Like most packaging companies world wide, Japanese converters tender on jobs, receive designs from their customers, make the moulds, extrude or blow the package, deliver and bill the final consignment.

But that’s not enough for UK educated Creative Director, Taka Honda, who has taken his company Honda Plus to new markets: “I’m not content to sit back and wait for customers to place orders for the basic generic standard packaging. Of course, sometimes we also do that, we have to, it’s business!” he says clearly implying that he’d rather not!

Taka Honda, is the 3rd generation to lead the company since it was established by his grandfather as a family business in 1946, and under his direction it has evolved from an industrial extrusion blow-moulding packaging producer into a boutique fine-art fashion design and production facility.

For the moment Honda Plus operates only in Japanese market, though is exploring overseas ventures to follow existing customers, in the US and Europe.

“We have a co-operation agreements with Rose Plastic, a German company with operations in Germany, France and Sahnghai which produces mainly containers for the tool-cutting industry, and we’ll be exchanging know-how with an eye on the European and US cosmetics markets.

Like many converters, Taka Honda says “I see our company as a partner in the creative process” It isn’t a new theme, the ‘partnership’ word is one that many converters lay claim to having with their customers, but this man takes it well beyond the management mission statements tacked to the notice board in the canteen. He has it positioned it as the core of the company philosophy “It is our value-add in the market. In most of our projects we take the lead role in suggesting and recommending a market position for our customer’s product.

“It is our value-add in the market. In most of our projects we take the lead role in suggesting and recommending a market position for our customer’s product.

“It isn’t just a question of the package shape, colour and design but how the entire package - even the material used - can position a product in the market.”

Honda has managed to carve an interesting niche “We specialise in small-size extrusion blow moulded containers for cosmetics, fashion industry, consumer goods and some stationary products.

“Our policy is to produce only in a clean-room environment which immediately gives us added-value, particularly for the medical and pharmaceutical industries”.

It is a unique position which Honda Plus uses to differentiate itself from any other plastic producer in Japan: “There are many extrusion blow moulders in Japan, all fighting for standard packaging business.

“But at Honda we invest in our own research and development independently of customer orders. Then we take our in-house designed creative proof-of-concept prototypes to the customer and make our presentation based on how we can help with the brand positioning.

“Design and creative agencies are not knowledgable about production. We know how the concept can be produced, how colours can be changed and where we can substitute one material for another to cut customers’ costs without degrading the product image.”

Walking the talk

Frankly, Taka Honda admits he wouldn’t stand a chance in the market by simply inflating the customer’s ego with brand-speak. As a small company it first has to have a unique production capability and confidence in its production quality and process control.

Taka Honda shows a slim cosmetic tube “Most plastic cosmetic containers in the market are injection moulded as multi layer tubes, with two basic plastic layers and a paint layer, however we developed a process to add a pigment to the resin in the process to give a nice shimmering effect.

“Basically it's a vacuum coating technique” reveals Taka Honda, before throwing in almost absentmindedly “ Of course we use PEN”.

Who remembers PEN? It was hailed as quite an innovation when it was first commercially launched in the 1990’s but it has almost been forgotten by the industry, it can be costly and hard to work with.

“As far as I am aware we are the only company in the world to have perfected extrusion blow moulding using PEN” he adds. “But PEN is really interesting to us at Honda Plus, because it has a very high resistance to chemicals, heat and UV exposure.

“So a cosmetic product line, such as nail varnish and remover, contains very high acid levels, and could have various other chemical components such as toluene. Therefore the container not only has to look attractive but it has to have very high barrier properties, for our customer, PEN was the answer and extrusion gave the affordability.

“By also pigmenting the resin, the product presents a shiny face to the consumer and gives an expensive image to the product, while keeping the cost down to the customer.

“Mostly a cosmetic line like this would be produced by injection blow moulding, and it does have a quality advantage, especially in the neck – but we have also overcome the ridge effect to give a nice smooth contour.

“Besides, we used to have an injection blow mould machine, but we stopped that line. Our market is more interested in short run, interesting and unique shapes and colours and a very fast turn around time, but the main factor is that the package must be cost effective.

“So in that context, extrusion blow moulding is considerably more cost efficient – but most package buyers have the impression that extrusion blow moulding produces a cheaper looking package – which is fine for the mass market low to mid price product, but in the fashion and up market sector will only bring the consumer perspective of the product down.

“Here we have an up-market looking extruded product, using high barrier PEN – it is unique in the market!”

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