Despite high volatility and difficult economic conditions on the world markets, the Schumacher Packaging Group was able to increase its annual turnover by almost 40% to around Euro 1.2 billion (after sales deductions) in 2022 compared to the previous year. Decisive factors for the strong growth were the development of new product fields and strategic decisions.
The sales target of Euro 1 billion was clearly exceeded across the whole Group. However, no growth was achieved in the core business areas. Against the backdrop of increased energy prices, strong inflation and falling consumption, which shaped market events with the outbreak of the war against Ukraine, the packaging specialist's sales remained almost constant compared to the previous year. The growth in sales was mainly achieved through the acquisition of additional plants and the development of new product fields to meet the demand for plastic reduction, especially from the food industry, but also from online retail.
Through the acquisition of the Kaierde board mill, the majority stake in the Italian corrugated base paper manufacturer Cartiere Modesto Cardella SpA and the purchase of the Leipzig Land GmbH board mill, the corporate group has significantly increased its own production and processing capacities. In addition, part of the Euro 700 million investment programme was already brought forward to last year in order to make energy-intensive production increasingly independent of natural gas.
"The turbulent year led to less consumption and caused the demand for corrugated and solid board packaging to shrink compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, the trend towards paper-based packaging and intelligent combination products continues among manufacturers and in the trade," says Hendrik Schumacher, Managing Director of Schumacher Packaging.
The Schumacher Packaging Group is one of Europe's largest manufacturers of customised corrugated and solid board packaging.
