An active man, Dario Ferrari? More than ever! “There is a good side to every crisis”, he admits. “It allows us to put records straight!” 245 million euros in turnover in 2010 against 215 million in 2009, the year of the historic air pocket of the world economy, but the CEO of Intercos nonetheless expresses a guarded optimism. “Because the crisis is not over yet, but we will certainly pull out of it stronger!”
For the past two years, the 457 employees dedicated to innovation within the Intercos group have been actively working. From their work emerged Prisma Shine, a new generation of almost-revolutionary textures that blend pigments and lights for an exceptional colour rendition. A proprietary process that also allows three-dimensional shapes, volumes and drawings with amazing fineness. From this point of view, it’s true, there is good side to every crisis!
Investments and ambitions
To get going again! This is certainly the motto that best characterizes this thirty nine year old Italian group which employs more than 3,000 people the world over, which is capable of producing about 6,800 tons of cosmetic products each year and over 1.6 billion units. A group that produces in the four corners of the globe, from the United States to China including of course, Italy and soon Brazil.
“This new factory with a production area of 8,000 sqm will be located near Sao Paulo, and will be operational in January 2012. With this new factory, we will be able to meet both local demand for product innovation and also demand from our key global clients who are in need locally of an industrial capacity,” explains Ferrari.
An international expansion coupled with a strategic commitment striving to always be “the best” not only in its traditional segments like colour, but also in markets where, traditionally, others seem to be more at the sharp end. “Obviously, we have strong ambitions in the segment of plastic pencils, particularly in the U.S. where we will certainly invest in terms of manufacturing.”
Ambitions are the same for the CEO of Intercos in the skin care segment where the Italian company, through its CRB subsidiary, created six months ago Vitalab, a company in joint venture with a biotechnology laboratory in Naples. Finally, high ambitions, too, in the segment of standard products where the company has just launched a collection called Smart Beauty intended to challenge ranges proposed by Asian groups. “With that additional Italian Touch to it,” insists Dario Ferrari.
Prisma Shine: unique textures
But the star attraction of the showroom, organized like every year at the headquarters in Agrate Brianza will have been this year the new textures developed by the Group’s laboratories, Prisma Shine. “This exclusive process and its unique texture combine to create a truly new generation of visual effects,” says Ferrari. And it’s true that the effect is startling.
Thanks to the proprietary process developed by engineers at Intercos, colours, effects, gradations, and the fineness of motives are truly breath taking.
Jean-Yves Bourgeoi