sig.biz/combibloc

Keep it colourful: the brightly decorated company premises
in Rayong, Thailand during the opening ceremony.
In 1989, the company, then still known
as Papier- und Klebstoffwerke Linnich GmbH
(PKL), was sold to the SIG Holding Ltd., in
Neuhausen Rhine Falls. This event marked
the beginning of an impressive business development
cycle. By 1990, the company
headquarters had been transferred from
Düsseldorf to nearby Linnich, where a training
centre for both customers and employees
was set up in 1995. In Germany’s
Wittenberg, a new production plant came
on stream in 1994 to satisfy the ever growing
demand for packaging materials. New
packaging formats and pouring aids were
successfully brought to market. As a result
of the integration programme throughout
the SIG group, the company was renamed
SIG Combibloc in 1998.
Think globally, act locally
At an early stage already, SIG Combibloc,
then still PKL, expanded its operational
business activities to cover international
markets and set up further production
locations. A start was made in 1974 through
a joint venture with Britain’s Rexam/
Bowater and the founding of Bowater PKL,
later to become Rexam Combibloc. Acquisition
of the Rexam shareholdings by SIG
took place in the years 2001 and 2002. This
successfully drove forward developments
at SIG Combibloc Ltd., England, where today,
in addition to rotogravure printing,
flexoprint capability is also available for
customers – a unique situation within the
SIG Combibloc group of companies.
A decisive expansion of SIG Combibloc
production capacity was achieved when
the packaging materials plant in Saalfelden,
Austria, was completed. The starting signal
for in-house production was fired in 1981.
Continuing expansion activities pushed
packaging material capacity to 1.5 billion
cartons by 1992 already.
The SIG Combibloc regional company
in Thailand is responsible for the Asian
markets. The packaging materials plant at
the Rayong location began its test run in
October 1997. It was inaugurated in March
1998 in the presence of H.R.H. Princess
Maha Chakri Sirikon. In China, carton
sales developed exceptionally well. So much
so that, in November 2002, a groundbreaking
ceremony for a new packaging
materials plant was held in the Suzhou
Industrial Park near greater Shanghai. The
location, with its production surface of
20,000 square metres, will start production
in 2004.
To cover the markets in the Middle
East, a joint venture was established at the
beginning of 2001 with the Saudi-Arabian
Obeikan Investment Group.
Creating trends
Increasingly, consumers appreciate packages
that are easy to open and that can
be closed again hygienically. In 1993,
SIG Combibloc launched combiTop, the first
ever re-closable pouring aid to reach the
market. The combiLift flip-top and the combiTwist
screw cap followed in 2000. In order
Spectrum 28/29
In the plant: the assembly shop for the new
applicators designed by SIG allCap.
to respond rapidly to market needs for
consumer-friendly closures, SIG Combibloc
set up SIG allCap in 2001, a strategic business
unit dedicated to opening systems.
SIG allCap brings together all activities
relating to plastic closures and the corresponding
applicators.
Highly promising outlook
Selective expansion of market shares
in growth markets creates a solid foundation
for future activities. Successful market
launches such as the packaging innovation
combifit, presented to the trade in the year
2000, are strong evidence of the company’s
innovative strength and ability to endure in
the future. The latest highlight from SIG
Combibloc, designated, created a sensation at
Anuga FoodTec 2003 – a tailor-made world
first that provides unmistakable brand identity
for products.
A success story with a bright future:
SIG Combibloc will continue to create innovative,
trend-setting, but invariably practical
systems solutions.
sig.biz/combibloc 03/03