Carsten Strenger has been Managing Director of Illig Maschinenbau in Heilbronn, a leading manufacturer of thermoforming, packaging and mould systems, since this spring. The 51-year-old industrial engineer is dynamically developing the long-established company and steering it through economically challenging times.
pj: Mr Strenger, what are the current priorities? with Illig?
Carsten Strenger: Illig continues to focus on customer proximity and market-orientated products. In order to become even better in this area, we have reorganised with a business unit structure and made our operational processes more efficient. As a result, we are even closer to our customers and ensure our service and sales readiness as well as high product quality.
pj: What particular challenges did you face last year?
Carsten Strenger: As I am new to Illig, I can only speak for the company. The company is still characterised by Global plastics debate, which is leading to uncertainty in the global markets. Illig faced up to these challenges early on and adapted its structures accordingly. It is now clear - in the coronavirus era - that this was exactly the right thing to do.
pj: How do you assess the economic situation?
Carsten Strenger: After months of uncertainty, we are seeing the market pick up again, which means that a sense of optimism is prevailing. It is important not to lose sight of strategic projects in order to continue setting trends as the industry's innovation leader.
pj: What effects do you expect for Your company?
Carsten Strenger: The current situation naturally also affects Illig in the Incoming orders sensitive. The resulting capacity adjustment and restructuring were only logical. Together with the support of the owner families, who continue to back Illig, we are well positioned for the future.
pj: What do you see as the most important tasks and trends in the industry?
Carsten Strenger: As no standardised regulations are to be expected with regard to the plastics debate - either at European level or beyond - the challenge will be to respond flexibly to customer requirements that are derived from specific market conditions. Under the umbrella of packaging development, our experts are developing Pactivity® and tool development Toolsys® together with our customers the trends of tomorrow designed for recycling. In contrast to injection moulding technology, we can work more economically in thermoforming by reducing or combining materials with higher productivity. We are also very flexible and fast when it comes to material processing. Our diverse Illig systems can reliably process biodegradable plastics, recycled materials, plastic-cardboard combinations or post-consumer films, even up to 100 per cent cardboard applications.
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