Hans-Joachim Boekstegers has been Managing Director and CEO of the Multivac Group since 2002. The Allgäu-based machine manufacturer employs around 5,100 people and is represented by almost 80 subsidiaries on all continents.
pj: Mr Boekstegers, what is the current focus at Multivac?
Hans-Joachim Boekstegers: We are consistently driving forward the expansion of our international sales and service organisation in order to Close to the customer to be. We have invested in this area like no other market player in recent years - and we will continue to do so in the coming months. However, our goals also include consistently expanding our portfolio in line with changing market requirements and thus being the innovation leader in our industry. One of our current focuses is also on expanding our product portfolio with regard to upstream and downstream process steps. In future, we will therefore increasingly focus on „Better Packaging“ on „Better Processing“ set.
pj: What particular challenges did you face last year?
Hans-Joachim Boekstegers: Multivac is known to have by far the most comprehensive product portfolio in the area of thermoforming packaging machines. According to our market observation, in 2016 we were also able to achieve a significant increase in the area of Automatic traysealer to become the market-leading supplier. Equally pleasing was the development of our MCP (Medical Devices, Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals). This strong growth in our product portfolio also requires us to Innovative knowledge management. We have successfully implemented various concepts in this area in recent years.
pj: How do you assess the economic situation?
Hans-Joachim Boekstegers: Generally speaking, the markets for packaging machines in some traditional markets tend to be saturated. In addition, investment behaviour is likely to be moderate due to current and political trends. In Europe, for example, we expect a below-average growth curve. In particular, we continue to see North and South America, but also in other regions such as Australia and Oceania a pleasing Potential for our business.
pj: What effects do you expect for your company?
Hans-Joachim Boekstegers: We operate worldwide and are excellently positioned with our sales and service network. If there are protectionist measures in the USA, for example, our production facility in North America should not be affected by the planned increase in import duties or changes to the tax system to the same extent as companies that import products into the USA. The same applies to South America, where we have established a production facility in Brazil.
pj: What do you see as the most important tasks and trends in the industry?
Hans-Joachim Boekstegers: The topic of Consumer protection at the top of the agenda. The main focus here is on developing solutions that enable seamless traceability along the value chain. However, we are also looking at the Sustainability of our packaging solutions as well as the conservation of resources in their production and we address the various issues surrounding the topic of packaging. Industry 4.0 and Digitisation on. Technically, we are already in a position to provide all the data required for the „Internet of Things“ We are working on concepts to ensure the necessary data security for our customers.
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