Bosch Packaging Technology aims to keep strengthening its leading position until 2020

- New locations in Asia and Africa planned
- New markets to be opened up
- PA 2020 strategy unveiled

By 2020, Bosch Packaging Technology aims to grow considerably faster than the market, and to further expand its leading position in the realm of process and packaging technology around the world. “We expect to see fundamental change in the market for packaging machinery. We not only want to react to this change, we also aim to help shape it,” said Friedbert Klefenz, President of Bosch Packaging Technology, during the company's press conference at the Interpack trade show in Düsseldorf. On the basis of its PA 2020 strategy, the manufacturer of special machinery aims to continue expanding its business in the established markets, and to grow especially in Asia and Africa. In addition to this, the company intends to spur further growth by venturing into new fields of business.

“We are well on our way to realizing our plans,” Klefenz said. Last year, Bosch Packaging Technology's sales exceeded the one-billion euro mark for the first time. In fiscal 2013, the company increased its sales by 22 percent, from 914 million euros to 1.1 billion euros. This was largely the result of the first-time consolidation of companies such as Hüttlin, Manesty, and Eisai Machinery. After adjusting for consolidation effects, growth was 6.4 percent. Currency effects notwithstanding, Packaging Technology recorded internal growth of ten percent. According to VDMA, a trade association, the packaging machinery sector grew four percent in 2013. Including companies that were consolidated for the first time in the year under review, the company employed 5,600 associates at more than 30 locations, 12 percent more than the previous year. 

Moving toward the next decade with the PA 2020 strategy

“We expect to keep up this pace of growth in the coming years as well. By the end of 2015, our annual sales are likely to reach the 1.5 billion euro mark,” said Klefenz. “But our plans also go beyond 2015.” Last year, the company defined its strategy up to the end of this decade with PA 2020. The strategy's central aim is to expand the company's current fields of business and markets and to venture into new ones.

Regional shift expected

At present, Bosch Packaging Technology generates around 40 percent of its sales in Europe, 30 percent in Asia, and a quarter in North and South America. However, for the coming years, a strong regional shift is expected. “Until the end of this decade, we aim to continue growing strongly in the established markets, such as Europe and North America. At the same time, we will generate far more than a third of our sales in Asia,” said Klefenz. Africa and the Middle East are also gaining significance. “Markets in Europe and the Americas will keep developing continuously. This means that the overall market for packaging machinery will grow. However, in the coming years, there will be a shift in the importance of regional markets,” said Klefenz.

Pharma segment growing strongly

The pharma segment is one of the drivers of Bosch Packaging Technology's growth. The company has benefited from the sector's dynamic global development. In the past year, it grew nine percent. In total, this field of business accounts for 52 percent of the company's sales. “This shows that a growing number of people have access to medication. It is also the result of the global growth of the generics business,” said Klefenz. At the same time, more complex substances and the ever-stricter requirements of manufacturers and lawmakers have placed growing demands on the packaging industry. “This calls for major innovative strength,” said Klefenz. In total, Bosch Packaging Technology spent around 4.5 percent of its sales on research and development in 2013.

Food sector: major order in Mexico

The equipment business for the food and confectionary industries also developed well. In 2012, Bosch Packaging Technology acquired the largest single order in the company's history. This year, the company will be delivering two packaging lines to a biscuit manufacturer in Mexico. Each line operates with six horizontal filling and sealing machines with fully automatic cartoning that can package more than 17,000 crackers per minute. 

Alongside the sale of machinery for dry foods and confectionary, in the coming years Bosch Packaging Technology intends to significantly expand its business in the selected beverages and liquid food segments.

Service business continues to grow

Just like the entire industry, Bosch Packaging Technology expects to see the scope and nature of the service business change. “For this reason, comprehensive service is an important part of the PA 2020 strategy. Increasingly, customer expectations can only be met by companies with a broad range of expertise and a strong regional presence. We are one such company, and we offer a growing number of solutions that can be combined with one another in a flexible manner,” said Klefenz. As a result, the company's customers can get everything they need from a single source. This includes process and packaging machinery, as well as technologies for product handling, automation, and inspection. “In short, we offer one stop shopping. The customer contacts us once and receives, if desired, a full turnkey solution for their project. This includes not only machinery and equipment, but also the planning and construction of packaging lines, as well as assembly, maintenance, and service,” said Klefenz.

Save Food

Better packaging also means that millions of people are gaining better access to medications and food. Today, a third of the world's food still goes to waste, often as a result of inadequate packaging and storage. For this reason, Bosch Packaging Technology is involved in the UN's “Save Food” initiative. The project was launched in 2011 at the last Interpack trade show in Düsseldorf. “We are proud to be making a contribution,” said Klefenz. “Creating real value-added is also in line with the Bosch ‘Invented for life’ leitmotiv.”