The Italian company Rols was founded in 1965 by entrepreneur Luigi Rottoli and owes its success to the expertise it developed in the field of integrated services, with the goal to provide customers with a full product lifecycle management strategy; and to their excellence.
It was entrepreneur Luigi Rottoli to establish Rols in CantĂą, near Como, some 30 kilometres from Milan, more than half a century ago. In its early stages the small family business was devoted to producing talc and the founder soon realised that the material could be most appreciated in the cosmetics industry. 52 years later its intuition proved successful, since cosmetics still represent one of the major sources of revenue for the Italian manufacturer. Especially, Rols plays today in the segments of beauty, in general, alcoholic perfumery, skin care and, of course, talc. Over the decades Rols has been striving constantly to expand its range of products and services by always investing in innovation. For instance, its manufacturing department was designed and built in order to fulfil the tightest principles of efficiency and resulted from a major organizational and productive restructuring operation that took place in the last decade of the Twentieth century. In the following years this process of restyling continued, allowing the firm to align to the evolution of international regulations. Today, the 52 years old producer is specialized in the area of product lifecycle management and relies on a fully-automated productionline, destined to largest lots, as well as on flexible filling systems, designed to meet market requirements by ensuring the shortest time to market possible. As a third party provider, Rols can offer its clients a wide range of solutions, ready to be positioned either in the perfumery channel or on the shelves of large discount retailers. Sara, Stefania and Lorenzo Rottoli run the company together and explain KosWorld the strategies thanks to which Rols is confident to enhance its competitiveness.
First of all, what does the idea of full service really mean to Rols?
The capability to ensure clients a wide range of integrated services is most critical in our business model and we build upon the expertise we developed over 52 years of activity to manufacture tailor-made products in order to fulfil our customers’ demand. To do so, a number of different and concurring aspects need to be taken into account. For instance, our laboratories are prepared to manage formulation procedures since their earliest stages, using innovative raw materials and dedicated scientific studies, with the aim to respond to most specific requests. A great effort is also devoted to packaging: thanks to the partnership with a specialized design agency we can always provide customized and outstanding solutions. Rols’ technological equipment includes PE and aluminium filling and packaging machines; as well as mini-size filling-packaging solutions and, among others, a series of assembly kits.
A significant part of your business has to do with international regulations for the cosmetics industry. Could you also spend a few words about this subject?
In first place it has to be noticed that all of our formulations are developed in accordance to international regulations, that aim to ensure a complete product safety, also in order to protect consumers. This is one of our primary and mandatory goals and it obviously requires a constant commitment to enhancing our skills about regulatory aspects, market demand and, last but not least, the latest news on raw materials and formulation processes. Here at Rols’ we strive to respond to all of the regulatory aspects that international Laws impose and we exclusively use high-quality raw materials, cooperating with those providers who share, with us, the same ideas and vision. Furthermore, we provide our clients with a support services that help them respect the international Laws and regulations on cosmetics. And finally, we also cooperate with a specialized laboratory, devoted to testing procedures on specific items.
What are Rols’s major points of strength and competitive advantages?
In my opinion, one significant aspect lies in the ability that Rols displayed in preserving the typical craftsman-like attention to quality and details while at the same time striving to improve and enlarge its productionlines and structures. Customer satisfaction has always been our most important target and this is also the reason why customer services play such a crucial role in our company’s business model. This is indeed very appreciated by clients, who can always experience how devoted we are to all of their needs, building upon flexibility, efficiency, innovation. Here at Rols’s we can both rely on a fully automated manufacturing line, for larger lots; and on most flexible filling lines that satisfy market needs in case of smaller-scale productions or special projects. Quite often customers are urged to quickly restock their formats and our added value lies in the capability to give this kind of requests an immediate response. Therefore, we built our relationship with the market on mutual trust, thanks to the methodologies we apply to all of our operations.
How important is it for you to be a certified manufacturer, mister Rottoli?
It is a crucial element. We implemented an ISO 9001:2008 and GMP 22716 certified business management systems: this decision both ensured a constant control on our manufacturing processes and a complete customer satisfaction. Our quality management system allows Rols to verify and constantly monitor its design and production-related activities, supporting our uninterrupted enhancement process. Our workforce is highly skilled and trained on a regular basis, and our facilities were designed in order to minimize the risks of contamination that could threaten the raw materials we use and finished products. Quality controls are carried out on stock materials and productionlines, until our items are packed for delivery. Each and every stage of Rols’s production cycle is managed by tight procedures and detailed operating instructions and this contributes to ensure the quality of our artefacts. The delivery status of all orders is always traceable, thanks to our internal, dedicated data records.
What are the most remarkable changes the beauty industry underwent in recent years?
Consumers display a growing attention and consciousness in purchasing: this dynamic is witnessed by the growth of biologic and environmentally sustainable products, whose demand is rocketing. Consumers do now rely on technological devices that allow them to select the most performing, sustainable and healthy beauty products and this requires us a constant commitment to creating revolutionary formulations and providing them with products that fully respond to their needs and expectations, in terms of quality.
What kind of challenges will Rols have to face to stay ahead of competitors worldwide?
Quality managements is itself a challenge and to preserve and enhance our standards is mandatory. This implies a strong commitment of our overall workforce, board members as well as employees, and a constant investment in facilities and technologies or, in one word, in innovation. The idea of quality concerns each and every aspect of our business: workers must be trained and kept updated, while plants and machinery must always prove effective and competitive. In addition to that, procedures and technical specifications must be revised constantly. As said before, it is a most challenging duty, but it also represents our credentials.
Are your R&D units already working to any new and innovative product family?
Over the last few years we saw a number of non-specialized companies entering the world of cosmetics and the impression is that this trend is consolidating in the last two years, during which we had the chance to sign a number of full service deals with some of the most famous brands in the Italian fashion landscape who decided to launch a cosmetics brand of their own. These series received a sensational market feedback: the demand for new lines is booming and we are proud of it. The secret of success lies in high-quality products, an effective service, well-targeted claims and full support, both on the technical and regulatory sides.
Innovation rules
Run and owned by the Rottoli family since its debut, Rols is a highly specialized Italian company whose business started in 1965 with baby care talc manufacturing. Soon afterwards founder Luigi Rottoli understood that the cosmetics industry could offer his firm a wide number of opportunities. 52 years later, with son Lorenzo and daughters Sara and Stefania appointed as managers, the company plays an important role in the fields of perfumery, cleansing solutions, skin and hair care; and is still committed to the baby care industry too. Packaging and filling still represent the company’s most important prerogatives: as a third party provider, Rols supports its clients in developing and identifying the most suitable formulations to boost their business; and offers high quality products to fulfil their needs.
A small firm, a global player
At the very beginning Rols’s activity was mainly based on baby care talc, but the expertise that the small Como-headquartered firm quickly developed was crucial for establishing a strong and long-lasting relationship with some of the most important Italian and global cosmetic brands.
by R.Carminati