UNITED CAPS Celebrating 80 Years:
A Legacy of Progress, Exceptional Quality and Innovation
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UNITED CAPS was founded on the principles of excel lence and
innovation. Its roots as a family-owned business go back to 1939
in Belgium when Resibel began the production Bakelite products,
including closures for a variety of market applications. Although
Bakelite was invented in 1909 in the United States, the acquisi-
tion of the technology by Union Carbide in 1939 spurred interest
in its use for an ever-growing range of products, and Resibel was
an early adopter of manufacturing with this first plastic in history.
Today, the same family lineage still permeates the company and
continues its sense of responsibility to the future via a sustainable
strategy – in business and for the earth.
These principles of innovation have been carried on over the past
80 years with a number of acquisitions and innovative caps and
closure products. In 2015, the company was rebranded as UNITED
CAPS and recognised as a true global player, with manufacturing
output increasing each year. In 2018, UNITED CAPS hit another
major milestone, producing 10 billion closures in that year.
Benoit Henckes, who has been the company’s CEO since
September 1993, noted that while other companies may focus on
production quantity, UNITED CAPS places a focus on production
quality, saying, “We don’t set out every year to make the most
closures. And this year [2018], we are proud that 10 billion times,
we’ve set out and succeeded in making the best closures. It is a
major milestone that highlights the faith the market puts in UNITED
CAPS. It’s a sign of reliability, a badge of honour.”
1956 Resibel bakelite production 1985 Resibel1965 Resibel bakelite 2007 Procap Hoboken
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CLOSE TO YOU
A key strategy for UNITED CAPS has been its CLOSE TO
YOU strategy. Over the years, UNITED CAPS has worked
closely with its customers in the development of new caps
and closures – 50% of which are bespoke and the other
50% standard products. This has resulted not only in the
company pursuing acquisitions to augment expertise and
a broader geographic footprint, but has also resulted in
the opening of a number of new facilities. One example
of a recent acquisition that demonstrates this strategy is
the acquisition of Embalatap in Spain, which added the
larger closures for edible oils popular in Southern Europe
to UNITED CAPS’ broad portfolio.
CustomerFrom concept to end use,we deliver a complete service.
Long termA family-owned business,we invest in a sustainable future.
Our peopleConfident and committed,
we serve with enthusiasm.
SolutionWe constantly innovate to
add value to customers.
ExpertiseWe foster learning for
continuous skills development.
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Currently, the company has 9 plants in Europe; an
extended R&D Centre in Messia, France; and a brand-
new manufacturing plant in Kulim, Malaysia, its first
manufacturing operation in Asia. All plants are equipped
with the very latest equipment and technologies to
ensure fast time to market with highly accurate caps and
closures. In addition, caps and closures, whether bespoke
or standard, undergo extensive testing prior to line trials
at the customer site to ensure rapid implementation and
minimal downtime for the customer.
UNITED CAPS continues on a growth path based on our
three market-driven pillars of RELATE – PERFORM -
SUSTAIN.
• RELATE – We focus on insight-driven innovation for
on-the-shelf impact. Being close to our customers and
having a good understanding of the preferences of
consumers enables us to create breakthrough on-the-
shelf solutions.
• PERFORM – We improve usability for consumers and
productivity for customers.
• SUSTAIN – We help meet today’s needs without
compromising the future. We make products greener,
and we help reduce the carbon footprint of our
customers.
Employing almost 600 people, UNITED CAPS’s turnover
amounts to 149 million Euros (as at end 2018).
Growth Strategy
Resibel 1939 Malaysia 2019Procap Hoboken 1994
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Innovation HighlightsWhile there have been innumerable innovations – both
large and small – in the UNITED CAPS story over the last
80 years, we highlight these recent innovations that are
important to our customers – and theirs – around the world.
