COSTER GROUP, founded in 1963, is a leading player in the aerosol industry. Aerosol Europe spoke with Dr. Claudio Contini. AEROSOL EUROPE: Coster Group has been active in the aerosol industry for more than forty years now. Have your views of the industry changed recently?

Claudio Contini: I would prefer to say they have evolved. Things are moving so fast that we have to run just to keep up.

AEROSOL EUROPE: What’s changing the market, Coster Group, the industry as a whole?

Claudio Contini: Everything. There are areas of relative stability, of course. If you look at the aerosol business, it’s important to separate the consumer market from the business that Coster Group is in. Consumer aerosol is a mature market that has been growing for years and will continue to do so. Volumes have been growing steadily as the number of products using aerosol packaging solutions increases and the big retailers reach more and more people around the world.

AEROSOL EUROPE: So you’re optimistic with regard to growth

Claudio Contini: As far as end-user volumes go, yes. At the same time, however, we’ve seen enormous downward pressure on prices. There’s been a great deal of concentration at the distribution end in recent years, with the result that today a handful of multinationals compete with each other for the lion’s share of the consumer market. And competition on price has come to play a much more significant role.

AEROSOL EUROPE: Is that true across the industry?

Claudio Contini: I would say so. In my experience, pricewas always a factor in a purchasing decision, but it wasn’talways the most important factor, or even particularly relevant in some cases. Today, we’re seeing more and more situations in which price has become not just a significant factor, but the only one. With the result that margins have been shrinking across the board.

AEROSOL EUROPE: You mention pricing and we can’t help but think of China. Is China a factor in the competitive picture?

Claudio Contini: In some areas, with certain products, certainly. Not at the high end. Not with products that contain a high degree of expert knowledge and high-quality precision technology. Nor are they known for innovation - although they are fairly inventive when it comes to copying successful products. So to a considerable extent Coster Group is protected. But I’m not sure people realize just what we’re up against with China. No single company can compete, on its own, against an entire country.

AEROSOL EUROPE: And yet Coster Group continues to flourish. What is the Group doing to maintain its position in the face of such a difficult environment?

Claudio Contini: To tell you the truth, it has always been a challenge to anticipate change and to get out in front of it. Today Coster Group is a global partner to multinational customers. Our commercial organization is based on geography, and we have located production at a number of different sites around the world. The way we work today is partly a reflection of our long-term effort to meet customer requests and in part the result of a broader strategy to address the market as it evolves.