Interview by Juliana Pivoto, Dscoop's Community Success Manager for the Americas

In March 2024 at Edge Indy, I had the pleasure of meeting Nico Lunardelli, a first-time Edge attendee who's in charge of generating new business for Brasilata in São Paulo, Brazil. Nico seemed to enjoy the event, and I hope to see him again at Edge Long Beach in 2025!

Fast-forward to June 2024, when I attended Drupa in Düsseldorf, Germany. I was looking forward to meeting with Brasilata CEO Gabriel Zaragueta. Unfortunately, our schedules didn’t align. I left Düsseldorf just as he was arriving. But I'm so glad I had the opportunity to see Brasilata’s impressive products up close, because they were nothing short of amazing.

Lucky for us, we don’t have to wait until the next industry event to learn more about Brasilata. Gabriel was kind enough to share some insights in a conversation about their company:

Gabriel, can you tell us a little bit about Brasilata and its mission?

Brasilata is one of the largest packaging manufacturers in Brazil. Through a deep understanding of our customers' needs, we provide innovative and sustainable solutions for various applications across different industries, such as paints, chemicals and food. Operating since 1955, we are now present in five different states, supplying packaging solutions both nationally and internationally, transforming over 50,000 tons of packaging annually. Brasilata's excellence in innovation, people management, sustainability and governance has earned us several prestigious awards worldwide.

What new products or innovations are you most excited about this year?

I am particularly excited about Innocan, the method we developed to use HP Indigo printing to decorate metal cans. Although we've been using this method for a couple of years, I feel we have only scratched the surface of its possibilities. I believe that in 2024, we will truly unleash its potential, landing projects involving smart packaging, hyper-customization and more.

The Innocan process includes preparing the metal sheet for lamination, printing on the thermoactive side of a thermal lamination film, and laminating it onto the metal sheet. The sheet can be activated with heat, promoting the adhesion of the pre-printed polymeric film. The polymeric film printed by the HP Indigo digital press is then applied onto the metallic substrate. The material — metallic substrate and applied polymeric film — is then exposed to heat to promote adhesion.

What I really like about Innocan is that it serves as a gateway into the HP world. All the features HP Indigo has created and applied to other packaging industries, transforming packaging from a costly commodity into a valuable marketing tool, are now available for cans through Innocan. Whenever we develop a new can format or shape and can “INNOCAN it,” it feels like multiplying our portfolio infinitely due to the endless possibilities it allows.

I am particularly excited about Innocan, the method we developed to use HP Indigo printing to decorate metal cans.

What does Innocan technology bring to your business?

The Innocan process, which we are licensing to other can makers at no cost, was designed to be easily integrated with minimal impact on the day-to-day operations of can manufacturing. While it significantly changes the printing process, other steps of the workflow, like coating metal sheets, slitting and assembling cans, remain business as usual. Substrate preparation follows the usual steps, but utilizing a unique coating from Actega, specially developed for this application.

Innocan draws inspiration from lamination processes, as a film printed on the HP Indigo is applied to the metal surface in an indirect printing technique we refer to as “can decoration.” The method ensures perfect adhesion of this film, ultimately resulting in a can that appears as if it were directly printed on.

Innocan is an innovative process that allows can manufacturers to utilize the exceptional capabilities of HP Indigo. Our ambition has always been to bring the quality of digital offset printing and the embellishment functionalities from the label industry, which were previously unattainable on cans, to our industry. Innocan is not an experimental technology, but rather a mature process that is easy to implement and now available worldwide.

Can you share a behind-the-scenes look at the development process of one of your recent products?

Since I’m already talking about Innocan, I can share its creation process. First, I want to emphasize that this innovation was made possible through the effort and dedication of an entire team. While it might sound cliché, an innovation like this could have been halted at any stage without the support of individuals at various levels of the organization. From factory workers to top management, we had support from all sides. This includes Actega, our coatings supplier and development partner in this project, without whom we could never have achieved this fantastic result. Additionally, HP played a fundamental role, supporting us and opening doors to improve the concept and create a real business model.

At Brasilata, we follow an agile development model, creating MVPs (Minimum Viable Products), testing and refining them (with a fast-fail approach), and scaling up each time we feel the process is robust enough. We offered the Innocan option to selected customers who were willing to test it in the market, providing us with valuable feedback. This approach allowed us to minimize investment, create demand along the way, and ensure that when the product was officially launched it was already successful and profitable.

How does Brasilata integrate sustainability into your product design and manufacturing?

Sustainability is a core value for us, so we always consider it in our manufacturing processes and product designs, even though this can be challenging in such a mature industry as ours. Brasilata is currently undergoing a significant phase of modernization, investing efforts to become more sustainable and contribute positively to the product chain.

One of our research projects led to a method of treating steel plates that allows us to significantly reduce the use of thermal ovens in the process, decreasing our carbon dioxide emissions by 90%. Another initiative involved developing a new product that was only approved after we succeeded in using 100% recycled materials, helping our customers meet their carbon footprint targets years ahead of their projected timelines.

One roadblock organizations often face when innovating is the fear of the new. How have you faced that challenge?

It's a natural human reaction to retreat when faced with something unfamiliar, clinging to what is comfortable and known. This resistance is something we encounter as well when proposing new ideas. To address this, we have made innovation a core value of our company, starting from the very beginning. All our workforce is hired and referred to as "inventors" rather than "employees." We encourage everyone to contribute ideas and suggestions, regardless of their complexity or impact. Every idea counts. This approach fosters an environment where people aren't afraid to make mistakes and feel valued for their contributions. It helps them feel like integral parts of the success of every project that emerges.

All our workforce is hired and referred to as "inventors" rather than "employees." We encourage everyone to contribute ideas and suggestions, regardless of their complexity or impact. Every idea counts.

Any fun or interesting stories from your journey in the packaging industry?

I love sharing stories about small, simple ideas that become blockbusters, and we have quite a few here at Brasilata, thanks to our successful idea-suggestion program. One that stands out came from a palletizer operator who noticed extra space left on the truck when packages of cans were loaded. He suggested testing an additional layer of cans, making the packages slightly taller.

It turned out that the palletizer was made in Italy and designed for a market where that particular type of can is a bit taller than in Brazil. So, yes, we were able to add an extra layer of cans, and by doing so, we optimized transportation by more than 10%. This change, implemented nearly two decades ago, is still in use today and not only in Brasilata. The pallet became the standard in the whole market, impacting the whole chain.

Can you imagine the financial and environmental impact of such a simple yet powerful idea over time? It's a great example of how a small suggestion can lead to significant, lasting benefits.

We noticed that Brasilata is an active participant in the UN Global Compact. For those who might not be familiar with this initiative, can you explain what it is and how it has influenced your business practices?

Brasilata joined the UN Global Compact in 2023, a voluntary initiative that provides guidance for businesses on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption matters. The Global Compact helps Brasilata align its policies and actions with these four themes through an annual questionnaire and various learning resources. It raises awareness among our leaders, fosters better working conditions, enhances talent retention, and improves the social and environmental impact of our products.

Thanks for spending some time with us, Gabriel!

Thank you as well!