Business Medal of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate: Ceremony of the SÜW district for Progroup founder Jürgen Heindl
It was in 1992 that Heindl started Progroup’s corrugated board production facility in Offenbach a. d. Queich. The family company has successfully pursued its ambitious growth strategy ever since. Today Progroup operates three paper factories, eleven corrugated sheetfeeder plants, a logistics company and a combined heat and power plant in six countries in Central Europe.
“Jürgen Heindl has given outstanding service to the economy across the Southern Palatinate region. He is the shining example of our innovative SMEs and shows that a sustainable future is being created in Rhineland-Palatinate. As the district administrator for the Südliche Weinstraße region, I am particularly proud that Progroup’s European success story started here with us in the Palatinate,” says administrator Dietmar Seefeldt.
Enduring commitment to the Southern Palatinate region
Jürgen Heindl feels a strong bond with the state and the region around Landau and Offenbach a. d. Queich: “This is where the Progroup story began and our journey ‘from the Palatinate region out into the world’. Even though we are expanding our plants throughout Europe, it is still very important to us to provide a boost to our home region.”
In 2019, the company along with its customer K2 invested around 17 million euros in modernising the site in Offenbach and in doing so signified that it has an enduring commitment to the region. In 2020, Group Office in Landau was expanded for the second time. By expanding the office, the company created space for 250 highly skilled jobs here.
Growth story continues
At the end of August 2021, Progroup announced the construction of another corrugated sheetfeeder plant between Petersberg and Höheischweiler. The company is investing more than 90 million euros in this new factory building. “By making this investment, we want to do our bit to develop the Palatinate economy and thus also give something back to the region,” says Heindl.
With production scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2023, 60 new jobs for highly skilled employees and apprentices will be created. “During the development planning process, we received a lot of support from the local authority in Thaleischweiler/Wallhalben and the two communities of Petersberg and Höheischweiler; we are very grateful for this,” says the company’s founder in stressing the unwavering support from the local politicians.
Progroup continues to grow internationally as well. The company’s twelfth production facility for corrugated board sheets and its third plant in Poland is currently being constructed in Stryków, Poland. With its production capacity of 825 million square metres per annum, Stryków will be one of the biggest corrugated board production sites anywhere in the world.
In addition, further growth projects in France and Italy are in the final planning stage. The level of investment in the current national and international expansion projects is around 300 million euros. A total of around 200 new, highly skilled jobs are being created in Germany and abroad. “These increases in capacity will enable us to continue to offer our customers the high reliability of supply and product quality they are used to and grow together with them on an equal footing,” says Jürgen Heindl in emphasising the importance of his long-term growth strategy.
Good neighbour: Progroup committed to the region
As well as his achievements in business, Jürgen Heindl is also committed to social causes in the region. He gets involved by ensuring that Progroup supports projects which promote children and young people in particular. This may be in education but also in sport, or may involve specifically supporting disadvantaged children and young people.
About Progroup
Progroup AG, located in Landau in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, is one of the leading manufacturers of containerboard and corrugated board in Europe. Since it was founded in 1991 in Offenbach/Queich, the company has been pursuing a consistent growth strategy which, in addition to technological leadership, is also based on the use of innovative and environmentally friendly production technologies. Progroup operates production sites in six countries in Central Europe. These currently include three paper factories, eleven corrugated sheetfeeder plants, a logistics company and an RDF power station. With 1,455 employees, the company generated sales of around 881 million euros in 2020.
Press contact
Martin Wilhelm, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
E-mail: martin.wilhelm@progroup.ag
Mobile: 0173-3680649
