RKW Expands Production at its Wasserburg Site

Frankenthal/Wasserburg, May 27, 2020 - The RKW Group focuses on the future and invests in a novel production line at its Wasserburg site, in which a multicolour printing unit and a coating unit are combined in a completely new way.

In the future, in a shortened production process, around 250 million square meters of pouch film per year will roll off the production line at this facility. The film is particularly soft and low-rustle, has a siliconized inner surface, can be printed in four colors and is used as outer packaging for femcare products. With its patented soft embossing process, RKW gives the film excellent mechanical, haptic and optical properties.

The machine is a prototype, planned and designed at RKW Wasserburg – including electronics and software. Local companies did the construction. "It was a complex, challenging task that showed how much expertise and innovative strength our workforce possesses," says site director Johannes Heintges proudly of the project team.

The adaptation of the infrastructure is also part of a continuous and smooth supply of the new line. For example, a new exhaust gas purification system, as well as storage buildings and handling facilities for printing inks were installed and a 100,000-liter tank for solvent supply was sunk into the ground. In this way, the integrated printing plant is supplied fully automatically with its own pipeline network.

A particularly positive effect of the investment: RKW Wasserburg produces around the clock in shifts – with the commissioning of the new plant a good 15 new jobs can be created for the region.

The Wasserburg site was founded in 1964 and has been part of the RKW Group since 2002. Since its foundation, Wasserburg has specialized in the development and production of polyethylene and polypropylene films. Today, films for applications in the fields of hygiene and medical - which recently proved to be system relevant - as well as packaging films for industry and films for technical applications are mainly produced here.

The RKW Group is an independent, privately owned company headquartered in Mannheim, Germany and one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of excellent film solutions. RKW is the market leader in the areas of hygiene and agricultural films, films for the beverage industry and packaging for powdery goods. In addition, the company makes films and nonwovens for medical applications, for the chemical and converting industries as well as for the construction sector. RKW’s sustainable films enable its customers to improve the daily life of consumers all over the world. In the fiscal year 2020, RKW generated total sales of EUR 784 million. About 3,000 employees process 350,000 metric tons of plastic materials at 19 locations around the world. True to the corporate slogan “When excellence matters”, the company, which was founded in 1957, offers outstanding performance in terms of quality and service. Respect and reliability are the core values of RKW and form the basis of the company’s success.

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