Koenig & Bauer is continuing on the path that it adopted in 2014 to transition from a unitary to a divisional group and is positioning itself in 2025 with a new segment structure that is aligned even more closely to current and future customer needs and the relevant business model.
As a result of the leaner structures, the number of segments will be reduced from three to two, namely Paper & Packaging Sheetfed Systems (P&P) and Special & New Technologies (S&T). The Group’s focus will remain on the high-growth packaging market.
In the future, all the previous activities of the Sheetfed segment will be consolidated within the new Paper & Packaging Sheetfed Systems segment. As well as this, the corrugated activities for the Chroma series bundled under the Celmacch joint venture, which were previously assigned to the Digital & Webfed segment, will be allocated to this segment due to the close technological and customer overlap between folding carton and corrugated board producers. The activities of the Koenig & Bauer Durst joint venture will continue to be based here.
This segment will be specialising in end-to-end solutions for the high-growth folding carton and corrugated board box markets, addressing all aspects such as pre-print, printing with an integrated digital workflow and post-print converting. Commercial printing will remain a further priority.
Dr Andreas Pleßke, Chief Executive Officer, Koenig & Bauer, said, “The Group’s top priority is to align itself with its customers and markets and to streamline decision-making paths within its business units.”
Dr Stephen Kimmich, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, adds, “The bundling of folding carton and corrugated board activities in one segment is our response to customer needs due to the strong technological and cross-customer overlap of these groups. Koenig & Bauer is continuing to develop as a ‘one-stop shop’ for cardboard and corrugated board packaging.”
The Special & New Technologies segment will consolidate the previous activities of the Special segment (banknote and security printing, systems for industrial marking and coding and special systems for metal and glass/hollow container direct printing), as well as the remaining activities of the former Digital & Webfed segment. This includes the special packaging printing applications, primarily web digital and flexo web printing.
The restructuring of the Koenig & Bauer AG Group will result in changes to central responsibilities for operations as well as cross-sectional functions. Some of these will be re-assigned to the segments to a greater extent to address the individual requirements of the various markets more effectively. Consequently, the previous role of a central Group COO will no longer be required. Against this backdrop, the company and Michael Ulverich have mutually agreed that he will leave König and Bauer and step down from the Executive Board effective 30 November 2024.
Christian Steinmaßl, who brings with him over 25 years of experience in the paper and packaging industry, will be joining the Group management on 1 December 2024 and reporting to the Executive Board. He will be taking on a key role in the new Special & New Technologies segment and holding responsibility for production, the Vision & Protection and Kyana (formerly Digital Unit) business units and operational shared services within the Group.
In the course of 2025, further steps to reorganise the Executive Board will be taken incrementally.
As the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Prof. Dr. Raimund Klinkner, explains, “This structure, which has been agreed upon jointly between the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board, will ensure that decisions are aligned more closely to the business model, while the leaner structures will increase the speed at which decisions are made and help to optimise costs. All these plans are embedded in a gradual generational transition in 2024 and 2025 from today’s long-standing members of the Executive Board to candidates who constitute an excellent fit for the company’s strategic priorities.”
