Carl Macher Still on Course for Growth

Carl Macher Still on Course for Growth

Carl Macher GmbH & Co. KG in Brunnenthal, Germany, a member of Kunert Group and a Hidden Champion in the European core board industry segment, is continuing to expand its production capacity. Together with its sister company Papeteries du Rhin, production capacity is expected to exceed 300,000 tonnes per year by 2020. The company has invested over 10 million euros in automation and logistics technology in order to secure the internal supply of Paul & Co's paper core plants and to guarantee its capacity to deliver premium-quality core board to numerous bulk purchasers throughout Europe.

A new logistics building was commissioned in Brunnenthal to allow for Carl Macher to increase its production volume. Starting this summer, modifications to the technology of its production line to increase efficiency in terms of energy and raw materials will enable the company to generate maximum possible fibre yield. One such modification involves an upgrade to the headbox and dryer section of paper machine number 3. The two rewinders currently installed are moved in order to significantly lengthen the dryer section. This will increase both the economy and the sustainability of the system. In the future, the finished products will be transported to the new logistics building situated above the paper machine hall via an elevator 28 meters (approx. 90 feet) high and a bridge 280 meters (over 900 feet) long. With nearly 14,000 square meters (over 150,000 square feet) of storage, the new warehouse (which will be operated using autonomous floor conveyor vehicles) will accommodate almost an entire month's worth of production. This substantial investment to increase the capacity of the Brunnenthal location echoes the motivation and commitment of the approximately 135 employees. It also highlights the excellent performance of Carl Macher GmbH & Co. KG.

Papeteries du Rhin, Kunert Group's second paper manufacturer and located in Mulhouse in the Alsace region of France, has also been increasing its production volume steadily for the past few years. The initials PDR are known across Europe to stand for highest-quality core board boasting ply bond strengths of up to 1,000 joules per square meter.

What's more, compared to the industry average, both companies achieve their excellent results with very low consumption of water and primary energy. Carl Macher achieved this
with repeated retrofits to its energy generation and wastewater treatment systems, while Papeteries du Rhin opted to cooperate with the waste management association of the Mulhouse region and the French national agency for energy savings. As a result of their environmentally friendly power generation, the two companies have reduced their CO2 emissions by more than 70 percent.
Furthermore, they produce core board from 100 percent recycled paper. In the last few decades, Kunert Group has played a major role in proving that this can be done – even for products of the highest qualities.

With these and other major investments, in addition to the networked expertise of the Kunert Group as a whole, the two paper mills Carl Macher and Papeteries du Rhin have achieved unparalleled performance and secured front-runner positions in the core board market.