Mr. Day, I heard, that you played football. How has your experience in competitive sports prepared you for a career in business relations?

I believe playing any sport at a high level gives you a foundation that work hard, determination, discipline, you have to be very self driven to succeed. By applying these traits into business gives you an opportunity to be successful. Being part of a team has always helped drive team goals not just individual targets.

KOH-I-NOOR, in collaboration with its sister company Flexibau, has produced an innovative technology that recycles bag-on-valve (BOV) foil. Jakub Malota, CEO at KOH-I-NOOR Mlada Vozice, gives World Aerosols exclusive insight

“We are continuously searching for out of-the-box ways to reduce the waste, as well as reduce our costs,” said Malota. “We were looking at the scrap charts and the costs we pay for scrap disposal. We already re-use most of the plastic waste and cooperate with compounding suppliers, who repurpose scrap and supply us with re-granulates.”

“Recognising the difficulty in recycling BOV foil, we sought a way to repurpose this material creatively.”

Procter & Gamble is undoubtedly an interesting work experience. What roles did you go through there, and can anything be transferred to our company?

Working at Procter & Gamble was challenging but also highly inspiring, providing me with substantial knowledge and practical skills.

From day one, I was responsible for the results of a production line (safety, quality, reliability). Within six months, I took on the responsibility of leading operators on that production line.

I learned that having technical knowledge alone is not enough; it’s essential to develop interpersonal skills. I used the English language on a daily basis, which was not common in the 1990s, as the company is multinational, enabling collaboration with colleagues worldwide. I was fortunate to build a capable and dynamic team, resulting in consistently good outcomes. For almost every manager at this company, a change in position occurred approximately every three years. Over the years, I progressed through roles in production management, quality, and research and development. I worked in three of the company’s production plants in Europe. The company’s mentality of continuous improvement in production processes and eliminating losses became my lifelong work philosophy.

I spent a total of 18.5 years of my life in this company and would definitely recommend it to any technical university graduate as their first employment. I realized the strong value of a corporate culture based on teamwork and respect for others’ opinions throughout the entire company. Machines and production halls can be bought, but the results come from specific people, who represent the company’s greatest wealth. I believe all these principles can be applied in any company.

It’s not about the starting point but how you define your goals and gradually work towards them.

Our CEO, Jakub Malota, has recently spoken with World Aerosols about company’s journey, adapting to market turbulence and KIN’s sustainability goals.

“We believe sustainability is one of the most important topics in our industry and we can do a lot to enhance it. Our mantra is ‘conscious consumption’. 

Not only do we use recycled material, but we also work on reducing internal production waste and limiting the number of inputs. This is most visible in our plastic actuators and caps production. 

During the injection moulding process, we regrind scrap and re-use it in the production process. During the design of new products, we focus on making them as light as possible to use less material overall. 

The effect is twofold. First, we make the planet greener, and second, we can provide more cost-effective products to our customers. ”