SAF: focus on makeup and skincare!
Founded in 1981, SAF (Société Alsacienne de Fabrication), based in Alsace, generated revenue of €24 million last year with a workforce of 70. The company, which is still family-owned, specializes in the injection molding of plastic components for packaging in the perfume and cosmetics sectors. Its main customers include Puig, Chanel, Interparfums, Shiseido, LVMH, and Bulgari. The company has 40 presses with clamping forces ranging from 60 to 500 tons, all equipped with automated peripherals (gripping, assembly of parts when necessary, and packaging of parts). It should be noted that the range of parts manufactured by the Alsatian company, which until now consisted mainly of spray caps and caps for the perfume sector, now extends to the makeup and skincare sectors.
“The main focus of investment in recent years,” explains Sandrine Riss Kuntzelmann, Managing Director, “has been the renewal of two or even three presses per year, as well as state-of-the-art metrology equipment such as three-dimensional measuring systems using probes.” This machine is designed to perform highly accurate dimensional checks using a combination of different measurement technologies. The system enables high-precision 3D measurement of complex parts by combining several types of sensors in a single machine (optical sensors, point-to-point tactile probes, scanning sensors, lasers). The optical and tactile sensors are mounted on two vertical axes for better accessibility to difficult areas.
“We have also invested in a refurbishment of our production workshop for the well-being of our employees,” emphasizes Sandrine Riss Kuntzelmann, “and we plan to invest in the next two years in the development of clean rooms so that we can expand our business specifically in the areas of makeup and skincare. We are currently working on mascara and foundation launches.”
The company already offers heat-sealed jar and cup sets for skincare and is diversifying its ranges with the introduction of caps for complexion products and mascara wand capsules. This latest diversification has led to the creation of a dedicated room with air conditioning, insulation for the work area, the purchase of several laminar flow units, and the acquisition of blowing and suction equipment for PTFs.
The latest launch is the complete repackaging of the MAN franchise for Bulgari, with a switch from a spray cap to a refillable cap assembly, for which the Alsatian company is the sole supplier of all three sizes and all existing versions on the market (7 references in total). “We have redesigned the upper part of the assembly, explains Sandrine Riss. The products were originally composed of spray caps and are now made with refillable bottle cap assemblies made entirely from recycled plastic.”
“We do not use fossil fuels!”
Since the construction of its new production site in 2003, the company has worked closely with German companies that were already very committed to environmental issues and has set up a system to recover water from its presses to heat buildings and domestic water. “We therefore do not use fossil fuels,” explains Sandrine Riss Kuntzelmann. We have also installed lighting systems that are sensitive to natural light and vary in intensity depending on the amount of natural light available. Our development department has been working for several years with our main material suppliers and is committed to developing new projects with the lowest carbon footprints while meeting our customers’ aesthetic, technical, and functional specifications. We have also developed expertise in the design of refillable products. The increase in customs duties has not had a significant impact on existing products so far, she explains, but it has had an impact on ongoing consultations and on price levels, which have been revised downwards by customers for equivalent quality.”
As for tensions surrounding plastics, “We believe that we are only at the beginning of the recycled materials era and that these tensions will have an increasing impact on the market over the next two to three years.”
Key dates
From 1981, when the company was founded, to 1983: Injection molding of plastics for the industrial sector. Injection of polyurethane foam for the furniture sector.
1985: Injection of plastics for the perfume and selective cosmetics sector with the integration of decoration and assembly techniques.
1999: 100% family-owned company. Activity refocused on the cosmetics and perfume sector.
2003: The company moves to a new 8,500 m² site.
2010: Investment in laser welding assembly equipment, co-developed with Irepa.
2011: Change of CEO: Sandrine Riss Kuntzelmann takes over from her father, Bruno Riss.
2016: Acquisition of the first “flexible” automated assembly line capable of assembling up to seven parts.
2018: Acquisition of a second “flexible” automated assembly line capable of assembling up to seven parts.
2020: Acquisition of a third “flexible” automated assembly line capable of assembling up to seven parts.
It should be noted that these three assembly lines are owned by SAF and allow customers to invest only in an assembly package specific to their products.
