PAGENDARM BTT - Stronger Than Ever

//wifag is a business division of the WIFAG-Polytype Holding AG based in Fribourg, Switzerland and is successfully active in the market with a new self-image. The premium supplier of printing technology has transformed itself into a development and automation expert.

About 40 senior employees from German //wifag user plants as well as from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway and Finland obtained an exclusive insight at the user meeting into new developments from Fribourg and //wifag newspaper technology of tomorrow as well as retrofit possibilities and press repurposing solutions.

Participants welcomed the words of //wifag CEO Jörgen Karlsson in particular. His main message to customers and users had to do with certainty, the certainty that an economically successful supplier has potential in the newly restructured WIFAG-Polytype Holding AG for intensive research and development.

Jörgen Karlsson: "Today //wifag is very, very stable, not just when you look at its financial statements but also because our business model works." This model also features contracts involving retrofits and upgrades. Within this group of companies, //wifag is the frontrunner, especially in automation. The developers for newspaper printing machine technology derive the financial base they need from the fact that other business areas profit from innovations in web monitoring, for example.

A substantial part of the German speaking user meeting 2013 was devoted to insights into the Rhein Main printing center. For two and a half years, this facility has been operating a //wifag evolution 473/6, a six-plate wide web printing press in nine cylinder satellite design with a total of eight printing towers, eight reel stands and five folders. Every day, the four 48-page machine sections print about 300,000 daily newspapers of Verlagsgruppe Rhein Main (VRM) and Medienhaus Südhessen (MHS) in 31 different editions. In addition, this press handles numerous weeklies and church newspapers with runs amounting to about 1.5 million copies per week. The 160 employees in the new printing center use a grand total of about 25,000 tons of paper every year.

On January 7, 2013, Mr. Ernst Meier took over the Sales management of the Polytype Converting Group, located in Fribourg Switzerland and also in Hamburg Germany.

He has a degree in mechanical engineering from the Federal Tech of Zürich (ETH) and started his career as sales engineer for the Textile Machinery Division of Sulzer AG. 1987 he started working for Bachofen + Meier AG, Bülach  (BMB).  Before his appointment as Managing Director in 2001, he held several positions within the BMB organization. Meanwhile he has more than 20 years of experience in the coating& laminating industry. i.e. with  renowned companies such as BMB as well as Andritz-BMB.

In Mr. Ernst Meier, we managed to recruit a manager with strategic thinking skills for our company. Due to his sales and technical expertise, combined with his management experience, he meets all the necessary criteria to further develop Polytype Converting Group as a member of the wifag//polytype Group. His vast experience, not only in technical aspects but also in the fields of market positioning and strategic partnerships with customers and suppliers is extremely valuable.

More information available at www.wifag-polytype.com and www.pagendarm.com.

On May 1st 2012, Mr. Esa-Matti Aalto took over the management of Pagendarm BTT GmbH.
Mr. Aalto has many years of experience in the industrial specialized machinery sector and has worked for several renowned companies, such as Voith Paper, a leading supplier to the pulp and paper industry, where he was managing the New Business Development activities of the company in the field of chemical and mechanical pulp production.
In 2008 he joint Pagendarm BTT as Sales and Business Development Manager for the first time. With the merger of Pagendarm and Polytype in 2009 Mr. Aalto took over the responsibility for the strategic reorientation of Pagendarm’s sales organization and also headed a newly formed business development group between both companies.
In 2011 Mr. Aalto joint the German based bio fuels and biomass gasification company Choren Industries GmbH but was hired back by wifag//polytype in November of the same year to take over the lead as Business and Operations Manager of Pagendarm BTT GmbH.
In Mr. Esa-Matti Aalto, we managed to recruit a manager with strategic thinking skills for our company. Due to his technical expertise, combined with his management experience, he meets all the necessary criteria to further develop Pagendarm BTT GmbH as a member of the wifag//polytype Group. His vast experience, not only in technical aspects but also in the fields of market positioning and strategic partnerships with customers and suppliers is extremely valuable.

More information available at www.wifag-polytype.com and www.pagendarm.com.

ICE daily: “What benefits do you expect from the cooperation between your companies?”

Detlef Merklinger (CEO Polytype Converting AG): “The general idea is that Huaying will continue to promote their existing machine portfolio under the brand Huaying. In addition to that we have selected a common range of machinery which will be promoted under the brand name Polytype-Huaying. If Huaying for example builds a 300 metre silicone line with our components then it will be sold with our common name.”

ICE daily: “Will these machines also be used outside the Chinese market?”

D. Merklinger: “These machines are made either for the local Chinese market or for markets where Huaying is already selling today. Indeed about 80% of Huaying machines are located in countries where we as Polytype do not have any sales activities.”

Xu Peng (General Manager Huaying Soft-Packging Equipment): “Polytype is very famous in this industry, they have a lot of experience. During recent years Chinese packaging producers have more and more

realised that coating gives added value to their products and also can bring new business opportunities for them. More and more users pay attention to new coating technologies. The collaboration with Polytype will optimise our manufacturing skill and will give our customers better services.”

ICE daily: “What is the structure of this joint venture?”

D. Merklinger: “Polytype bought 20% of the Huaying shares. The total value of the deal is 1 Million Euro, to be paid partly in cash and partly in know-how transfer. We ensured the possibility to extend this contingent. We really want to have a long-term relationship and wish to support Huaying on their way. For this reason we also have 30% of board voting rights. That means we’re not only investors, we really have the chance to discuss together the strategy for future business areas. Our goal is to be successful together.”

ICE daily: “What are your concrete goals?”

D. Merklinger: “For sure Huaying is interested in getting components and knowledge from us to extend their business in Asia. Our interest is that we are able to supply a `beginner generation´ of machines to get a foot inside the Asian market and get in contact with customers who might be interested in high level Polytype lines later on. Another point is that we would like to improve our service situation in China: With a service partner such as Huaying we can optimize serving our machines and get support in installations.”

ICE daily: “Will this strategy effecct your European customers?”

D. Merklinger:“We are certainly not considering manufacturing certain elements in China for cost reasons and then selling them to our best clients in Europe or overseas. What we are doing is to put Huaying in the position to be able to enter a market in which they are currently not a player. By doing so we help to make the Polytype brand better known, which can help us win new customers in the future. At the same time we can increase our level of service to our existing client base in China, which we already serve with the help of Huaying. Another consideration of ours is to build our series of flotation dryers for Asian installations with Huaying instead of in Germany. In summary, the cooperation with Huaying is for us an add-on business and we don’t want to substitute anything but is a means to find new ways to enter new markets.”

ICE daily: “Will you still employ your own Polytype sales staff for the Chinese market?”

D. Merklinger: “The cooperation with Huaying is specifically restricted to the upper commodity market. All other lines are built as normal in Switzerland and sold by our own Chinese salesperson.”

Esa-Matti Aalto (Business & Operations Manager Pagendarm BTT GmbH): “If we consider the drying technology market, we are not looking at the upper end of the pyramid. Indeed we will offer dryers just for the Chinese market which are no longer sold in Europe by Pagendarm BTT.”

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