Recently, Smurphy Vislock, the world's leading corrugated packaging giant, was selected for the second consecutive year on Time magazine's "Best Companies in the World 2025" list. Smurfit Vislock ranks 205th on the list and is among the top ten in the manufacturing category. The company was selected for this prestigious list due to its outstanding performance in three dimensions: employee satisfaction, revenue growth, and ESG. Smurfit Visilock's ranking has risen by over 400 places compared to last year. The company believes this achievement reflects its industry leadership position as well as its firm commitment to sustainable development and its employees.
Receiving recognition from Time magazine attests to our performance-oriented culture as well as the talents and skills of our employees. I am extremely proud of the achievements we have made so far. As one of the world's leading sustainable packaging suppliers, we are committed to doing the right thing for all stakeholders. Tony Smurffey, president and CEO of Smurffey Vislock, said.
In a previous interview, Murphy emphasized that building a performance-based corporate culture is the key to the success of the new company. The company operates under an owner-operated model and a decentralized operation management system. Each manager is directly responsible for the profits and losses of the operation department they are in charge of. This model is highly focused on business goals and encourages management to enhance efficiency and reduce costs.
The core concept of the company is "Value over output", that is, to achieve sustainable profit growth by deeply understanding the actual profitability of each paper mill and carton factory. The company's salary incentives for its employees and teams are based on the profitability of the cartons they sell, rather than merely on sales volume. Smurmurphy believes that this value-oriented approach can ultimately create greater overall value for both customers and the company.
In terms of talent management, Smurphy-Visselock will continue to adhere to the principle of elite management, that is, the most outstanding talents will stand out and be given promotion opportunities, regardless of whether they initially came from Smurphy-Kaffa or Visselock. The company will continue to invest in talent cultivation. For instance, it will collaborate with INSEAD to launch the "Open Leadership" program to ensure that there are outstanding talents with the right skills in the right positions.
Smmurphy describes his leadership style as open and inclusive. He attaches great importance to listening to opinions from all sides and is accustomed to visiting factories every week and communicating with front-line employees. He believes that these experiences can enable him to sense the outstanding talents hidden in the organization. Looking ahead, Smurmurphy is full of confidence in the growth of the paper packaging sector.
He observed that an increasing number of enterprises are shifting from less sustainable alternative materials to paper packaging, as this is a wiser business choice that can help customers reduce costs and cut emissions. Smurfit Vislock has a strong culture of innovation and is constantly exploring ways to enhance the performance of paper, such as adding coatings to make it heat-resistant or moisture-proof, in order to meet the constantly changing market demands.
Another paper industry giant, Sappi, has been listed on the prestigious Forbes magazine and Statista's joint list of the world's best employers in 2025, as well as the list of the world's best companies for women in 2025. These honors once again confirm Sappi's continuous commitment to creating an inclusive, actively engaged, and goal-oriented workplace environment - where employees feel valued, empowered, and motivated to keep growing. Sappi stated. The dual honors highlight the company's strong international status and its leading position in the local business field and the entire industry.
The "World's Best Employers" list is jointly compiled by Forbes magazine and Statista, based on an independent survey of over 300,000 employees in more than 50 countries and regions each year. Participants will evaluate employers based on factors such as trust, leadership, career development, diversity, work-life balance, and the willingness to recommend employers to others.
Forbes magazine and Statista jointly selected the list of "The Best Companies for Women", conducting an independent survey of over 120,000 female employees of multinational companies from 36 countries and regions. The respondents evaluated the employers' overall work practices as well as gender-related issues. In addition, other companies also rated them based on the public's perception of their actions and attitudes towards gender issues. Finally, the leadership score is calculated based on female employees among senior executives and board members.
Steve Binney, the CEO of Sappi, said when talking about the recognition the group has received: "This recognition is an affirmation of our global employees." Their actions, attitudes and positive culture reflect our efforts to create a workplace environment that attracts outstanding talents, promotes innovation and enhances their contribution to a prosperous and sustainable world.
Graeme Wilder, CEO of Sappi South Africa, said: "This achievement is a celebration of our employees - their dedication, their pride and their unwavering belief in what Sappi stands for." We are deeply honored to be among the world's best schools and rank second and fifth in South Africa. This fully affirms our continuous investment in leadership, inclusiveness, well-being and skills development, ensuring that Sapi remains a place where students can thrive and contribute to careers beyond themselves.
