John Penhallow08.31.22
It seems almost too good to be true, but Interpack, Europe’s biggest packaging show, will be back in May 2023 at its usual home in Dusseldorf. After a six-year break due to the pandemic, there are needless to say numerous new developments on the market.
According to the organizer, Interpack is already fully booked a year before the event, with 2,700 exhibitors filling the 18 exhibition halls.
After that, there will be just another year to wait for drupa 2024. Bookings to exhibit there are already open, and the organizers say, “A very positive trend is now emerging, and megatrends at next year’s show will include connectivity, security and sustainability.”
The repeated postponement of both Interpack and drupa due to the pandemic has given free rein for major printing and packaging companies to develop other marketing strategies, but the stigma of not being seen at the biggest European shows will probably ensure their survival.
Another company with Iberian ambitions is All4Labels. This German label converter, with sales of €600 million, has acquired Gráficas Indetic, a Spanish converter of PS labels and shrink sleeves, as a part of its global growth strategy. The Spanish owners will continue to run the business as part of All4Labels. Clearly it takes more than a mountain range to stop M&A successes!
In partnership with Evian, tennis enthusiasts could scan the QR code on recycling bins and enter a draw to win tickets for next year’s event. Called “Digital Deposit Return Scheme,” this initiative will be introduced in other parts of Britain shortly.
On July 25 of this year, to the surprise of many people (including your correspondent) came the announcement that JBF plans to take the Bobst Group private through a delisting of its shares. Minority shareholders have been offered CHF 98 per share, which is a premium of a hefty 22%.
Throwing money at shareholders is not in the Swiss mentality, so the question is: why? The offer comes at a moment when Bobst, after a period in the doldrums, is now on the up and up, with first half-year sales increased by 16% and net profit of CHF 21.3 million against just 3.6 million for the same period of last year.
There is no indication that family members are preparing to sell out – the pre-announcement stresses that JBF: “…is committed to the long-term legacy of the fifth generation of families and to sustaining its strong Swiss industrial activities.”
The group “…will continue to be managed by independent and family board members, as it is today.” It is possible, but unlikely, that this change is being pushed by a certain faction of the family. The present CEO (since 2009) is the 57-year-old Jean-Pascal Bobst, a man who sounds, looks and acts like a dynamic businessman.
Explaining the planned privatization, he says, “The fourth and fifth generations of the family met earlier in the year and agreed on an entrepreneurial strategy for the years to 2035.”
For the group, as for European industry in general, the future is uncertain as recession, rising costs and the war in Ukraine all cloud the horizon. However, during the present CEO’s mandate, Bobst has expanded dramatically, particularly in the label equipment sector, acquiring, amongst others, Gidue (flexo label presses) and Mouvent (digital label printing). Completion of this privatization is scheduled for early November of this year.
When closing down its nuclear plants, Germany’s policy was to go big on gas, at least until solar and wind energy can take up the slack. According to Alexander von Reibnitz, CEO of the trade organization Papierindustrie e.V., “Gas accounts for 58% of fuel use in the paper industry. According to a survey among our members, a maximum of 10% to 15% of gas use could be substituted by other energy sources by next winter.”
Now that the Russian bear makes ready to sit even harder on the gas pipelines to the west, Germany’s paper and packaging industries are getting hot under the collar.
Elsewhere in Europe, energy prices have already risen sky-high. Producers like Feldmühle are taking measures to reduce energy by improving heat recovery in the steam and condensate system, but these will take time. In the event of a gas embargo or a delivery stop, the German paper industry can no longer produce, and important paper products, such as packaging and labels for medicines or food, can then no longer be manufactured, warns Reibnitz.
The impending energy crisis over here is very serious indeed. Europe’s governments are talking about re-decommissioning nuclear plants (which ecologists don’t like), and de-mothballing coal production (which they like even less). And the crunch may come, not in a few years’ time but before this Christmas. Your correspondent has already de-mothballed several woolen sweaters. Better safe than sorry.
According to the organizer, Interpack is already fully booked a year before the event, with 2,700 exhibitors filling the 18 exhibition halls.
After that, there will be just another year to wait for drupa 2024. Bookings to exhibit there are already open, and the organizers say, “A very positive trend is now emerging, and megatrends at next year’s show will include connectivity, security and sustainability.”
The repeated postponement of both Interpack and drupa due to the pandemic has given free rein for major printing and packaging companies to develop other marketing strategies, but the stigma of not being seen at the biggest European shows will probably ensure their survival.
Over the Pyrenees
After BB Pack in Germany, Cohal in Spain! Two acquisitions in only three months! Paris-based Antalis, under its CEO Hervé Poncin, is continuing its expansion in the packaging sector by concluding an agreement for the acquisition of the Cohal Group, a manufacturer and distributor in Spain in the labeling and packaging sector. Cohal’s sales hit €12.7 million in 2021, and it has around 60 employees. Its headquarters are in Madrid. This transaction allows Antalis to strengthen its presence on the Iberian market. The Cohal Group’s product portfolio includes a wide range of blank and printed labels, sleeves and RFID.Another company with Iberian ambitions is All4Labels. This German label converter, with sales of €600 million, has acquired Gráficas Indetic, a Spanish converter of PS labels and shrink sleeves, as a part of its global growth strategy. The Spanish owners will continue to run the business as part of All4Labels. Clearly it takes more than a mountain range to stop M&A successes!
