PRODROUP AT A GLANCE
56Pages

Heritage shapes the future RELIABILITY, REFLECTION, CONSISTENCY Strong partners PIONEERING • SPIRIT AND HUNGER FOR INNOVATION P. 28 Consistently successful AHEAD OF THE TREND P. 30 Employer with a future A GOOD NEIGHBOUR

Dear readers, dear Progroup partners, rom the coronavirus and the resulting economic consequences through to climate change – we are currently facing trends that will require smart minds and level-headed action. We will only be able to meet our aspiration to be consistently successful if we act in a reliable, reflective and consistent way. If we have a plan, not just for what to do right now, but also one for the future. We at Progroup believe that family companies have a big advantage in this regard. My son Maximilian emphasises this in an interview in this issue: Families have a set of...

CON TENTS  1 Editorial   4 Progroup at a glance Heritage shapes the future   6 Reliability, reflection, consistency Jürgen and Maximilian Heindl in conversation 12 How a plant is created The world’s most advanced paper factory is being built – a quick recap 16 Growth spurt in Great Britain Europe’s most modern corrugated sheet board plant has been manu facturing for a year 19 Efficient, interconnected and forward-looking Innovation leadership as a strategy for

22 Strong partners Shaping the future together: a portrait of four Progroup customers 28 Pioneering spirit and hunger for innovation How Progroup overcomes technical limits Consistently successful 30 Ahead of the trend Interview on sustainability: Maximilian Heindl banks on Green Hightech 32 The kidney of the paper machine How Progroup conserves resources and the environment 36 Packaging is a raw material Sustainability trends in the packaging industry 38 Consistently successful CFO Dr. Volker Metz explains why Progroup will be successful in the long run 40 Cultural change is not a sprint...

PROGROUP AT A GLANCE RDF power station containerboard market Paper factories + 1 factory under construction

Sales of million euros in 2019 corrugated board market Central Europe 6 3 Corrugated sheet board plants Years of market and industry experience + 2 plants under construction/planning

RELIABILITY, REFLECTION, CONSISTENCY PROGROUP’S DNA Heritage shapes the future

Heritage shapes the future

We arranged to hold a video conference with Jurgen and Maximilian Heindl. At the time they were at the major building site in Sandersdorf-Brehna where Progroup’s third paper factory is currently being constructed. They were sitting in one of the construction cabins, and they could look out of the window to see how the work was progressing. During the conversation, one thing became very clear: The two of them had a clear vision of what they were seeking to achieve and how to do this, in terms of both the construction site and the company as a whole. urgen Heindl, we meet at a time that could...

Sales of corrugated board are tied to the rate of growth of gross domestic product. You have just said it yourself: current forecasts estimate that this will drop to mid-single figures in 2020. What does this mean for you as a manufacturer of corrugated board and what does it mean for your customers? J H For us and our customers, the upcoming worsening of the situation in the market means that we need to think in an even more differentiated way and focus our product ranges on the growth sectors. Corrugated board is now a commodity product. Adapting the product to specific sectors is less...

produced, at the paper sites for example by integrating refuse-derived fuel power plants. This makes it possible to recycle non-paper components in a carbon-neutral way. The generation and use of biogas from process water purification in closed water cycles also forms part of these concepts. My father always says: Innovation and investment are closely related. And he is right: If you do not make constant investments in innovative technologies and processes, including from ecological aspects, you will have to bear the economic consequences. Our success is based less on constant new product...

“Reliability, transparency and trust are points that are just as relevant externally as they are internally.” Maximilian Heindl, Chief Development Officer of Progroup Jurgen Heindl, you built up Progroup. From your point of view, what characterises the company’s DNA? Three things: the absolute reliability that we display to all stakeholders - primarily of course to the customers, but also the employees, partners, investors, and local communities in which we are based. The second thing is a high level of reflection. Every step that we make is weighed up very carefully beforehand, every...

   HOW A       PLANT IS    CREATED The most modern paper machine of its type is currently being constructed in SandersdorfBrehna. PM3 from Progroup is pioneering, in its technology and its performance capacity. Its construction also demonstrates that Progroup pays great attention to sustainability issues. For example, among other things PM3 is being equipped with a new type of circuating water treatment plant (see page 32). l A quick recap – from the ground-breaking ceremony to the present day.   Symbolic: The construction of PM3 began on 10 August 2018 with the symbolic ground-breaking...

  The level of investment is 465 million euros. The first excavation and first scoop deep into the ground took place on 21 February 2019. The foundation beneath PM3 extends up to 14.5 metres deep into the soil.   View of the carcass of the paper machine hall, which will measure 50 x 400 metres when finished. The construction work is also taking place in the order of the subsequent production process: from stock preparation, sorting and water treatment through to the paper machine. Heritage shapes the future

RICHTFEST (POMS Prof. Or. Arinin Wllllngmann -> The slogan used at the ground-breaking ceremony on 22 August 2019 was: “Lots of money and effort is being invested here, diligent hands have achieved a great deal.” 1300 people are working on the 45 hectare site to construct the plant, which will ultimately extend for almost 2 kilometres in total. -> The biggest recovered paper drum of its type in the world: Weighing 340 tonnes, 48 metres long, 4.50 metres in diameter. It processes the recovered paper gently with a very high yield. The drum pulper (in the picture) makes it capable of being...