourg, and Poland. Their sales offices and service centers can be found around the world. ITM supports the industry by offer- ing spare parts, maintenance kits, and upgrades. Relocations and rebuilding services for a wide range of different tobacco machines are also provided. "Leading innovator" and "passion to serve" are core values for the ITMGroup, distinguish- ing itself successfully in the market. ITMGroup is well known for the solutions it offers to cus- tomers helping them get the maximum out of their tobacco. Decoufle's new NANO-8 maker.