The story of tna’s journey from Australian packaging equipment pioneer to global food processing and packaging solutions giant is as inspiring as it is heart-warming, with the company’s success mirrored by its generous philanthropic pursuits.
In the Australian packaging industry, the captivating tale of tna’s founding four decades ago, and its early efforts to catapult its pioneering rotary bag filling technology onto the global stage is widely known, but certainly bears repeating.
In 1982, Alf and Nadia Taylor, newly partnered in a romantic sense and highly driven in a business sense, started a small consulting engineering firm for the snack food industry. And then, one now-famous night in a Bankstown pub, engineer Alf sketched a rough design on the back of a beer coaster for a new rotary vertical filling machine for packaging snacks.
It was an idea that, once engineered into a working rotary motion vertical filler in the form of the first prototype tna robag, broke new ground in snack packaging by doubling the filling speed of rectilinear motion systems used at the time. Smiths was the first company to snap up the technology locally, purchasing 34 machines in a $2.4m order – it was the turning point for the fledgling tna and ultimately, the catalyst for its global expansion.
Speaking to PKN during AUSPACK in May, where tna hosted one of the first global events to mark its 40-year milestone, MD & CEO Alf Taylor said, “While we realised early in the game that we had to be global, as Australia’s potential market base for the robag was too small, we could never have foreseen that we would be this successful.
“Building on our manufacturing base in Melbourne, we launched the global business in the UK in the mid ‘90s and today, four decades on, we have 32 offices with 500-plus sales and support staff – we call them tna ambassadors – with customers in 135 countries.”
Alf went on to relate that once tna started building its geographical footprint, the next step was to expand its product range, and then acquire companies with technology and principles that are a fit with the company’s core values of simplicity, performance, and flexibility. Among those acquisitions, totalling seven to date, are leading processing names like FOODesign, Florigo and NID, and the integration of these businesses has seen tna add a turnkey snack and confectionery processing line to its growing list of industry-firsts.
CUSTOMER-LED APPROACH
Nadia Taylor, who has played a pivotal role in the business as co-founder and director in building relationships with global customers, said, “Our aim was to become the first choice for food manufacturers, everywhere. And regardless of the changes the business has undergone in four decades, we have demonstrated an unwavering dedication to serving the needs of our customers.”
Aligning closely with customers’ needs involves developing innovation – which continues to be at the heart of tna’s technology solutions – that is aligned with key food manufacturing trends.
“Digitalisation, sustainability, wellness, convenience, personalisation, localisation… these are the trends tna has identified and is directing our innovation towards,” Nadia said, noting that among these trends, digitalisation and sustainability dominate.
“In the product development pipeline are evolutions in processing, seasoning, distribution and packaging solutions,” Alf adds, “and in everything we do, our focus is on digital integration as well.”
One of the biggest advances from tna linked to digitalisation is the company’s enhanced AR and VR capabilities, such as the tna remote assist service, with HoloLens technology, which enables real-time access to connect and collaborate with tna engineers virtually, and leverages AR to accurately address technical queries.
“This gives food manufacturers the tailored support they need to keep lines operating smoothly – wherever they are in the world,” Nadia says.
Alf adds, “With the wealth of forty years’ industry experience behind us, we’re forging ahead into a new chapter. We will continue to embrace a digitally forward future, while breaking down the complexities of smart systems, consumer trends and regulatory changes with straightforward, tailored advice.”
The Taylors believe it is this approach that has made tna the number one choice for thousands of operators and engineers worldwide.
BUSINESS WITH A SOUL
The company’s significant success and global contribution to the food and packaging industry is matched by its philanthropy.
“Giving back – to the larger global community – has always been non-negotiable for us,” says Nadia, who is passionate about the cause. This dedication ultimately led to the creation of tna’s humanitarian organisation, the Nadia and Alf Taylor Foundation. Over the last 20 years, the Foundation has helped transform the lives of over 20,000 people across 39 countries through over 150 grassroot organisations.
“We actively work towards bettering the lives of the most vulnerable population in society, supporting children through initiatives around education, social enterprise, healthcare, human rights and social welfare.”
In its fortieth year, tna is celebrating its own achievements and showcasing the philanthropic achievements and of the Foundation through a series of events, across the globe, such as the one staged recently during AUSPACK. “These are events with a purpose,” continues Nadia. “The core aim here aligns with our three main motivations as a business – People, Planet and Prosperity.”
By encouraging the development of healthy, fulfilling, and sustainable livelihoods across different regions, tna is ensuring that its largest industry events benefit more than just those who attend them.
There can be no argument that Nadia and Alf, backed by the steadfast and talented tna team, have made a significant contribution to both the food industry and the wider community, building a legacy of which they can be justifiably proud.
This article was first published in the July-August 2022 print issue of PKN Packaging News, p12.
