PLANT BASED DAIRY ALTERNATIVES 2021
Processing products on the fluidized bed plant of SternMaid (photo: SternMaid)
“Our customers decide individually
which services they wish to make use
of, depending on their needs,” Commercial
Director Mark Riemer explains.
“Some only want to have bagged
goods filled into FIBCs, for example,
while other companies outsource the
entire production chain and opt for an
overall solution.“
It makes sense to outsource processes
if, for example, the company’s
own plant is working to capacity or if
it simply lacks the necessary technical
equipment or does not wish to invest
in it. For instance, if a manufacturer of
dietetic drinks receives an enquiry for
a very large delivery but his own production
capacity is exhausted, contract
manufacturers can absorb such
peaks.
As Mark Riemer says: “Outsourcing
is an interesting option for smaller
firms that are expanding but hesitate
to make additional investments. For
after all, plant of one’s own binds capital,
space and personnel. And there is
no endless planning and construction
phase if you engage a contract manufacturer.
Larger companies, on the
other hand, may want to reorganize
their production processes and outsource
only a part of them.”
For well-known brand manufacturers,
especially, it is becoming more
and more important to have a secondsupplier
strategy to safeguard their
own ability to deliver in the event of
large orders or as a buffer against crises.
But enhanced quality or additional
know-how may be arguments in favour
of outsourcing to contract manufacturers,
too.
Service providers as
partners
The know-how of service providers
like SternMaid is not restricted just to
handling the products. They know the
market, can identify the latest trends
and give their customers comprehensive
advice, for example on suitable
packaging. In this way, customers benefit
from their partner’s long years of
expertise.
One current example is ecological
aspects such as sustainability and
recyclability that are becoming more
and more important to many customers.
At SternMaid, customers can have
their products filled into spiral-wound
cardboard cans with an aluminiumfree
interior lamination. A sealing machine
for cardboard can bottoms is
also available, making it possible to
replace the traditional tinplate bottom
and thus improving recyclability.
“Customers’ expectations concerning
the range of services
offered by a contract manufacturer
have increased enormously
over the past few years”,
says Mark Riemer. Contract
production now includes a diversity
of services from mechanical
packaging through
making up to quality assurance,
warehousing, logistics and procurement
of raw materials, that
go far beyond mere production
processes like blending, granulating
or microencapsulation.
That is why we continuously invest
in new plant and machinery
in order to respond even more
flexibly to customers’ needs and
the demands of the market.”
SternMaid GmbH & Co. KG
www.sternmaid.de
September/October 2021 ¦ international-dairy.com · 25
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