Consistently Successful

Production at the new PW14 corrugated sheet feeder plant will start in the first quarter of 2023. Progroup has invested around 72 million euros in the high-tech production facility and created 50 new jobs. PW14 is adjacent to the existing PW07 plant and produces up to 200,000 tonnes of corrugated sheetboards per year. This now makes Stryków one of the world's largest locations for corrugated board production.

Progroup is investing more than 90 million euros in a new corrugated sheetfeeder plant in Rhineland-Palatinate that will be part of a sustainable packaging park. Production of corrugated board is set to begin in 2023. To mark the start of the construction work in fitting style, the company invited guests to attend the ground-breaking ceremony.

Progroup is expanding with another corrugated sheetboard plant in Germany. In order to be able to successfully cater for the continuing growth in the market and customer demands for reliable deliveries and quality products, what is now the eleventh corrugated sheet board plant is being constructed in Eisfeld/Thuringia. Production is scheduled to start in the fourth quarter of 2019.

The first quarter of 2019 will see the start of production at the most efficient and most powerful mega-corrugated sheetboard plant anywhere in the industry. The annual capacity of 235,000 tonnes will be achieved with a working width of 3.35 m and a working speed of up to 400 m/min.

Almost exactly to the day, Progroup will be celebrating its 25th anniversary at its birthplace on 3 November 2017.

A look back into the future

The combined heat and power plant supplies steam and power to the Propapier PM2 paper machine situated in the immediate vicinity in Eisenhüttenstadt. With Propower, Progroup ensures that it has largely no reliance on fossil fuels. As with all technical facilities at Progroup, the Propower power plant also sets the benchmark in power plant construction and operation.

The third step towards the east: In Stryków what was at the time the largest corrugated sheetboard plant was started up in Poland. With production of 165,000 tonnes of corrugated board with a working width of 3.35 metres and a working speed of 400 m/min, it was one of the most powerful in Europe. The showcase plant was rounded off with a fully automatic high-bay warehouse with 13,000 pallet storage locations.

To bolster and strengthen its activities in the heart of Europe, Progroup expanded across the Channel to Great Britain. In Ellesmere Port near Liverpool, a corrugated board machine with a width of 2.50 metres and an annual capacity of 85,000 tonnes began operating for the British and Irish market.

Once again, world records demonstrated the Prowell Group’s role as technology leader. At the time it was commissioned, PW05 in Schüttorf was the largest corrugated sheetboard plant in Europe with an annual capacity of 155,000 tonnes. Another unique feature within Europe was the fully automatic high-bay warehouse with 13,000 pallet storage locations as a buffer between production and logistics.

The foundation and start of Prologistik safeguarded the intralogistics between Propapier, Prowell and its customers with a dedicated fleet of vehicles.

The start of production in Rokycany, using what was at the time the world’s largest corrugated board machine, was the first step on the path to highly efficient corrugated board production. The first corrugated board machine with a working width of 3.30 metres allowed 140,000 tonnes of corrugated sheetboard to be produced each year. By supplying products to the markets in Eastern Europe, Prowell also expanded its business activities throughout Central Europe.

The expansion of the EU to the east opened up new markets offering great potential for growth. In Burg near Magdeburg, the first Prowell corrugated board machine with a working width of 2,80 metres started production. Continuous development of the control technology enabled an annual production capacity of 130,000 tonnes to be achieved – a significant increase in productivity.

The network integration of the corrugated board plants and the links to customers demanded continuously growing consultancy and technical support from an expert IT service department. At the same time, the demand for support with marketing rose. Both of these functions were assigned to Proservice.

Jürgen Heindl founded Prowell in 1991 and shortly after this embarked on corrugated sheetboard production with the first Prowell plant in Offenbach/Queich. Even back then, a CIM system was installed and connected to an online ordering service, and this is regarded as the precursor to the Industry 4.0 approach that Progroup adopts today.