In all the best success stories, it is not one person that makes the difference, but rather a motivated team of like-minded individuals that come together to achieve a big goal. This is certainly true of RETAL Cyprus, the Limassol-based plastic packaging factory, part of RETAL Industries, which celebrated its fifth anniversary on 9th October this year.
The story first started with a big inauguration in 2015. The importance of RETAL opening and operating a successful factory in Cyprus, where it is headquartered, was clear from this event, as it was attended by the President of Cyprus Mr. Anastasiadis, senior local government officials, the President of RETAL Anatoly Martynov, all of RETAL's board of directors, and its global customers. The event was widely publicised as it highlighted the importance of opening such a modern factory in Cyprus.
RETAL's plans in this strategically important region - the south part of Europe - have come true. Today it is a successful and dynamically developing business that contributes to the Cyprus economy. The company’s president Mr. Martynov notes, “RETAL has over 20 years of experience in the production of plastic packaging. It is the synergy of our deep understanding of the industry and significant investments in our modern plant that are key to the achievements of RETAL in Cyprus.”
Read the story online on Cyprus Times
Read / download the story in PDF
Effective internal communications for a global company brings many advantages but can be hard to implement and maintain. With various stakeholders and their differing needs, creating an engaging communications strategy is an opportunity for commercial and organisational goals to be met. Following their intranet launch in 2019, global plastic packaging manufacturer RETAL shares how developing its intranet has been both more difficult and more rewarding than it expected – and how they had to adapt in response to Covid.
For traditional manufacturing companies, the understanding of what effective communication is and why it’s necessary can be the first hurdle in developing a communications strategy. Different stakeholders can see the value of communications in opposite terms, with the ROI hard to quantify, especially in the short term. Yet the cost of poor internal communications may only be seen when it’s too late, so proposing, agreeing to, and, crucially, getting the budget for, a corporate intranet is the first hurdle.
RETAL develops and manufactures plastic packaging solutions to customers in over 60 countries worldwide. The business was founded in 1994 and currently employs around 1,500 employees. Today, RETAL has locations worldwide including Eastern and Western Europe and the US, so its wide range of cultures both internally with employees and externally with customers and other stakeholders means that communication is key. Having historically relied on separate communication within each of its locations, the company realised that integrated internal communication could add considerable value to both its employee engagement and its bottom line – as long as it was done right.
In 2019, the organisation invested in a new corporate O365 intranet. The project was focused on delivering enhanced communication across its 15 factories.
Using an Attollo Intranet out-of-the-box package, RETAL built its internal communications platform to allow for closer cooperation between colleagues and departments in a more efficient and effective manner.
However, the unprecedented changes that the spring of 2020 brought meant that the dedicated communication platform has more than earned its keep, highlighting how staying closely connected even when colleagues are working from home around the world supports a profitable modern workplace.
In this article, RETAL explains how its newly designed intranet had to quickly evolve to meet the needs of its employees in the face of Covid.
Socially-distanced celebrations are still possible at RETAL Baltic thanks to the official opening of its new premises.
The new space is dedicated to an updated central group laboratory to maintain the company’s international-standard quality assurance and testing, as well as expanding working and auxiliary spaces for administration and production employees. It sees the previous 700sqm site now doubled to 1400sqm, in addition to its production facilities.
On 19th June, General Manager Viktorija Jurevičiūtė cut the symbolic ribbon to declare the facilities open, following 12 months of construction that was delayed earlier this year due to coronavirus. The RETAL Baltic team enjoyed a small ceremony to mark the event, with the additional space allowing for plenty of room between people. Each employee was also presented with a personalised plant to match the new office.
Viktorija says, “This new facility represents our continued growth, both professionally and personally, and so we wanted to give each employee something to mark the occasion. The bright, clean design is perfectly in tune with our focus on providing high quality, sustainable plastic packaging solutions and we’re all looking forward to utilising this investment.”
Read/download the press release
With all visits to the RETAL PA factory in Donora cancelled due to coronavirus, the team decided to make a virtual tour instead...bringing RETAL to the community.
HR Manager Elizabeth Giecek explains how the video is a great way to stay in touch with the people of Donora, especially because tours had been planned for high school students from Monessen High School, just across the river from RETAL PA. Elizabeth says, “It is really important for us to keep in contact with our community, now more than ever, as we can all feel isolated. We were looking forward to taking students from Monessen on a tour of our facility as we are always keen to engage with potential employees and show them the range of careers available at RETAL PA.”
