At Gualapack, quality is a daily commitment shared globally. We talk about this with Simone Mollame, Quality Assurance Manager of the Alessandria plant, and Stefan Filipescu, Quality Assurance Manager of the Nadab plant (Romania), who actively collaborate to ensure high standards, methodological consistency and continuous improvement throughout the organisation.
Our work is based on the integrated management of certified quality systems, the continuous monitoring of their performance, the definition of result-oriented improvement plans and the satisfaction of consumer customers.
The strategic objective is to guarantee compliance with the highest quality standards along the entire value chain, while ensuring the food safety of products and the operational efficiency of production processes.
With this in mind, we work in close coordination between the quality teams of the Alexandria and Nadab plants, promoting the systematic comparison of best practices, performance indicators and improvement initiatives. This integrated approach allows us to ensure quality control that is harmonised and aligned with the Group's principles of operational excellence.
Quality is a cross-cutting, strategic and enabling function that interacts on a daily basis with all the main areas and functions of the company.
We collaborate with Research and Development to support the innovation and industrialisation of new solutions; with Production to optimise processes and ensure compliance with defined standards; with the Supply Chain to oversee quality throughout the supply chain, from supplier to end customer; and with the Commercial team, contributing to the definition of technical specifications and the management of customer audits.
This cross-functional synergy allows us to consolidate a quality governance model geared towards continuous improvement and customer satisfaction.
Quality culture is an integral part of our company's culture of excellence, which is lived and promoted daily at all levels of our organisation.
This is why we promote structured continuous training initiatives, thematic workshops and awareness-raising campaigns on quality, food safety, sustainability' as well as internal audits.
Particular attention is paid to the active involvement of operational staff, who are often the first port of call in detecting anomalies and opportunities for improvement, as well as staff offering direct support through high-level expertise.
Through shared tools, common KPIs and internal benchmarking activities, we nurture a system of continuous improvement that enhances the contribution of each employee and reinforces a widespread sense of responsibility.
We not simply take on board the needs expressed by customers, but establish an active collaboration aimed at fully understanding their specificities and anticipating future requirements.
The quality we offer the market is the result of a continuous challenge, where the customer assumes the role of strategic partner in the journey towards excellence.
Second-party audits, feedback and reports are valuable moments to identify new areas for improvement and consolidate mutual trust.
Therefore, constant and proactive discussion with the customer is a key element of our approach to quality.
Gualapack operates according to the highest international standards in the areas of quality, product safety, environment, health and safety and energy management: ISO 9001, BRCGS Packaging Materials, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 50001 (available on the company website), but also in compliance with the requirements of the SMETA 4 Pillars standard for ethical, social and other specific standards depending on the markets in question.
These systems are the regulatory and operational infrastructure on which we build our daily business, with regular audits and constant monitoring of performance indicators.
The consistent and integrated adoption of these standards across all Gualapack plants enables us to guarantee consistent quality that is recognised globally and fully aligned with the expectations of our stakeholders.
Simone Mollame: My greatest motivation is to know that the work done by me and my employees makes a tangible contribution to the trust that customers and consumers place in Gualapack. Seeing a project improve thanks to a targeted intervention, solving a critical issue in a structured and effective way or successfully passing an audit are the greatest satisfaction for me.
Stefan Filipescu: Quality is not just a technical characteristic, nor is it a number on a certificate. It is much more. It is the conscience with which you touch every detail, the care with which you imagine and realise every material, every package that one day will arrive in the hands of those who are most defenceless: an infant who opens its eyes to the world for the first time, a child who still cannot speak but knows how to trust, a mother who protects with every fibre of her being, an elderly person who relies on the gentleness of others.
It is presence, responsibility, humanity. It is empathy taking shape.
We work for those whom we do not see, but whom we feel close to every day. For those who trust what we create, without knowing us.
And this trust deserves our full commitment. Because every package intended to nourish, protect or heal is not just a product: it is a silent promise of safety, of respect, of dedication.
Quality is an unwritten but deeply felt oath.
It is the certainty that you never compromise when you have in your hands something that could touch someone's life, health, hope.
It is a style of thinking and a way of being that says, with every gesture, with every control, with every decision: "We really do care and we truly care! Of every person, of every destiny."
Because when you package something that could reach those who are more fragile or simply more human, you are not closing a package. You are opening an act of trust.
A silent gesture that speaks of how much value we place on life.
This is what we call quality. And for us, that's everything!
Simone Mollame and Stefan Filipescu, Quality Assurance Managers of the Gualapack plants in Alessandria and Nadab respectively, promote a shared and interconnected quality culture. Simone Mollame is a graduate in Experimental and Applied Biology with an Executive Master in Food Safety Management. Stefan Filipescu has a degree in Industrial Engineering with a Master in Management and Marketing Techniques.