The well-known brand Polaroid has started a second life. From its beating heart in Enschede, the ambitious company is working hard again. Worldwide, 300 employees are involved in this comeback.
A factory in the Far East produces the cameras, the film packs roll off the production line in Enschede. Naturally, these light-sensitive film packs require professional packaging. Buyer Alfons Mulder of Polaroid asked De Budelse to help think about a suitable solution. ‘We clicked so well that we entered into a strategic partnership.’
The history of Polaroid
The brand name Polaroid evokes positive associations for many people. The brand experienced its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. Instant cameras were popular with a large audience. The camera produced a print immediately after you took a photo.
‘The digital age heralded the demise of Polaroid’, says Alfons Mulder. ‘When the company was virtually bankrupt, a number of former employees took over the rights. It seemed like a mission impossible to put Polaroid back on the map. The rescue attempt succeeded: Polaroid rose like a phoenix from the ashes.’
Analogue embraces digital
The iconic Polaroid cameras have been given a modern look, the analogue technology is still the same as forty years ago. ‘Strangely enough, young people are discovering the added value of the analogue camera en masse’, Alfons Mulder continues his story. ‘By linking analogue and digital, we have added a fun gimmick. Via a special app, you can link a photo you have taken to a video and bring it to life. You point your smartphone at the photo and then a video plays. Thanks to this link, Polaroid is hip to use again. For example at parties, events, concerts or weddings.’
Difficult packaging
With a view to quality and continuity, Polaroid does not want to be dependent on just one supplier for packaging. In the search for a second packaging specialist, the Enschede company ends up in South-East Brabant. ‘We knew De Budelse from their tailor-made solutions for pharmaceutical companies’, Alfons Mulder explains his choice. ‘Packaging for medicines and film packs have a lot in common. They are difficult packaging with a special way of folding and gluing.’
Purchaser Alfons Mulder
Thinking along in solutions
Initially, Polaroid opts for standard packaging. In practice, this choice does not work. In consultation with the Product Development department of De Budelse, the focus is on new packaging. ‘The factory in Enschede is first and foremost a production company’, explains Alfons Mulder. ‘With over 4 million film packs per year, we cannot afford any kinks. Of course, there are the usual start-up problems in the beginning, but we solved them together.’
Expanding cooperation
Alfons Mulder is very pleased with the cooperation. ‘De Budelse has its affairs well organised, is equipped with up-to-date machinery and has the necessary environmental certificates’, he says enthusiastically. ‘Polaroid and
De Budelse are well attuned to each other. We do not want a supplier who only works when we ask for it. We need a partner like De Budelse who is flexible and actively thinks along in solutions. In the coming years, Polaroid will consciously choose De Budelse.’