Pierre Miasnik, Fiabila’s CEO

Premium Beauty News - It seems an exceptionally dynamic market implies massive industrial responses?

Pierre Miasnik - It’s a fact! The global nail polish market is particularly profitable. For our part we recorded very strong growth in 2010 and prospects look even brighter this year. The challenge, in Fiabila’s case, obviously consists in coping with this increase in demand by ramping up the production capacity of our various sites but in a controlled manner and without compromising on the quality of our products.

As this increased demand is global, actually all our sites are concerned. Primarily those located in the outskirts of Paris at Maintenon, Plaisir and soon in Le Perray-en-Yvelines.

Premium Beauty News - Expansion plans in France are already underway. What do they include?

Pierre Miasnik - Some are already achieved, others will be completed by the end of the year! To meet demand, we of course invested in some new equipment for mixing and tinting, the goal being to double the number of batches produced. In parallel, we also strengthened our laboratory, accelerated the training of our staff dedicated to production and increased the monitoring capabilities so that the quality level always remains faultless. Incidentally, our delivery times are back to normal, on average around four weeks while not so long ago they were closer to four months.

But there is more to it. We are currently doubling the production of thixotropic bases, which will allow us to work with different formulas and better respond to requests for customization. Finally, the highly automated industrial processes that we have developed in the United States are about to be transferred to our unit in Maintenon, which will enable us to further improve the competitiveness of some of our products while securing even more the production process, particularly on a environmental, but also human level with less intervention.

Finally, we have just filed a building permit for the piece of land we acquired next to the Maintenon site. It is clear that this plant is purely and simply, going to double in size over the next few months.

Premium Beauty News - The demand for packaged products has also grown strongly!

Pierre Miasnik - That’s right! And, again, it was essential to meet the demand. We started by increasing the number of teams on the lines of our unit in Plaisir, while focusing specially on productivity with the arrival of a person coming from the automotive subcontracting and very much aware of automation processes. But mostly we decided to acquire a second production unit of 4,300m² in Le Perray-en-Yvelines who already had the advantage of having a "Seveso" classification and which will be operational June next. This will enable us to double our packaging capacity.

Premium Beauty News - The United States form the second main target for your investments!

Pierre Miasnik - Don’t forget that we settled there eight years ago. Our factory is based in New Jersey and employs about fifty people. There too the demand was particularly strong. So we decided to acquire a plot of land to build a new 5,000 m² factory which will in the end allow us to triple the current capacity. I must add that we are also setting up a new grinding equipment for gels, the same as in Maintenon, to both optimize the quality and increase the production capacity.

Premium Beauty News - Third line of investments, India!

Pierre Miasnik - And not the least! Same pattern, too! We have been operating in this area for twelve years. The current unit needed to comply with international standards. Late June, a new 3,500 m² unit will be operational. The objective being to actually produced in India with the same standards as in Europe, taking into account, of course, the specific constraints pertaining to the region both in terms of climate and people.

Premium Beauty News - The same catchword for all three of them: Quality!

Pierre Miasnik - This is indisputable! We are asked higher and higher purity levels. We have implemented even more accurate monitoring tools. Our staff is continuously, trained on new materials and new techniques. We regularly select new materials and new suppliers. Technically speaking, we are relentlessly working to comply with the new European cosmetics regulation due to come into force in July 2013.

We are very mindful about the purity of our raw materials and we are still working on the development of new polymers. We have just filed a patent on a brand new product that imparts the nail polish with a better water resistance. Not to mention the new "gel" formulas that polymerize under UVs but which are less allergenic than existing products.

Premium Beauty News - You have become the masters of colour!

Miasnik Peter - In a way, yes! Nail polish is colour! We roll out twice a year 72 trendy shades. We have computerized a portfolio of more than 160,000 of them!