CAMEO: A Unique Story!
2023/02/27
LUXE PACK New York 20th Anniversary Pioneers
We are thrilled to be showcasing a very exclusive group of exhibitors who have been part of the 20 year LUXE PACK New York lineage. We are honored to have them continue be part of the invaluable industry legacy that solidifies them as long running industry packaging players. We would like to introduce them to you individually and therefore welcome you to hone on the special editorial content developed to showcase their own industry legacy and how they plan to continue to contribute to the industry’s next 20.
Articles written by Jean-Yves Bourgeois, co-founder, LUXE PACK & Founder of Formes de Luxe Magazine.
The American firm is a specialist manufacturer of aluminum parts, mainly for the packaging of products in the Beauty and Wine & Spirits sectors. It is undoubtedly one of the oldest manufacturers of its kind, and the last family owned one remaining in the United States!
We talked to Anthony Di Maio, Chief Executive Officer.
Question: Isn’t Cameo such a wonderful story?
Anthony Di Maio: Cameo was founded in 1971 in Brooklyn, NY, by my grandfather, Antonino Di Maio. It started business with a metal finishing workshop of about 450 m2, manufacturing metal components for American writing instrument / pen manufacturers. In 1974, my father Vito, my grandfather’s only child, joined the company. He decided to direct the company’s activity towards the manufacture of metal packaging components mainly for the Beauty sector. In the early 1980’s, the company invested in their own stamping facility in Connecticut to compliment the finishing manufacturing facility in Brooklyn, NY. At the beginning of the 1990’s, the company began major expansion, operating three manufacturing sites with a total surface area of over 9,000 m2.
Nine years later, I joined the company full time to boost our presence worldwide, to develop a new company identity through increased presence in trade shows, and through the creation of a high-performance website including a complete catalog of stock tooled packaging components. In 2004, we participated in our first Luxe Pack New York, at the Metropolitan Pavilion. In 2006, my brother Vito Jr. joined the company and set-up a new quality control system, enhancing our reputation for quality and service that my grandfather had established. In 2010, we began to exhibit at the Luxe Pack Monaco show for the first time securing our presence as a global packaging provider. Since its creation in 1971, Cameo Metal Products has always been 100% owned and operated by the Di Maio family.
Question: Could you give us some key figures?
Anthony Di Maio: Today, the company has around 75 employees in the New York / Connecticut area, with two manufacturing sites with a total surface area of over 14,000 m2. We have the capacity to manufacture around 600 million components a year, with more than 70 eyelet transfer presses. We have one of the largest stamping capacities in the United States and hold a product catalog of over 500 stock tooled packaging components.
Our main markets are cosmetics, personal care and fragrances (40% of the business), spirits (40%) and other more varied sectors includes child resistant closures for bottles and jars designed for the cannabis market. And yes, it sounds incredible but this market is literally exploding in the United States. Can you imagine, some areas are selling up to ten jars a minute!
Question: How do you deal with these new environmental challenges?
Anthony Di Maio: We are very aware of our environmental responsibilities. Our main raw material is aluminum, as I’m sure you know has an infinite life cycle. It is one of the few products on earth that can be recycled endlessly, but we don’t just rely on this huge advantage. We have also introduced several initiatives over the past few years to comply as much as possible with this new environmental preservation challenge.
Our ultra-low VOC electrostatic coating system is the most tangible example, as it allows us to minimize the product used and creates minimum waste during application. We have also created our own process for recycling corrugated packaging. We reuse the empty cartons of our suppliers to the very end of life.
Finally, we are introducing a new Eco-Coat system which has a very small environmental footprint in comparison with our buffing process and current anodizing processes available globally.
