Heidelberg forms three packaging partnerships with Pack-Smart, Metsä Board, pfenning Group

GERMANY – Heidelberg has established packaging partnerships with Pack-Smart, Metsä Board, and the pfenning group, centred on linking production stages into a single workflow to improve automation, security, sustainability, and transparency in packaging operations.

The company’s work with Metsä Board covers the use of paperboard materials in folding carton production within Heidelberg’s packaging network, focusing on consumer goods packaging including cosmetics. 

The cooperation brings together Metsä Board’s fibre-based board materials with Heidelberg’s printing and process capabilities. 

Planned activities include joint research and development, pilot runs, and customer demonstrations at Heidelberg’s Print Media Center and Metsä Board’s Excellence Centre and Design Studios.

Serialisation and Traceability

The Pack-Smart partnership is focused on incorporating inkjet systems for serialisation, authentication, and traceability into packaging production lines, intended to support product verification and tracking for brand manufacturers across cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverages. 

The two companies are also seeking to establish standardised packaging systems for selected uses, including folding cartons, flexible packaging, and labels. 

For pharmaceutical brands facing serialisation mandates, integrating authentication directly into the packaging line reduces the risk of counterfeiting and streamlines compliance reporting.

Connecting Information and Material Flows

The partnership with the pfenning group concerns the connection of information and material flows across production and logistics, designed to respond to demand for faster delivery, cut costs, greater flexibility, and tighter documentation and traceability in areas such as pharmaceutical logistics. 

For logistics providers, integrating packaging production data with warehouse and transport systems enables real-time visibility, reducing the gap between “packed” and “shipped”.

Heidelberg’s Packaging Growth Strategy

Jürgen Otto, CEO of Heidelberg, explained that the packaging market is a key growth driver for Heidelberg, driven by global trends such as population growth, urbanisation, and the desire for greater sustainability. 

He noted that Heidelberg is systematically expanding its solutions to cover the entire manufacturing process in packaging production, from substrate selection through printing, finishing, and logistics, all the way to digital integration. 

As an end-to-end system integrator, he added, Heidelberg also collaborates with partner companies to create real added value for customers through higher productivity, greater transparency, automation, and sustainability.

When the Press Talks to the Warehouse

A folding carton printed on a Heidelberg press should not disappear into a logistics black hole. The pfenning partnership aims to connect the press to the pallet, linking production data to warehouse systems. 

For brand owners, that integration means knowing exactly when a batch was finished, where it is stored, and when it ships, without manual handoffs.

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