Nine corrugated plants. Around 2,500 employees. Approximately €539 million in annual revenue. And 1.2 billion m² of production capacity.
The European Commission approved Saica Group’s acquisition of Thimm on 23 July 2026. The deal value was not disclosed. One day later, Saica confirmed that integration had begun across Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania.
This is not simply a factory purchase. Saica has bought in months what would have taken years to build: people, customers, local knowledge, logistics routes and a cross-border production network.
The immediate message for the market is clear. A stronger integrated competitor has entered Central and Eastern Europe at scale.
What Saica is buying
The transaction includes nine corrugated board plants and one preprint operation:
- Germany: Alzey, Wolnzach, Eberswalde, Castrop-Rauxel and Northeim;
- Poland: Tychy and Skarbimierz;
- Czech Republic: Všetaty;
- Romania: Sibiu;
- Preprint: Ilsenburg, Germany.
Germany gives Saica scale in one of Europe’s largest packaging markets. Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania extend its reach across Central and Eastern Europe.
Thimm also brings something more valuable than machines alone: experienced teams and established customer relationships. The two groups have worked together since the late 1990s through a sales alliance and a joint venture in Poland, so the integration does not begin from zero.
Why Saica believes it can create more value
Saica’s advantage is not one plant or one product. It is the connection between four businesses: recycled containerboard, corrugated packaging, waste management and flexible packaging.
The group collects recovered paper, produces 100% recycled paper, converts it into packaging and manages waste streams that can return to the production cycle. For the acquired plants, this can mean access to shared paper supply, purchasing power, technical expertise, energy programmes, digital tools and larger investment budgets.
Mathias Schliep, chairman of Thimm Group, pointed to Saica’s financial strength and its ability to support investment in technology and digitalisation. That matters in corrugated packaging, where delayed capital expenditure quickly appears in higher waste, slower speeds, labour pressure, weaker print quality and lower uptime.
Why buy during a weak market?
European corrugated producers are facing soft demand, high labour and energy costs, price pressure and excess paper capacity. At first glance, this looks like the wrong moment for a major acquisition.
For a financially strong buyer, it may be exactly the right moment.
Saica is not buying only current production volumes. It is buying geography, customer access and future options before the next recovery begins. When demand improves, the network will already be in place.
There is also a simple logistics reason. Corrugated packaging is expensive to transport over long distances. A denser plant network can shorten routes, improve responsiveness and help Saica serve multinational customers from several locations.
For customers, the first months may bring more continuity than change. Integration takes time. But later, Thimm customers could gain wider geographic coverage, access to Saica’s recycled lightweight papers, recycling services and more coordinated multi-site supply.
Europe and the US: two routes to the same goal
The Thimm deal should be read alongside Saica’s expansion in the United States.
Saica opened its first US corrugated plant in Hamilton, Ohio, in 2022. It then committed more than $110 million to a second plant in Anderson, Indiana, scheduled to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2026. The group has also announced a broader plan to invest about $800 million in the US through acquisitions and new plants.
In North America, Saica is building capacity largely from the ground up. In Central Europe, it has bought a mature network. The methods differ, but the goal is the same: scale, geographic reach and closer access to customers.
What changes for the European corrugated market
The first change is commercial. Saica can now offer broader cross-border coverage to international customers.
The second is industrial. The group will almost certainly review equipment condition, automation, energy use, product mix and logistics across the new network. This could create new orders for machinery, digital printing, automation and energy-efficiency suppliers.
The third is competitive. Independent converters now face a stronger rival with paper integration, recycling services, technical resources and multi-country reach. Competing on price alone will become even more dangerous.
The fourth is strategic. Other large groups may now review whether their own networks are dense enough, modern enough and close enough to customers. That could accelerate acquisitions, closures and plant optimisation across the region.
The questions Saica still has to answer
The European Commission handled the transaction under the simplified merger procedure, suggesting that the deal did not raise major competition concerns at EU level. But the operational risks remain substantial.
Nine plants across four countries mean different labour markets, equipment generations, cost structures and management cultures.
The key questions are:
- How much capital will be needed to bring every plant to Saica standards?
- Which sites will receive new converting equipment, automation or energy upgrades first?
- How quickly can paper and procurement synergies be captured?
- Will the Thimm name remain visible, and how much local autonomy will be preserved?
- Can Saica integrate 2,500 people without losing customer relationships or key managers?
What producers should do now
Independent converters should compare their service speed, waste levels, specialisation and customer retention against a stronger integrated network — not against their historical performance.
Competing integrated groups should review gaps in Central and Eastern Europe before Saica completes the integration and strengthens its commercial offer.
Equipment suppliers should identify which Thimm sites are most likely to require modernisation and position proposals around productivity, automation, energy and waste reduction.
Customers should watch for changes in sourcing options, delivery coverage, lightweight paper availability and recycling services.
The corruga.expert view
Saica has not merely added nine factories. It has bought a €539 million business, 2,500 people and 1.2 billion m² of capacity at a moment when weaker demand is forcing the European market to become more efficient.
That combination — money, people, paper integration and geography — is what makes this deal important.
The decisive issue is execution. If Saica modernises the network without destroying Thimm’s local strengths, the acquisition could become one of the most important moves in the European corrugated market in 2026.
And for independent producers, the warning is direct: the next phase of competition will not be fought only on box price. It will be fought on productivity, speed, recycling, paper access, technology and the ability to serve customers across borders.
Sources
Saica Group
European Commission / EUR-Lex
Packaging Europe
The Packaging Portal
Deloitte Legal
corruga.expert
