The ‘New’ Siegwerk: Satisfactory Revenue Development in the First Year

The “new Siegwerk” remains on the road to success. In the first year of completely consolidated results from the Sicpa Packaging acquisition, the company achieved revenue of €870 million. “That’s slightly more than planned, so we’re satisfied with revenue development,” said CEO Herbert Forker. Siegwerk has grown into one of the three biggest producers of printing inks worldwide, as 34 national subsidiaries on all five continents represent the company prominently and in a customer-focused way.

Since the acquisition of Sicpa’s packaging business, Siegwerk is organized in seven different business units. Flexible Packaging generated the most revenue in 2006, followed by Publication Gravure and Sheetfed/UV. Web Offset has been registering strong growth for years. Siegwerk also enjoys a stable market position with its inks for label printing, tobacco packaging and paper & board. Recently, a separate business area for liquid food packaging was founded, in order to serve this market in a targeted fashion, too.

In a Europe-wide project, the production network was reorganized. As Centers of Excellence, three big sites in Germany, France and Switzerland serve customers directly. In other countries, internal blending centers receive concentrated inks that are further processed and delivered according to customers’ wishes. “In this, we are following an important demand of our customers,” noted Mr. Forker. “We are securing consistent product quality in Europe and other regions.”

Along with product quality, the topics of “trusting cooperation” and “quick support for customers on site” are the focal point of all Siegwerk’s initiatives. In all the world’s important markets, Siegwerk is represented by highly qualified service technicians who can react to customers’ wishes swiftly. “In this, we offer real added value, which helps printers reach their efficiency and revenue goals – and thus work successfully,” Mr. Forker said.

With the acquisitions of Color Converting (2003) and Sicpa Packaging (2005), Siegwerk has made the leap from a Central European producer to a real global player. In just six years, revenue almost tripled. The traditional values of a family-owned company – such as “long-term orientation” and “personal business relationships” – have remained intact during this process.

“People make the difference in our business,” Mr. Forker stressed. “Our staff still know customers personally, and every business partner has a familiar contact person. That’s the only way to maintain a long-term, mutually beneficial business relationship.”