Left to right: Bernhard Lemmink (Managing Director LEWELL Kartonagen), Marion Walsmann MEP and Marcus Tolle (Progroup).
Corrugated sheets started coming off the production line in Progroup’s PW13 plant at the beginning of 2020. And in April 2023 the packaging manufacturer LEWELL Kartonagen opened its new production facility immediately adjacent to this Progroup plant. The Eisfeld site is therefore an extremely sustainable and exemplary model of a packaging park. Marion Walsmann, a Member of the European Parliament, was able to see it all for herself during her visit to the park.
Progroup manufactures about 175,000 tonnes of corrugated sheetboard per year in its ultra-modern sheetfeeder plant which is connected to its neighbour by a conveyor bridge, enabling Progroup to deliver its corrugated sheets to Lewell Kartonagen ‘just in time’ for conversion into packaging. Not only are the delivery times significantly shortened, but also a considerable amount of CO2 emissions and freight costs are saved by the two companies through their closely interlinked logistics and production processes.
“This enables each of us to concentrate on the important challenges of our part of the value-creation chain” stated Maximilian Heindl, CEO, Progroup. “For Progroup, this is the highly-efficient and standardised production of corrugated board as a raw material. For Lewell, the challenge is to create the perfect precision-fit packaging custom-made for each customer. This meets our shared aspiration to be an efficient and environmentally friendly manufacturer. And at the same time to manufacture a product that is 100% recyclable.”
Marion Walsmann was clearly impressed during her tour of both companies’ manufacturing facilities. “Progroup and Lewell Kartonagen highlight the potential of a close collaborative partnership. Both companies are creating a real success story here in the packaging park and are demonstrating how future-oriented, sustainable production can succeed.”
Progroup and Lewell Kartonagen have been working closely together for many years, with the Eisfeld joint packaging park adding a further dimension to their collaboration from spring 2023 onwards. Progroup follows this model at most of their corrugated board sites – always with major, long-standing customers.
