“Our PW03 corrugated sheetfeeder plant has been an important production site for us from day one,” says Maximilian Heindl, CEO of Progroup.
“Over the last 25 years, we’ve experienced a great deal here and gradually evolved. We can look back on this success story with real pride – and we’ll continue it together. Thanks to and with our colleagues. This is because our commitment to innovation, technological leadership and sustainability is unwavering.” To mark this milestone together in a fitting way, a large anniversary celebration was held for all employees at the site and their families.
In September 1998, the first sheets came off the production line at the corrugated sheetfeeder plant in Burg. It was the company’s third plant. The highly motivated team and innovative technology ensured that the PW03 corrugated sheetfeeder plant quickly became one of the most successful plants anywhere in Europe.
The 2.80 m wide corrugator machine delivered an operating speed of 350 metres per minute, producing an annual capacity of 130,000 tonnes – this was a technical first 25 years ago. And this site also featured another innovation: Burg was where the Progroup packaging park was born. It was the first time that one of the family company’s customers had established itself directly next to PW03. Progroup manufactures the corrugated board sheets and delivers them via a tunnel to the plant next door, where they are processed further to make 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. Today Progroup follows this business model at most of its corrugated board sites – always with major, long-standing customers.
Burg: a strategically important site
Progroup not only has a corrugated sheetfeeder plant in Burg. In 2001, the family company also started operating its first paper machine there so that it could produce the containerboard required to make the sheets itself – and thus make itself less dependent on the volatile paper market. It was the fastest liner machine in the world at the time. A year later, the firm’s own logistics company started, also in Burg. It has since delivered the logistics between the paper mills, corrugated sheetboard plants and Progroup’s customers. “For us, Burg is an essential part of our development as a business,” says Heindl. “We have a close affinity with this site, as much today as we did back then, and that’s also why we see our future being here.”
About Progroup
Progroup AG, located in Landau, Germany, is one of the leading manufacturers of containerboard and corrugated board in Europe. Since it was founded in 1991 in Offenbach/Queich, the company has been pursuing a consistent growth strategy which, in addition to technological leadership, is also based on the use of innovative and environmentally friendly production technologies. Progroup operates production sites in six countries in Central Europe. These currently include three paper factories, twelve corrugated sheetfeeder plants, a logistics company and a waste-to-energy power plant. The company’s second power plant is currently being constructed in Sandersdorf-Brehna near Leipzig. With 1,700 employees, the company generated sales of around 1.8 billion euros in 2022.
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