W&H records the biggest turnover in its history in 2017

German manufacturer of machinery and converting equipment for the production of flexible packaging, Windmöller & Hölscher, has expanded its position as the market leader in all three of its product areas — extrusion, printing and conversion. The family-owned company concluded 2017 with a turnover of approximately 835 million euros – the highest in the group’s history.

04 Apr 2018 | By Rahul Kumar

In the flexographic and gravure presses unit W&H achieved sales of 270 million euros worldwide. With this result, W&H remains the clear market leader for printing machines in the field of flexible packaging.

Dr Jürgen Vutz, CEO, Windmöller & Hölscher, said, “All of the product areas – extrusion, printing and conversion – together with the service division, developed positively in the past year.”

In addition to the W&H brand and numerous worldwide sales companies, the corporate group also includes the specialist for paper bag machines, Garant.

The numerous innovations based around the guiding concept of Packaging 4.0 drive the company’s consistent growth. “To us, Packaging 4.0 means intelligent systems, integrated processes and intuitive operation. We utilise new, digital technologies to make our customers’ production process more efficient and economical – from automated, faster job changes to monitoring and control via smartphone,” shared Vutz.

The global presence of the family-owned company with its headquarters in Germany is important in maintaining a close proximity to its customers. “We have a strong presence worldwide. It is important for us to serve as a long-term partner for our customers, regardless of regional growth trends,” explained Peter Steinbeck chief sales officer, Windmöller & Hölscher.

The company plans further growth for 2018. “This year will be shaped by the preparations for our 150-year company anniversary in 2019,” Vutz stated.

Leading up to this anniversary, the company is investing millions of euros in its headquarters in Lengerich to expand its technology centre. “In 2019, our headquarters will have the world’s largest technology centre for machines for manufacturing flexible packaging.

“In future, customers will be able to gain an overview of the entire process chain, all of the system types and production peripherals in a state-of-the-art environment,” Vutz concluded.