Production Manager Matthew Durka takes us on a virtual factory tour of the plastic packaging producer's Donora plant, which employs 40 people across its 140,000 sq ft site, which opened in 2016 after taking over the Spartech Polycom location. His upbeat presentation and in-depth knowledge of the facility makes him the ideal host for the video, not least because he's worked at RETAL PA since it opened. Elizabeth adds, “We joke that Matt came with the building because he actually worked at Spartech Polycom for 14 years before we took over the space! We don't know what we'd do without him; he really knows his stuff and we're delighted that comes across in the video.”
Filmed at the start of the pandemic but before masks were obligatory, the tour shows how production continued even with reduced staff and social distancing rules. The friendly, informative video is being used to show potential customers the various technical capabilities at RETAL PA as well as being an excellent showcase for career opportunities for the local community.
Watch the video here on RETAL's YouTube channel.
Aerial images by RPA president Darius Janulionis thanks to RPA process engineer (and pilot!) Greg Murrer.
With all visits to the RETAL PA factory in Donora cancelled due to coronavirus, the team decided to make a virtual tour instead…bringing RETAL to the community.
HR Manager Elizabeth Giecek explains how the video is a great way to stay in touch with the people of Donora, especially because tours had been planned for high school students from Monessen High School, just across the river from RETAL PA. Elizabeth says, “It is really important for us to keep in contact with our community, now more than ever, as we can all feel isolated. We were looking forward to taking students from Monessen on a tour of our facility as we are always keen to engage with potential employees and show them the range of careers available at RETAL.”
Production Manager Matthew Durka takes us on a virtual factory tour of the plastic packaging producer’s Donora plant, which employs 40 people across its 140,000 sq ft site, which opened in 2016 after taking over the Spartech Polycom location. His upbeat presentation and in-depth knowledge of the facility makes him the ideal host for the video, not least because he’s worked at RETAL PA since it opened. Elizabeth adds, “We joke that Matt came with the building because he actually worked at Spartech Polycom for 14 years before we took over the space! We don’t know what we’d do without him; he really knows his stuff and we’re delighted that comes across in the video.”
Filmed at the start of the pandemic but before masks were obligatory, the tour shows how production continued even with reduced staff and social distancing rules. The friendly, informative video is being used to show potential customers the various technical capabilities at RETAL PA as well as being an excellent showcase for career opportunities for the local community.
Watch the video here on RETAL’s YouTube channel.
Aerial images by RPA president Darius Janulionis thanks to RPA process engineer (and pilot!) Greg Murrer.
This news on Manufacturing Today
RETAL is delighted to be able to donate customised film and expertise to the innovative Robotikos Mokykla to help create over 70,000 masks for healthcare professionals on the frontline of the coronavirus.
RETAL Baltic General Manager Vikorija Jureviciute responded to an online shout-out from the non-profit organisation, which provides innovative technical education for children. “I saw an article where Robotikos described their need for films to create PPE masks for people in at-risk jobs during coronavirus in Lithuania. I knew we could help as we are film experts! I contacted them straight away to offer our films and design and production expertise. My team was so motivated to help, it has been a very positive experience.”
Robotikos has coordinated volunteers for cutting the masks with lasers as well as to provide safe collection and delivery to the ambulance workers and medical staff that need them. Viktorija and her team's quick response saw regular production of its PET and rPET films and preforms slightly delayed over one weekend while they tested various options to create the best possible film for the masks.
Viktorija adds, “More people than ever before are needing to use PPE masks; not only those in hospitals but increasingly those in production of essential food and beverages too. RETAL is delighted to be able to offer our skills and resources to this crucial protection of key workers, and I personally am grateful to Robotikos for managing this important project.”
While nobody predicted the global coronavirus pandemic, now it's here we can make sure to learn lessons that support and strengthen our businesses from now on. Part of the 'new normal' will be to ensure that heightened best practice is maintained across manufacturing, helping to protect our people and our profits.
Global plastic packaging solutions provider RETAL has cleverly adapted its cross-factory quality management protocol to allow all its 17 facilities to stay effective and operational throughout the crisis, with no known cases of coronavirus in its over-1500 employees.
