Last year, Uhlmann Pack­aging Systems L.P. – our biggest and oldest subsidiary – not only cele­brated its annual Christmas party, but also its 40th anniver­sary. Oper­ating in Towaco, New Jersey since 1983, the company is just some 30 minutes away from New York. Aaron Rossi has been part of the team since April 2020. He joined as Sales Director and has served as Managing Director since 2021, leading a team of approx­i­mately 60 employees. Most of the team works in Towaco, while eight sales colleagues are based at the second site north of Atlanta, in Alpharetta, Georgia.

It’s a diverse team at Uhlmann USA where young junior staff work hand in hand with expe­ri­enced profes­sionals, some of whom have been here for many years: “We have more than ten colleagues here who have been with the company for more than 15 years,” says Rossi. And we also have some colleagues who moved to Towaco from Germany, including, for instance, Chris­tian Mueller who trans­ferred to the USA from Laupheim 15 years ago.

Everyone counts

For Aaron Rossi, personal contact is crucial to ensuring good team­work. “There are 60 indi­vid­uals working here and it’s impor­tant to me to know each one of them and their profes­sional and private situ­a­tion. These personal rela­tion­ships are partic­u­larly impor­tant in a small team. This is the only way we can respond to the needs of our employees and support them accord­ingly.” An impor­tant date in the calendar of all colleagues is there­fore the annual summer BBQ with deli­cious food, outdoor team games, and the tradi­tional boccia compe­ti­tion. “This personal contact creates a high level of trust, and it makes it easier to work together and increases people’s will­ing­ness to some­times take on tasks that go beyond their job descrip­tion,” says Rossi. “We don’t have special­ists here who do the same job every day for 20 years. In a small team like ours, people have to assume different roles and be prepared to play their part in the company’s success.” When asked what makes his team special, he says: “We have a very resilient group that is willing to tackle diffi­cult topics together.”

The way out of the crisis

This resilience also helped them through the past, econom­i­cally “bumpy”years. A chal­lenging start for Aaron Rossi. As the newly appointed Managing Director, he really had his work cut out for him in the fall of 2020: “My first job was to finalize the imple­men­ta­tion of the restruc­turing program “XRAY” The finan­cial constraints meant that we had to revise our busi­ness strategy, build effi­cien­cies, and refocus our busi­ness prior­i­ties.” The result is the sales model we have today which focuses on the distri­b­u­tion of spare parts, upgrades, and format parts, the produc­tion of format parts, field service, and the indi­vidual inte­gra­tion of bottle lines, known as late-stage customiza­tion. Unlike other coun­tries, tablets in the USA are usually pack­aged in bottles rather than blister packs. The Amer­ican team there­fore focuses on the Inte­grated Bottle Center IBC 150, and Cremer Coun­ters for the late-stage customiza­tion and distri­b­u­tion model. “We primarily supply multi­na­tional phar­ma­ceu­tical compa­nies, but also many generics manu­fac­turers. Other key markets for us include food supple­ments and over the counter prod­ucts,” says Rossi. And the new strategy is already bearing fruit. In 2023, Uhlmann USA recorded aggre­gate order intake of 60 million US dollars, compared to 50 million in the previous year. And for the current finan­cial year, Rossi is expecting 55 Million in aggre­gate order intake and local revenue of 34 million US dollars.

In the past, the team mainly supplied customers in Canada and the USA and gener­ated 85% of its busi­ness in the United States. As of October 1, Uhlmann Mexico also became part of the Amer­ican subsidiary. Uhlmann USA is now also respon­sible for the sale and distri­b­u­tion of our systems in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. 

Strong team, strong results

“As a result, not only is the scope of activ­i­ties expanding, but also the team: “Seven people currently work at Uhlmann Mexico,” explains Rossi. “We are plan­ning to further expand the loca­tion for spare parts and machine distri­b­u­tion and hire new service tech­ni­cians. Following the past chal­lenging years, Rossi looks to the future with confi­dence – and looks back with satis­fac­tion: “For me, it’s rewarding to see how we have succeeded as a team to turn Uhlmann USA into a thriving subsidiary within the space of three years – despite the diffi­cult times – and made it a place where we are proud to work.”