Andy Gatesy

The last year has been a trying one for many, with the COVID-19 pandemic hitting many industries hard, challenging business leaders to change tack and think outside the box in order to survive and thrive.

The manufacturing industry was not spared the hardships inflicted by the pandemic, but while lockdown measures and restrictions certainly had an impact, Toly Products is among those that emerged with a strong voice and strategy geared towards reinvention and innovation.

Earlier this year, Andy Gatesy, Chairman and CEO a of the world leading supplier of packaging solutions for the beauty industry told MaltaCEOs that “companies must continue to adapt and reinvent themselves” in order to survive and thrive.

“At Toly, we’ve maintained strong morale, which has been vital,” he continued, “we must not lose our ambition. We need to remain positive, focus on costs and efficiencies, and be ready to take advantage of new opportunities once the pandemic is over.”

Now, in a recent video shared by the company, Mr Gatesy goes on to detail 10 key points to Toly’s strategy. Here’s what the Chairman and CEO believes has and will continue to enable Toly’s success.

1. Reignite the passion and keep looking forward

“Customers always tell us that they feel the Toly passion, but with the lack of face-to-face contact, we must reignite this passion and maintain a forward-looking vision.”

2. Keep customers at the centre of our business

“Focus on winning business, intriguing and exciting customers with our creativity, and delivering on our promises.”

3. Have a strong purpose

“At Toly, we have a clear vision, mission, ambition and purpose, supported by our core values. We need to align everybody behind the vision, stay positive and stay motivated.”

4. Dream big and aim high

“We must never have any regrets that we did not aim high enough. We must never lose our ambition. Scaling up is not linear – there are bumps in the curve, like a pandemic year, but we will recover.”

5. Innovate and disrupt

“Innovation is in our DNA. We want to be the most creative company in our industry and disrupt the traditional packaging suppliers. We need to be unique and stand out. Being better is unsustainable but being unique is unstoppable.”

6. Communicate

“Last year in 2020 we stepped up our levels of communication across the board. This will continue and is vital to maintain alignment across the whole organisation.”

7. Have resilience

“2020 was an intense and volatile year, but we survived. Resilience is our ability to bounce back from a year like last year, as well as the stresses in life. It’s not about avoiding the stress, but instead learning how to thrive in the stress.

8. Be agile

“We saw the world change in just a few weeks. For Toly, life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but instead, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.”

9. Attract and keep the right talent

“People love the Toly values, they love the family spirit and the feeling that they are not just a number.”

10. Get the strategy right

“This revolves around our four pillars of people, strategy, execution and cash. We must maintain our focus and discipline. Focus is our key to success – it will make us happier, healthier, and also get harmony in our lives. We will continue to invest in a brighter future; we will continue to build a beauty powerhouse and we will continue to create our own luck.”

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