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CDS is a major Italian manufacturer of plastic products. The privately owned company produces plastic closures suitable for the most varied types of beverage applications in addition to singleuse rigid packaging items. CDS started manufacturing plastic components in the small village of Podenzano in 1977.
The company relocated twice to increase production capacity and meet increasing customer demand and today is based in Piacenza, the capital of the province of Piacenza in northern Italy. In 2007, CDS acquired the Italian plant of the Viroplastic Group located in Calenzano near Florence.
“The decision was between growing in order to sustain competitiveness or staying small and risking being acquired ourselves by a competitor,” explains Chief Commercial Officer Luca Nanetti; who has over 20 years of experience in the packaging sector.
Six years later, the Italian plastics producer also bought Viroplastic’s manufacturing plant in Frýdek-Místek in the Czech Republic to support the company’s uninterrupted expansion. “We have four factories today: two in Italy and one each in the Czech Republic and Spain near Alicante,” states Mr. Nanetti.
CDS has a total of 200 employees at its four production plants and turns over 72 million EUR. The company produces over 12.5 billion plastic caps for beverage bottles annually and runs as many as 77 different manufacturing lines. “We process more than 22,000 t of resin every year,” says Mr. Nanetti.
In Italy, CDS claims an overall market share of 35% for beverage closures while in Spain and Portugal, its share is even bigger at 60%. “Our Europe-wide market share in this segment is approximately 12%,” Mr. Nanetti says, describing the market position of the company.
CDS ships over half of its products abroad. The main markets served are Central, Eastern and Southern Europe as well as well as North America and a growing number of African countries.
“Every market has its own specific requirements resulting from specific drinking habits,” states Mr. Nanetti. “Italians drink incredibly high amounts of mineral water per capita per year, while Mexicans drink an equally high volume of carbonated soft drinks.”
CDS manufactures bottle closures from three types of material – polyethylene, polypropylene and biodegradable materials – and for different beverages such as sparkling and non-sparkling mineral water, milk and juice. “Depending on the specific application, the caps have different technical features: sealing properties, pressure resistance, safe and environmentally friendly tamper-evident features so as to provide the customer with a clear indication if the bottle has been opened yet or not,” explains Mr. Nanetti. “The closure is essential as it prevents the product from going bad.”
CDS supplies small, medium-sized and large beverage companies. “We are working on acquiring more large customers,” says Mr. Nanetti. “We are currently at a stage where more and more of the big players in the beverage industry are becoming aware of us as a reliable supplier of quality caps. We are also organizing conferences and other business events to enhance brand awareness and recognition, not only in Italy but worldwide. We want to further advance our position in the international market for beverage bottle closures and develop the company into a world-renowned supplier.”
CDS has its own research and development team focused on supporting the company’s production department and creating new product and recycling solutions. “We are constantly improving our products by developing easy-to-open closures, making them more leakproof or reducing their weight,” states Mr. Nanetti. “A couple of years ago, a bottle cap weighed 2 g. Today, it is less than 1 g.”
As a medium-sized enterprise, CDS is very customer-focused and flexible in meeting individual requirements. “Our customers appreciate us as a supplier who always has the right solution and who has the capacity to supply any required quantity at the shortest notice,” Mr. Nanetti points out. “In addition, we deliver reliably and quickly. There is nothing worse for a beverage company than not having enough bottle caps, especially during the high season in summer.”
