Interview with Joan Montobbio, general manager of Menzolit since 2009. 

Menzolit is the leading European company in the manufacture of thermostable molding compounds (SMC). These materials are intended for differentiated markets such as automotive, E&E and construction. The company was founded 75 years ago and since 2009 has belonged to the German Senata group, which has an annual turnover of 600 million euros and has 2,300 employees, 40 of whom are in Granollers. At the Catalan plant, the installation of solar panels has just been completed, which will cover 40% of the factory's electricity consumption, which will reduce CO₂ emissions by 167 tons per year.< /p>

Menzolit has been offering solutions in the field of composite materials for more than 70 years. What kind of products do you manufacture?

We are in the world of thermostable materials, which are products that give us stability at high temperatures and rigidity. At Menzolit we manufacture a semi-finished product from polyester resins and glass fiber with the addition of specific additives that will allow our customers to transform it under conditions of pressure and temperature into the finished piece.

Do you work in the Spanish market?

Menzolit has three plants, the one in Granollers and two more in Italy and England. From Granollers we mainly supply the markets of the Iberian Peninsula, France and North Africa.

What is your turnover?

This year the turnover will be around 30 million euros. We sold 23 million last year, which means we will grow by 30%, but this is more due to the impact of increases in the prices of raw materials and energy than due to an increase in production volumes.

What type of customers purchase your materials?

Customers who value the advantages offered by our product, which provides flame resistance, rigidity, mechanical properties and a significant reduction in weight compared to more traditional materials such as metals or concrete. 

What type of markets do they embrace?

We are present in all those markets where these properties are valued, from from cars, trucks, the electrical sector, construction, railways, industry in general... We are very diversified and this has the advantage that when a market does not work, like that of the utomobile for two years, we have other markets that help us compensate for that.

Is this versatility your main value?

He is one of them. This flexibility and also that the European SMC industry, unlike other technologies such as polyurethanes or metal, does not have standard products. All we do are custom made dresses. We do not have a standard product range. At the Granollers plant we have around 40 customers and we must be manufacturing between 120-150 products on a recurring basis. There is no product that is for more than one customer. Every time a customer has an idea or project they call us, send us the specification and we develop a product specifically for that application.

Does this give you exclusivity?

It has the great advantage that since everyone has a tailored suit it is more difficult to be replaced by other manufacturers or technologies.

Of these 120-150 products that you have been developing, which ones would you highlight for their relevance or usefulness?

It depends on the market. It has nothing to do with developing a product for the body of a truck than one for an application that must be food. Each market has its own characteristics. There are some segments that value appearance more, others fire resistance, others mechanical properties... We are present in quite a few different markets.

What examples could you cite?

I can cite examples of pieces made with our materials that everyone has in mind: if the sink in your house is not stainless steel, it is SMC. If you take Rodalies, the train window frames and seat shells are made of SMC. If you see a truck driving by one day, every part of the cab except the doors is made of SMC. If you really like sweets and eat Haribo bears, the trays they use are made of SMC. The meter cabinet in your house is also from SMC. They are different examples of what our customers make.

70 years of experience goes a long way. What have been the most important milestones of your company?

It has been a very progressive process. We haven't made any big changes and there's no date that has caused disruption, it's been an ongoing process. We continue to do the same as we did 30-40 years ago, with similar customers and similar markets. But the products have evolved, and the  way of manufacturing them and above all the quality standards have made a leap forward.

Your template has it also been growing over the years?

We are 40 people, which for a company with a turnover of 30 million is not intensive at all. We have a highly automated process and more than half of the workforce are indirect jobs.

Your customers have remained stable over the years or have they been changing?

I would say that our customer base is quite stable. We have two types of customers: subcontractors, companies that manufacture parts on behalf of a third party, and customers that manufacture the parts by transforming the SMC for their own consumption. In addition, we are also going to talk to potential end users who may be interested in our technology to open new markets and provide more added value.

Talk -us of your R&D and innovation activity. Do you have a strategic plan for this? 

