Double-digit growth for Bosch Packaging Technology

Three acquisitions in the food sector

• Sales rise by 10.2 percent in 2015 to reach 1.3 billion euros
• Order intake is 14.5 percent higher than 2015
• Executive board expects moderate growth for fiscal 2016
• Complete lines and Industry 4.0 solutions are strategic areas of growth

Waiblingen, Germany – Bosch Packaging Technology increased its sales from 1.18 billion euros in 2014 to 1.3 billion in 2015, representing nominal sales growth of 10.2 percent (3.1 percent when adjusted for currency effects). This puts the machine manufacturer – one of the leading providers of processing and packaging technology solutions – ahead of its competitors. According to industry association VDMA, the German manufacturers were able to achieve nominal sales growth of just 2.8 percent on average. Order intake at the Bosch division also rose over the same period, increasing by 14.5 percent in nominal terms from 1.23 to 1.4 billion euros. Adjusted for currency effects, this corresponds to an increase of 7.2 percent. As of the end of the year, Bosch Packaging Technology employed some 6,200 associates at more than 30 locations worldwide. “We are satisfied with our double-digit rise in sales, particularly given the modest growth of the sector as a whole. In 2015, we were again able to increase our market share,” summarizes Friedbert Klefenz, president of Bosch Packaging Technology. He anticipates moderate growth for fiscal 2016.

Strongest growth in the Asia-Pacific region

Sales in Europe declined slightly in 2015, ultimately accounting for 37 percent of total sales. In North America, sales grew by almost 18 percent – remarkable given the generally stagnant situation in the machine manufacturing market. Overall, North America now accounts for 27 percent of total sales. Latin America saw sales growth of almost 25 percent. At the continental level, Bosch achieved its greatest growth – somewhat above 27 percent – in Asia-Pacific and Africa. In total, Bosch Packaging Technology generated some 90 percent of its sales outside Germany in 2015. Emerging markets are thereby playing an increasingly important role.

Acquisition of three companies in the food sector

Part of Bosch Packaging Technology’s growth strategy is to strengthen its position through strategic acquisitions. In addition to founding a joint venture with the Indian company Klenzaids in 2015 (focus on pharmaceuticals), last year the company acquired three further enterprises in food: Osgood Industries Inc. in Oldsmar, Florida at the end of May 2015 and, in December, the two sister companies Kliklok-Woodman Corporation, headquartered in Decatur, Georgia (U.S.), and Kliklok International Ltd. based in Bristol, England. Bosch Packaging Technology is thereby continuing to expand its position in the pharma, food, and confectionery sectors and, above all, strengthens its expertise as a complete solution provider. The companies acquired in 2015 have not been consolidated on the balance sheet for that year.

Moderate growth expected in 2016

The overall rather modest start to 2016 coupled with the high volume of orders from last year leads Klefenz to anticipate moderate single-digit growth for the current fiscal year. To drive growth, Bosch Packaging Technology plans to further expand its line and system competence and develop solutions for the connected production of the future.

Complete solutions from a single source

At Bosch Packaging Technology, a key topic for the future remains line and system competence. Here, Bosch not only views itself as n a provider of the entire production line, from processing technology to the finished packaged product, including services. Instead, the company is taking the approach a step further and looking to turnkey projects, which it sees as offering great potential, especially outside Europe. In these projects, Bosch assumes responsibility for everything from planning of material and personnel, building technology, and cleanrooms to the production facilities themselves, thereby providing customers with complete solutions from a single source. Projects have already been successfully implemented with customers from the pharmaceutical industry in Latin America, the Middle East, and Russia.

Industry 4.0: applying the Bosch Group`s know-how to target industries

Industry 4.0 is another driver of growth. The modern factory is smart and connected, linking traditional manufacturing with sensors, software, and services. Bosch Packaging Technology works with its customers on pilot projects aimed at developing needs-oriented solutions. In doing so, the company can draw on the Bosch Group’s many years of experience. “Whenever it is a question of connectivity, we benefit from the Bosch Group’s expertise as a leading user and leading provider in this area. We will be launching a whole range of pilot projects in 2016 in order to tailor Bosch’s existing software solutions to the needs of our customers in our target industries pharmaceuticals and food,” says Klefenz. One such solution already employed by customers all over the world is Bosch’s Track & Trace software.

For instance, to give one example: in 2015, Bosch Packaging Technology and Hikma Pharmaceuticals in Jordan and Saudi Arabia implemented Track & Trace projects for pharmaceuticals. Using Bosch technology, the company prints and verifies up to 400 cartons per minute, and is capable of printing serial numbers, 1D and 2D codes, batch data, and expiry dates on the cartons. Bosch’s new software ensures that the software and machines within the process are reliably connected. The various packaging lines can then be monitored from a central office. Thanks to the solution, Hikma is also able to export the data to an external database, for instance that of a regulatory authority. In 2016, other customers in the U.S., the UK, and Austria will be equipping their production facilities with Track & Trace systems made by Bosch.