Texen/Quadpack: unity is strength
2024 will remain the year that Texen and Quadpack came together within the PSB Industries group, a clearly strategic union with the ambition of shaking up the market for packaging suppliers to cosmetics brands. It was a year that ultimately went well, with several major global launches in makeup for Texen, bucking a fairly difficult market trend, all in a climate of considerable uncertainty. Quadpack continued to support a major global launch from its German factory in the airless and cream jar segment, mainly in the skincare sector. We take stock with Pierre-Antoine Henry, Senior Director of Marketing, Innovation & Strategic Development.
“This year, the beauty market is more complicated,” explains Pierre-Antoine Henry. Brands are torn between the need to revitalize their portfolios and the fear of cannibalizing their existing offerings. Global consumption is rather sluggish, compounded by regulatory (PPWR), political (conflicts, customs duties) and economic uncertainties."
Texen continued its investments in 2024 to strengthen its production capacities in order to offer more value to its customers, in particular with a fully integrated finishing and assembly offering. Of note is the launch of a second metallization line and screen printing equipment in Mexico, as well as new production lines at its Polish site, enabling the Group to expand geographically into the lip gloss, concealer, and mascara segments. The aim is to continue increasing production capacity by renewing the industrial facilities with investments in decoration, particularly with integrated production lines, but also in injection and assembly capacity. For Quadpack, 2024 was an opportunity to strengthen its presence in wood processing, a market that includes premium caps and lids. “We have developed a unique numerically controlled machining technology,” explains Pierre-Antoine Henry, “which requires significant industrial investment to enable the competitive production of both single-material closure systems and shapes that cannot be achieved by injection molding. All this with very little investment required from customers, as wood does not require the development of molds.”
Customs duties: uncertainty
It should be noted that in 2013, the PSB Industrie group launched an ambitious growth strategy called “Ambition 2020,” illustrated by a quote from Seneca: “There is no favorable wind for those who do not know where they are going.” Among other things, this strategy involved a global approach with regional production relays.
“More than ever,” emphasizes Pierre-Antoine Henry, "we are benefiting from this local strategic approach that we have put in place, thanks to our production facilities in Mexico, but also thanks to the network of local partners that we have developed in both the United States and Mexico. These threats of fluctuating customs tariffs are translating into an influx of requests for North American production and sourcing. In the short term, Texen’s ability to produce in Mexico in a plant that integrates Texen’s main transformation and decoration processes is obviously driving us to grow. This is also true for Quadpack, which is enjoying strong local growth momentum thanks to its US industrial partners who produce locally using our molds. We benefit from a real ecosystem in Mexico that allows us to launch entire product lines, particularly in the face, body and hair care sectors. This has a positive effect on our North American regional business, but conversely, a negative impact on the market as a whole. This uncertainty is causing a certain amount of nervousness, which is contributing, among other things, to the postponement of certain launches. Brands are taking a much more conservative approach.
An international strategy
Today, the PSB Industries group, with Texen and Quadpack, is a major player in the top three European manufacturers of packaging for cosmetics, with nine industrial sites in Spain, France, Germany, and Poland. “Europe is more than ever at the heart of the group’s strategy,” insists Pierre-Antoine Henry, "which is not incompatible with our international development ambitions. The group has capabilities in both processing (injection, injection blow molding, bi-injection, flexible pouches, CNC machining, assembly lines for droppers), and integrates the main decoration technologies. Our offering is highly diversified, ranging from custom developments (customer mold investment) to standard “ready-to-go” products made in Europe (airless, jars, droppers, lip gloss/concealer, caps/lids), not to mention our expertise in wood processing with custom designs combined with standardized and patented opening systems (Woodacity).
Internationally, the group has a mixed strategy. This involves expanding its local production capacity coupled with strategic development and production partnerships in North America and Asia. “We are a product solutions platform for beauty brands,” emphasizes Pierre-Antoine Henry, “and as such, all of the group’s industrial and product expertise is at their disposal, both at our own industrial sites (70% of our business) and at those of our partners (30% of our business), who also produce our ranges and exclusive product innovations.”
2025: a year marked by innovation
For the Group, 2025 will be a year of product innovation. With launches already completed and others in the pipeline, as well as innovations in formula delivery systems (notably the patented “Dropify” family in bottles and pens), not to mention a whole range of innovative applicators for the lips and face (whether in lip gloss or tube packaging).
“It is worth noting the extension of our extrusion platform for medium-viscosity formulas (ShapeUp stick & tube),” emphasizes Pierre-Antoine Henry, "the so-called ‘cool-touch’ applications (Beauty Loop, Mahina), a new way of dispensing powders for both skincare and makeup (Spoonful, ScoopUp), and droppers combining pipette dispensing and applicators (Freedom).
In the environmental field, both Quadpack as a B-Corp and Quadpack and Texen with their Ecovadis Platinum certifications want to fly the flag for a responsible future loud and clear every day. “Whether it’s developing alternative solutions,” explains Pierre-Antoine Henry, "to move away from materials that are not commonly recycled (ABS, PETG, and others), particularly through cutting-edge processes for transforming thick-walled PET, or transforming recycled materials (PCR), or through our recognized expertise in eco-design (lightweighting, simplification), in our research to improve the detection and sorting potential of the packaging we produce, not to mention the regionalization of our offerings to improve our carbon footprint, and research into materials (wood, bio-sourced, PCR, etc.): every day is an opportunity for us to take another step in the right direction."