We don't have people dedicated 100% to R&D, but we do have a department which covers different areas and at the same time that of R&D. Every time one of our clients has an idea, this involves the development of a product. Depending on the project, and whether or not it is close to what we already develop, we will treat it as an R+D project, where we involve our partners and suppliers, very large and very powerful multinationals with a lot of development capacity. Some of these projects are certified, we are an innovative company, we are registered with the Ministry, but we outsource or co-develop much of it.

How has the company been adapting to sustainability requirements?

At product level, one of the main R&D activities is how to reduce the carbon footprint and CO_{2 emissions.}  Additionally, and with regard to the sustainable management of the company, we have just reached the Gold category according to the EcoVadis certifier.

Another point of which we are quite satisfied is that from 2020 we only consume electricity of 100% renewable origin, and someweeks we launched a photovoltaic installation that allows us to generate nearly 40% of our consumption.

< strong>Can you tell us about any specific R+D project?

Well depending on the project and the client we think more about recycling parts, incorporating recycled materials into the process, organic products, circular economy, modifying production and logistics systems to reduce the environmental footprint, etc. We try to look at it as broadly as possible, but the approach is different depending on each case.

Your customers are increasingly asking for this sustainable approach to manufacturing products?

Everyone is interested and everyone wants to know what can be done, even a part of this research is done by the hand of customers or suppliers. We have had sustainable solutions on the market for years, but when this costs 50% more than the traditional solution, people say it is very good but as long as there is no regulatory obligation and as long as the competition continues to work with traditional materials, they won't make the change because at the cost level they can't afford it. In other words, there is movement, there are projects and interest, but for the moment at a theoretical level.

What would it take to facilitate this transition?

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The only way would be through regulatory changes. As long as we're not forced to, we won't. Only the 3-5% of the market that wants to differentiate will do so.

It is not a technical question: we could easily incorporate a significant percentage of sustainable products in all our productions, but the problem is the cost involved. It is an economic issue, how much are raw materials of organic or recycled origin worth. Therefore, as long as there is no regulatory obligation, things will not evolve. As long as it is still cheaper to throw the parts in a landfill than to treat them, we will keep throwing them.

How do you see Menzolit in the future? >

With some uncertainty. The difficulty in obtaining raw materials and the energy crisis are causing many projects that could be developed now to be postponed or lost. Next year we cannot rule out a major recession in some markets or countries.

And in the long term?

< p style="text-align: justify;">SMC is a mature technology that moves in traditional markets, but for three or four years we are seeing a revival in new markets that value the intrinsic properties of the material. We have very important projects at European level in the automotive sector, in the field of electric batteries. Also in the world of public works, where the weight reduction of materials is increasingly prized.

The SMC is a market that, after a few years of stagnation, it will continue to grow and gain market share over traditional materials as long as we are able to generate a sustainability framework.

You are president of the European SMC association, which brings together manufacturers from all over the continent. What is the situation at European level?

As president of the European Alliance for SMC (EASMC) I am a member of the Association's executive committee European Composites (EuCIA). At the moment, the main task of EuCIA is to work on the definition of a European framework that allows for the sustainable management of both the industrial waste generated in the manufacture of composite parts, like the treatment of parts at the end of their useful life. This happens in order to put pressure on Brussels and obtain support at a regulatory level to develop  this issue.

At what point is this work in Brussels?

At EuCIA level we have defined a roadmap  and we are discussing it with the Commission European, but it is a slow process.

How is the energy and raw materials crisis affecting the sector right now?

This whole crisis is causing inflation and a significant increase in the prices of raw materials that we have been forced to transfer to the market.

The most worrying thing is that we are already seeing clients who are delaying projects due to the current economic situation. This crisis, apart from harming the profit and loss account, can also slow down future growth.

As members of the MAV Cluster since 2018, in what would you say the Cluster has helped you? 

For me the main function of the Cluster is to open our eyes. It is putting us in contact with other realities of companies that do things that have nothing to do with us. It allows us to be in contact with startups and people who are developing other technologies. It is an opening of mind. As a consolidated company that we are, I understand that we have a social responsibility to contribute to the operation of the cluster and that other companies that are starting up can benefit from it.