‘The market dictates and we adjust accordingly’ – Inside the mindset powering Zamco at 50

There is a theory often attributed to Charles Darwin that it’s not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most able to adapt to changes in its environment. And as CEO Sandro Zammit tells it, that idea appears to be one of the driving principles leading Zamco Group, going a long way towards explaining its 50-year longevity at a time when the company is navigating a leadership transition.

Founded in 1975 by Mr Zammit’s father, the business reached an impressive half-century milestone last year. Its success, he suggests, has come from its ability to read shifts early and act on it. The company began by anticipating a growing demand for quality disposable tableware, amassing what would become the largest range on the island geared towards the catering industry, retail, and Maltese households alike.

What followed in the decades ahead was a pattern of evolution as Zamco continued to diversify, moving into supplying kitchenware, food service equipment and industrial laundry equipment as well as manufacturing outdoor kitchens, belting systems and even some disposables. Each new niche it embraced was guided by emerging needs and a commitment to building the right expertise, product portfolio, and infrastructure. Through it all, Mr Zammit says, the fundamentals have remained constant.

“Our core values of flexibility, determination, and innovation have stayed the same,” he explains. “What’s changed is the business landscape. And we’ve had to move with it.”

Mr Zammit’s understanding of the business began long before he officially joined. He grew up in a household where work was very much part of daily life. “At home, you were nobody until you were working,” he recalls. Dinner-table conversations often centred on work, with office events carrying over into family time. “It was part of our everyday lives,” he says. “And that shapes your mentality.”

He admits that there was a sense of belonging that came with this early involvement. At the same time, he is open about the demands it placed on himself and his siblings. “There was no such thing as a half day or a day off,” he notes. Over the years, as he began having a family of his own, he says he became more conscious of the need to reassess that mindset. “I’ve always yearned for a better work-life balance,” he notes. “It’s something I never really had.”

While work-life balance may still be a relatively new concept that Mr Zammit is happily embracing, he was certainly successful in changing the family dynamic within his own household. As his daughter and current CPO of Zamco Group Nicole Zammit Dimech recalls, her upbringing was very different from her father’s. “He made a real effort to keep home life as home life,” she says. “We were aware of what was happening at work, but home was very much family time, and we all grew up very close.”

Another difference was that, unlike Mr Zammit and his siblings, who were involved in the family business almost as a matter of course, Mrs Zammit Dimech never felt pushed or forced to join. Her interest in the business came much later, and on her own terms. Following her studies in the health sciences, she began working within another private company, where her responsibilities gradually shifted towards sales and administration.

Then, five years ago, she reasoned that if she was successfully carrying out these tasks for someone else’s company, there was no reason she couldn’t do the same for the family business. This coincided with a period of transition for Zamco following the passing of Mr Zammit’s father, when there was less interest from the next generation of the Zammit family to continue the business, making restructuring necessary. Mr Zammit began dividing the group holdings and ultimately acquired all of the operations, with his siblings retiring or semi-retiring.

Mrs Zammit Dimech’s arrival marked the first significant return of the next generation. Reflecting on this, Mr Zammit says it has been “really great” to have Mrs Zammit Dimech on board. “She is highly organised,” he notes, “and has helped bring structure and clarity to the business.” As for any clashing generational differences, Mrs Zammit Dimech says the transition has been surpsingly smooth and they complement one another. “We like to say that he’s the gas and I’m the brakes,” she adds with a chuckle.

Together with the help of non-related key players in the group, Mr Zammit and Mrs Zammit Dimech have been methodically preparing Zamco for its next phase of evolution. What began as a necessary restructuring has become something of a company-wide reset, touching everything from governance and systems to product focus and market positioning. Internally, the business has moved away from informal, family-led processes towards clearer structures, proper reporting, and data-led decision-making.

Legacy systems have been replaced with cloud-based platforms, inventory management has been upgraded, and digital tools now provide the visibility needed to support growth. As Mr Zammit puts it, “I’m a big believer in having the right data. It can show you what you need to take action on.”

The Group has also sharpened how it presents itself to the market, making it clear that Zamco is far more than the disposables business it was once known for. “Once something stops being innovation or niche, you have to rethink it,” Mr Zammit says of Zamco’s readiness to move on.

Instead the company has looked inwards, at the expertise it has accumulated over the years, in order to find new ways forward. In fact, one of Zamco’s most important service lines emerged in exactly this way. As the Group expanded its own manufacturing operations, it built deep, practical knowledge in maintaining and repairing its machinery. Keeping production running meant understanding every component, every breakdown, and every fix with its own specialist team.

“Manufacturing taught us how to care for our machines and make sure they’re always running,” Mr Zammit explains. “The natural progression was to offer that service to other industries.” Thus today, Zamco’s technical services arm supports clients across hospitality, packaging, and industrial operations.

Alongside the structural and strategic updates underway, Mrs Zammit Dimech has been quietly shaping a more modern approach to leadership across the organisation. With a team that has grown to around 50 people, her focus has been on creating stronger feedback loops and clearer lines of communication. “It’s never a one-size-fits-all with people,” she explains. “You need to adapt your communication and leadership based on the person you’re dealing with. I feel this approach strengthens trust and helps issues surface early, before they become problems.”

With much of the groundwork now in place, Mr Zammit and Mrs Zammit Dimech feel the business is moving away from day-to-day firefighting and towards clearer strategic oversight. As Mrs Zammit Dimech notes, “We’ve made significant investments over the past few years. Now it’s time to really dig into those investments, become fully familiar with the systems we’ve put in place, and start to reap the benefits.”

Mr Zammit agrees, adding true to form, “As always, the market dictates, and we adjust accordingly.”