Caps and closures are the gateway to the product they
protect and the beginning of the customer experience with
the product. Plus, great closures enable unique branding
concepts and are a critical part of the total packaging
solution for the brand. These examples epitomise both
concepts:
• GREENER Closures: In collaboration with Braskem,
a leading Brazilian petrochemical company, UNITED
CAPS was fi rst to market with a line of GREENER bio-
sourced plastic caps and closures made from sugar
cane. Green polyethylene begins its life as sugar cane,
a renewable resource that replaces itself in a single
year and is designed to have the same characteris-
tics, quality and properties as conventional PE, sharing
the same production route. That, combined with the
fact that sugar cane consumes a signifi cant amount of
carbon dioxide, gives green polyethylene a negative
carbon footprint. Its use reduces greenhouse gases
and it is 100% recyclable.
• SMARTER Closures: With an estimated US$460 billion
in counterfeit goods worldwide, counterfeit prevention
has signifi cant economic benefi ts, including protection
of jobs and prevention of deaths due to counterfeit
drugs. Two different anti-counterfeiting solutions will be
on display at the show: QR+ technology, a combination
of a QR code and secure fi ngerprint that helps brands
enhance consumer confi dence; and holographic engra-
ving integrated into a closure, forming an intrinsic and
irremovable security feature, providing immediate ve-
rifi cation with no need for additional scanners or other
equipment.
• PROTECSCOOP has been highly popular in the Asian
market and will be manufactured in our new Malaysian
plant as part of our CLOSE TO YOU strategy. Its bene-
fi ts include:
- Flip-top hinged closure whose innovative design
allows one-handed preparation of feeding bottles.
- Contamination-free foil-sealed chamber protects
the included scoop until use; an integrated hook
keeps the scoop handy for further use. The scoop’s
thumb-shaped handle makes it easy to use.
- Standard scoop with dosing range from 8 to 13 ml;
no restriction on scoop shape.
- The incorporated levelling device ensures precise
dosing of milk powder.
- Recently named by market research fi rm Euro-
monitor International as one of the two best baby
food closure solutions available in the market.
• GREENCAP is the lightest snap cap on the market and
allows for nearly double the capping speeds of traditio-
nal closures. It has a superior surface fi nish that makes
it successful, especially in Asian markets. GREENCAP
is an example of a “kinder” closure – kinder on the bud-
get and kinder to the environment. Our ability to bring
GREENCAP to the market was enabled by a techno-
logy breakthrough in the resin that ensures a strong
and effective, yet light weight, closure.
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These innovative solutions are found in our catalog
of products that can be customised to some degree
to meet each customer’s specific needs. We also
have been able to achieve astonishing results with
bespoke solutions that appear to be impossible at
first blush, such as the closure developed for Nescafé
Gold coffee – a brushed metal effect that supports the
high-quality image of Nescafé and stands out on the
shelf. The development followed our Relate-Perform-
Sustain model. The final result incorporated a metal
label in-mould that was thought to be impossible but
was ultimately accomplished and delighted Nestlé and
its customers.
Superior ability to develop bespoke closures that
shift the needle for brands looking to differentiate.
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“We are pleased with our progress to date on our
stated growth initiatives,” said Benoît Henckes, CEO
of UNITED CAPS. “The goal is to not only position
ourselves for growth, but in doing so, to significantly
increase the value we bring to our customers. For
example, the recent extension of our Messia R&D
Center alone, with a 30% increase in both staff and
floor space, will enable us to develop both standard
and bespoke products more quickly. The acquisition
of Embalatap in Spain adds significant products to
our portfolio, especially as it relates to closures for
edible oils typically used in the Southern European
market. Our new plant in Malaysia brings us closer
to our Asian customers and better able to serve that
important market. And we – and our customers – are
quite excited about the potential for our GREENER
bioplastics closures sourced from sugar cane, as
well as our innovative anti-counterfeiting initiatives.
The past 80 years have been amazing – and we are
excited for what comes next!”
Benoît Henckes, CEO of UNITED CAPS
UNITED CAPSZI de Wiltz, BP 49, 9501 Wiltz, Grand-Duchy of LuxembourgT +352 95 94 94 1 I F +352 95 94 95 I www.unitedcaps.com
For more information please contact [email protected]