Rexcell
What’s the connection between a Swedish roll goods producer and an American teenager? If you read the ad on the right you’ll get a better idea. Anders Uttersav, Rexcell’s Director of Marketing, explains further, “Although we’re quite far back in the supply chain, we also want to be in touch with the end users of our products. We need to know what they want and how their demands might be changing in the future. It all begins and ends with the customer who uses the final product”. At first that probably sounds more like a job for the company marketing the consumer brand—and of course it is—but Rexcell believe in sharing the focus of their customers. It’s at the very heart of how they work.
Consumer Needs
When working with their customers, the first step for Rexcell is to understand the consumer needs—and translate them into material specifications. That means taking part in customer focus groups, understanding the challenges they are facing, and identifying the criteria and expectations the product must handle. Rexcell then go further, as Mr. Uttersav points out, “We also use our own market research and networks, and our internal research council systematically gathers, organizes and analyzes the information. Their findings give us the foundation for new material design”. And this close partnership with their customers allows Rexcell to develop products that meet their needs—today and tomorrow.
Cost-effective Materials
With the material specifications in hand, the next challenge is to fulfill these requirements in a cost-effective way. Because in the highly competitive Personal Care business it’s all about fit, form and function—at the lowest possible production cost. So it helps that Rexcell is uniquely skilled in material science and design, with expertise in finding the perfect combination of fibers, binders, and bi-components. To stay ahead of the game, they also work closely with universities, research institutes and their own suppliers of raw materials. With this R & D know-how allied with process engineering skill, they then work with their customers’ product developers to manufacture cutting-edge, cost-effective materials. In other words, optimal solutions with minimal consumption of materials—and almost always tailor-made to meet the exact customer requirements.
Efficient Production
The final step is to understand the customer’s production processes and organize supply for efficient production. Mr. Uttersav develops this idea, “ We understand our customers’ processes just as well as our own and we know the financial importance of minimal downtime. Our materials and efficient working methods mean fewer start-ups, fewer stops and less waste”.
You can add their way of festooning to that. With their procedure, Rexcell help minimize the risk of fracture impression and production stops due to sheet break thereby optimizing production flow. And they are pioneers of advanced logistics solutions too—for example, a Supplier Managed and Owned Inventory system that frees up customer resources. “We help you set up a streamlined value chain that minimizes consumption of materials, labor and costs”, says Mr. Uttersav. “Our technical team continuously confers with the customer’s team throughout the entire process. From fibers to finished goods, we’ll do all we can to maximize production efficiency”. That seems to be the Rexcell way. Whatever you—or the end-consumer—are looking for, they’ll help you find it.