Instigated by RETAL's European & US Quality Director Renata Smataviciene, the QM protocol document was already in place for RETAL's largest Lithuanian factory, offering a detailed risk management for the active promotion of a healthy and efficient workplace. Working in cooperation with general managers, Renata quickly adapted this risk management document for each of the RETAL factories, allowing the specific circumstances of the different factories to combine with the Quality Management Best Practice she created.
The protocol includes strict documentation, keeping shifts totally separate, implementation of extra hygiene practices, a dedicated isolation room at each factory, a plan for potential infection of an employee either while at work or at home, and guidance for staying connected to colleagues and the wider company using appropriate technology platforms.
Renata says, “It will be very important to agree on what did and did not work. We will be able to create a detailed document that delivers clear protocol on how we can handle such unusual circumstances so that what we have learned is not wasted. We will also discuss and plan for what happens when everything goes back to normal, which is not as easy as it sounds! By having crisis management protocol in place with each facility documenting their own experiences, we can transpose this to other situations if needed.”
Read the press release on Manufacturing Journal.
Read / download the press release in PDF
RETAL – Donation of customised film for coronavirus masks
Retal donates customised film and expertise to the innovative Robotikos Mokykla to help create over 70,000 masks for healthcare professionals on the frontline of the coronavirus. Retal Baltic General Manager Vikorija Jureviciute responded to an online shout-out from the non-profit organisation, which provides technical education for children. “I saw an article where Robotikos described their need for films to create PPE masks for people in at-risk jobs during coronavirus in Lithuania. I knew we could help as we are film experts! I contacted them straight away to offer our films and design and production expertise. My team was so motivated to help, it has been a very positive experience.” Robotikos has coordinated volunteers for cutting the masks with lasers as well as to provide safe collection and delivery to the ambulance workers and medical staff that need them. Viktorija and her team’s quick response saw regular production of its PET and rPET films and preforms slightly delayed over one weekend while they tested various options to create the best possible film for the masks. Viktorija adds, “More people than ever before are needing to use PPE masks; not only those in hospitals but increasingly those in production of essential food and beverages too. Retal is delighted to be able to offer our skills and resources to this crucial protection of key workers, and I personally am grateful to Robotikos for managing this important project.” (April 15, 2020)
Effective internal communications for a global company brings many advantages but can be hard to implement and maintain. With various stakeholders and their differing needs, creating an engaging communications strategy is an opportunity for commercial and organisational goals to be met. Global plastic packaging manufacturer RETAL shares how developing its intranet has been both more difficult and more rewarding than it expected.
For traditional manufacturing companies, the understanding of what effective communications are and why they’re necessary can be the first hurdle in developing a communications strategy. Different stakeholders can see the value of communications in opposite terms, with the ROI hard to quantify, especially in the short term. Yet the cost of poor internal communications may only be seen when it’s too late, so proposing, agreeing to, and, crucially, getting the budget for, a corporate intranet is the first hurdle.
RETAL PA in Donora, Pennsylvania was delighted to host a Women's Business Enterprise Center East Industry Day this December.
With the aim of supporting and promoting women-owned businesses by connecting them with corporations and Government suppliers, the WBEC organisation actively encourages incorporating Diversified Suppliers to connect and network.
RETAL PA's Finance Manager Anthony Langel and HR Manager Elizabeth Giecek were instrumental in contacting WBEC to see how the company could positively promote Diversified Suppliers in its supply chain network. Giecek says, “We work with a number of leading global brands that put great emphasis on working with vendors that support Diversified Suppliers, so we were keen to learn more and see how this positive initiative could be mutually beneficial, while helping to promote this excellent organisation in our local community.”
Langel continues, “WBEC East’s President reached out to see if RETAL PA would be interested in hosting its latest Manufacturing Industry Day, which is a round table discussion with panelists representing local companies and potential vendors that are all WBE (Women Owned Businesses).”
The morning-long event included a Meet & Greet, Q&A session and a presentation from RETAL, as well as a tour of the facility and a shared lunch. Langel notes, “We were very happy to be complemented on our bright factory as well as our commitment to taking steps to incorporate diversified spend into our supply chain.”
The RETAL team was pleased to report that the event identified potential vendors that will help to bring more diversification to RETAL PA, supporting its promise to global brands and enabling a more inclusive workplace.