Tennis tournament promotes recycling
In Europe, the UK alone gets through 7.7 billion plastic water bottles per year, which works out to 15,000 per minute. And that’s just the water. A significant part of this total comes from public outdoor events like the prestigious Wimbledon tennis tournament. This year, instead of the usual rain, the event coincided with a heat wave, which was a surprise for spectators but a boon for Reward4Waste, a movement to incentivize people to recycle their plastic bottles.In partnership with Evian, tennis enthusiasts could scan the QR code on recycling bins and enter a draw to win tickets for next year’s event. Called “Digital Deposit Return Scheme,” this initiative will be introduced in other parts of Britain shortly.
Fedrigoni goes for 100% recycled fibers
All of the cellulose sourced by Fedrigoni is FSC-certified, and the group makes nearly all the face material for its labelstock. Recent innovations include a range designed for labeling greasy products and another for wines. Both use 100% recycled fibers as facestock, and Fedrigoni reports that they offer a very high technical performance. The rPET liners, made from 30% recycled PET, reduce the amount of virgin PET used. By 2030, the group aims to double the volume of items with advanced sustainable features in its product portfolio.Keeping bobst in the family
Everyone in the packaging world knows Bobst, the label and packaging machinery manufacturer founded by Josef Bobst in 1890. Fewer people have heard of JBF, which is Bobst Group’s largest shareholder with some 53% of the shares and voting rights in the company. The 60 or so shareholders in JBF belong to families that descend from Bobst’s founder, and Bobst has for many years been a publicly quoted company on the Swiss SIX exchange, Europe’s third biggest.On July 25 of this year, to the surprise of many people (including your correspondent) came the announcement that JBF plans to take the Bobst Group private through a delisting of its shares. Minority shareholders have been offered CHF 98 per share, which is a premium of a hefty 22%.
Throwing money at shareholders is not in the Swiss mentality, so the question is: why? The offer comes at a moment when Bobst, after a period in the doldrums, is now on the up and up, with first half-year sales increased by 16% and net profit of CHF 21.3 million against just 3.6 million for the same period of last year.
There is no indication that family members are preparing to sell out – the pre-announcement stresses that JBF: “…is committed to the long-term legacy of the fifth generation of families and to sustaining its strong Swiss industrial activities.”
The group “…will continue to be managed by independent and family board members, as it is today.” It is possible, but unlikely, that this change is being pushed by a certain faction of the family. The present CEO (since 2009) is the 57-year-old Jean-Pascal Bobst, a man who sounds, looks and acts like a dynamic businessman.
Explaining the planned privatization, he says, “The fourth and fifth generations of the family met earlier in the year and agreed on an entrepreneurial strategy for the years to 2035.”
For the group, as for European industry in general, the future is uncertain as recession, rising costs and the war in Ukraine all cloud the horizon. However, during the present CEO’s mandate, Bobst has expanded dramatically, particularly in the label equipment sector, acquiring, amongst others, Gidue (flexo label presses) and Mouvent (digital label printing). Completion of this privatization is scheduled for early November of this year.
No gas, no go
A decade ago, for political reasons, Germany decided to abandon nuclear energy. This year, for economic reasons, Britain decided to build several new nuclear plants. This year, also for totally unexplained reasons, over half of France’s 70 nuclear power stations are closed for repairs, for which everyone is blaming everyone else. This matters for the paper and board industries, which are energy-intensive, and nowhere more than in Germany.When closing down its nuclear plants, Germany’s policy was to go big on gas, at least until solar and wind energy can take up the slack. According to Alexander von Reibnitz, CEO of the trade organization Papierindustrie e.V., “Gas accounts for 58% of fuel use in the paper industry. According to a survey among our members, a maximum of 10% to 15% of gas use could be substituted by other energy sources by next winter.”
Now that the Russian bear makes ready to sit even harder on the gas pipelines to the west, Germany’s paper and packaging industries are getting hot under the collar.
Elsewhere in Europe, energy prices have already risen sky-high. Producers like Feldmühle are taking measures to reduce energy by improving heat recovery in the steam and condensate system, but these will take time. In the event of a gas embargo or a delivery stop, the German paper industry can no longer produce, and important paper products, such as packaging and labels for medicines or food, can then no longer be manufactured, warns Reibnitz.
The impending energy crisis over here is very serious indeed. Europe’s governments are talking about re-decommissioning nuclear plants (which ecologists don’t like), and de-mothballing coal production (which they like even less). And the crunch may come, not in a few years’ time but before this Christmas. Your correspondent has already de-mothballed several woolen sweaters. Better safe than sorry.