SAUERESSIG Packaging – An International Success Story
Press | 12. September 2023
Seventy years ago, three young founders from Vreden in the western Münsterland region took the courageous step of starting their own business. At the time, no one could have imagined that this decision would pave the way for Saueressig to become one of the world’s largest suppliers of gravure printing tools.
Since its founding in 1953, the Saueressig name has stood for outstanding quality, a customer-focused approach and impressive technical expertise. Always keeping pace with the times, Saueressig promotes and develops technological innovations while fostering a supportive corporate culture. These are just some of the factors that have made Saueressig a leading partner for gravure and embossing cylinders for decades.
In 2008, the US-based Matthews International Corporation entered the gravure cylinder business through its acquisition of Saueressig and expanded its international presence further in 2011 by acquiring Kroma in Türkiye. Three years later, the integration of SGK, a global leader in brand solutions, resulted in the consolidation of all companies operating in brand solutions and prepress under the SGK name. In 2015, the Saueressig brand was established under SGK for all gravure-related business activities.
The packaging and printing industry is constantly evolving. With new regulations and requirements continually being introduced, it is essential to have a competent partner at your side who can prepare your packaging in accordance with the relevant guidelines. Together with his large team and the two General Managers, Roman Gevers, responsible for the Saueressig Packaging East Cluster, and Frank Hüning, responsible for the Saueressig Packaging West Cluster, Bünyamin Özyan, Vice President of the Saueressig Packaging Group, is working to ensure that the packaging industry continues to receive high-quality and intelligent gravure printing solutions in the future.
Today, Saueressig offers products and services for a wide range of industries and operates at various international locations. The strength of Saueressig Packaging lies in its highly standardised production network, which extends across Germany, Poland, Türkiye and Indonesia. The individual locations are regarded as a shared resource for digital processes such as KS coordination services and reproduction, enabling a high degree of interchangeability in terms of products and employee capacities. Particularly in Germany and Poland, this shared capacity also extends to operational processes such as TD technical documentation and embossing processes.
The restructuring of Saueressig Packaging in Poland over recent months has set the company on a promising new course. Roman Gevers, who has served as Managing Director since December, contributes his extensive experience and leadership skills to the management of the business unit. The appointment of Adam Jankowiak as head of Sales is equally significant. With his specialist knowledge and commitment, he is expected to continue advancing the company in this important area.
The launch of the “Sprint” reorganisation project in January quickly produced positive results. By optimising its organisational structures and workflows, Saueressig Packaging in Poland is able to operate more efficiently and competitively. This was further reinforced by the OrgDesign workshop in May, during which clear responsibilities and improved working methods were defined.
One of the pioneering developments was the creation of a Center of Excellence for the Tobacco and Flexible Packaging sectors in Poland. Centralising all reproduction work at this location not only increases efficiency but also improves quality and standardisation in these key areas. The subsequent distribution of the completed data to the individual sites ensures a smooth production process.
With these significant changes, Saueressig Packaging is strengthening its position as a leading company in Poland’s packaging industry. Saueressig also clearly distinguishes itself from its competitors through its locations in Izmir and Istanbul, Türkiye, where printing cylinders are manufactured and customer-focused services are provided.
Through a series of strategic acquisitions, Saueressig continues to expand its extensive gravure printing portfolio and establish itself as a major player in the international packaging printing market. Last year, the acquisition of Münsterland-based gravure printing manufacturer Ahler Gravuren GmbH, or AKG, marked another milestone on the path towards fully automated production. The integration of Europe’s largest fully automated Autocon line for cylinder production, together with the combined expertise of AKG’s talented employees, provides the gravure printing industry with impressive capabilities.
The acquisition of the French-Turkish design agency Paristanbul by partner SKG and Saueressig Türkiye is also helping to expand the portfolio and design expertise in the field of gravure printing. Paristanbul specialises in brand business, smart sourcing and reproduction and is currently being integrated into the Group’s comprehensive corporate structures.
Through these targeted acquisitions, Saueressig is strengthening its position as a leading provider in the packaging printing industry and setting new standards by gaining access to state-of-the-art technologies and a diverse range of expertise. This expanded expertise will enable the company to continue offering customised solutions to its customers and to address the global challenges of gravure printing with combined strength and innovative spirit.
The Product Portfolio
With its broad product portfolio, Saueressig Packaging goes far beyond conventional gravure and embossing cylinders, demonstrating its innovative strength and commitment to advancing the packaging printing industry through progressive technologies and solutions. Close collaboration between the company’s in-house research and development department, internal design centre and production facilities enables Saueressig to position itself as a full-service provider. From design creation by the experienced repro team to the professional manufacture of cylinders according to individual specifications, Saueressig supports the entire process. There are virtually no limits when it comes to individual requirements, wishes and special features.
One of the products within the extensive portfolio is the cLynx.cylinder. Its development focused on the issue that manufactured printing cylinders often contain defects that may result in customer complaints. To address this problem, Saueressig developed its own software solution, which scans the entire cylinder and uses AI and computer vision methods to compare the scan results with the imaging data. This allows missing elements, scratches and various types of surface defects to be detected at an early stage. The implementation of this technology has resulted in a dramatic reduction in complaint rates. In addition, production time in the manufacture of printing formes can be reduced by at least one day, as time-consuming processes such as cylinder proof printing or surface inspection after chrome plating are no longer required. Special modules such as print-free moiré detection and print simulation complete the range of cLynx.cylinder functions. The new architecture of the cLynx.cylinder software is currently close to release, while potential applications for this type of surface inspection in other areas are already being explored.
Another product in the portfolio is cLynx.lite, which operates in a similar way to cLynx.cylinder. However, the cylinder is scanned within just a few seconds by capturing an image across the full cylinder width during a single cylinder rotation. The cLynx.lite machine is more compact and cost-effective than the cLynx version with an axially movable camera. Compared with cLynx.cylinder, cLynx.lite focuses solely on detecting surface defects in chrome or copper. An innovative feature is its ability to distinguish whether defects are recessed or raised. In addition to conventional printing forme manufacturers, cLynx.lite is likely to be particularly attractive to gravure printing companies. The prototype of this unique machine will already be completed in time for drupa 2024.
Another fascinating project in Saueressig’s portfolio is “W2G: Web2Gravure”. The project addresses the issue that a large number of production parameters from various sources must be collected and entered into target systems for cylinder production, requiring considerable time and effort. As a solution, Saueressig developed a simple browser-based software application that significantly accelerates order creation. The time required is reduced from approximately two hours per order to just a few minutes. The project is currently in the testing phase for modules 1 and 2 as well as module 3, and consideration is already being given to how the system could also be used in other areas.
Saueressig is also working on “Matches”, an AI-powered system used in two different modules. The “Similarity Search” module addresses the challenge of quickly locating orders containing similar image content. Searches can be carried out either using a reference image or by entering text, making it considerably easier to find relevant content. The “Commonality Search” module focuses on using previously manufactured printing cylinders or image data from existing orders when developing new products in order to reduce costs. Both modules have successfully completed the development phase and are close to launch.
Its international strength, global production network and innovative products position the Saueressig Group ideally to meet market requirements and provide innovative solutions for customers worldwide. The foundations have been laid to continue successfully addressing market challenges in the future and providing customers with innovative solutions.
