VPK Group news

The past month will go down in the history books as the first month in which we faced the impact of an unprecedented global pandemic, making its mark on everyone's life. A state of affairs within VPK Group.

The Dutch VPK site in Raamsdonksveer celebrated its 25th anniversary in November. It was a step that opened the door to the further internationalisation of VPK, todaya company with 65 sites in 20 countries. An excellent moment to look back at the rich history and entrepreneurial DNA of VPK in the Netherlands.

VPK's new production site in Halden, Norway incorporates Industry 4.0 principles such as artificial intelligence learning, a high degree of advanced automation and carbon neutral operation. It is one of the most technologically advanced packaging plants in the world.

In Saint-Quentin, France, construction of the first French automated high-bay warehouse for corrugated packaging has been completed. This unique investment will enable output to be stepped up further in the coming years, increasing quality and service while helping to reduce our ecological footprint. The project forms part of a long-term vision for this key French site of the Ondulys division.

A 40% capacity expansion is planned just three years after the start of the Polish packaging division. The Radomsko production site, located between Lodz and Krakow, will get an extra hall after the summer. The current machine park will be supplemented with additional machines, good for 30 million m² of corrugated cardboard packaging, and 15 additional employees.

The 2018 results emphasize investments in innovation and sustainability. High paper prices put margins under pressure, but growth is maintained. Key drivers within the sector remain the impact of e-commerce and the focus on sustainable packaging alternatives.

VPK's site in Courcelles (Belgium) - Cartonneries de Wallonie (CDW) - specialises in smaller production runs and digital printing. The investment in a new digital printer will enable the site to offer a higher product quality, a wider product range, and better service.

In April, the production site in Erembodegem upgraded its folders-gluers production to boost the existing capacity.  An automated production step enables usboth to improve safety on the work floor and to process more boxes per hour.

As a producer of sustainable packaging, we offer a variety of logistic solutions as part of our value proposition. When last year a building of no less than 6000 sqm situated next to the plant in Erembodegem was put up for sale, we immediately saw this as an opportunity to further improve our logistics services –  one that we grabbed with both hands. 

Converting waste into steam saves natural gas consumption at VPK's paper mill in Strasbourg