Built for tomorrow

Companies don’t just grow from one day to the next. They grow with ideas, with consistent decisions and with people who implement them every single day. This year, three anniversaries are representative of precisely this development within Progroup: The PM1 paper machine in Burg can reflect on a history stretching back 25 years, the PW02 corrugated sheetfeeder plant in Douvrin, France is celebrating its 30th anniversary, and the PW05 corrugated sheetfeeder plant in Schüttorf is 20 years old. What unites all three sites is the courage to pursue new paths, embrace technological developments at an early stage and invest in the future with real vision. At the same time, they show that lasting success is always the result of dedicated employees who support changes and keep evolving.

When Progroup commissioned the PM1 paper machine in Burg in 2001, this was a step of great strategic significance. Up until then, the company had been reliant on purchasing paper. However, founder Jürgen Heindl recognised early on that the increasing fluctuations in the paper market could only be compensated for in the long term if the company produced its own paper. By founding the new company Propapier and constructing PM1, Progroup set itself on the path to being more independent and creating even more value within the company itself. The investment also set a technical benchmark. With a speed of up to 1,500 metres per minute, PM1 was the fastest liner paper machine in the world at the time. At the same time, Progroup set new standards for resource-conserving paper production based on recovered paper with a closed water cycle. It was a pioneering achievement at the time and remains a key pillar of the company’s sustainability strategy to the present day. PM1 heralded the start of a development that then continued consistently with the addition of the paper machines PM2 in Eisenhüttenstadt and PM3 in Sandersdorf-Brehna. So looking back, Burg was much more than just a new production site. It represented the start of a new phase in the company’s history. With around 160 employees, PM1 is also very important to the region it is located in. Many people have worked at the plant since it was first commissioned. As an important training enterprise, Progroup offers training in seven different professions and up to ten new apprenticeships each year. In 2026, the company was recognised for its commitment to apprenticeships by Germany’s Federal Employment Agency as part of its “Week of Training”.

Five years before PM1, another significant chapter in the company’s history had already been written in France. When Progroup decided to open its PW02 corrugated sheetfeeder plant in Douvrin in 1996, it was venturing beyond the German border for the first time. The company’s second corrugated sheetboard plant at the time opened up new markets in northern France and Belgium and doubled its production capacity in Central Europe. Progroup thus laid the foundation for its international development and created the basis for the European production network it has today. PW02 is the corporate group’s oldest active plant and a key part of the production network. The site has kept developing over the years and embraced digital processes and intelligent networking of production sites early on. Developments that people almost take for granted today were truly pioneering at the end of the 1990s. Many of the employees in Douvrin have also been committed to the company and overseen the plant’s development for decades. As part of the anniversary celebration, a number of colleagues were honoured for their long service to the company, with many of them -working at the site for as long as 30 years. This demonstrates a close affiliation and is one reason why the site has been so successful.

While Douvrin paved the way to -Europe and Burg heralded the start of the company producing its own paper, the PW05 corrugated sheetfeeder plant in Schüttorf is synonymous with the successful packaging park model. In 2010, this was the site where the well-established packaging park concept was first implemented. This concept combines corrugated sheetboard production with further processing. Short distances, closely interlinked processes and digital networking between Progroup and the packaging park partner ensure that material flows are optimised, transport routes are reduced and delivery times are shortened. The concept also increases the reliable supply of products and helps to curtail emissions. Even 20 years after the site first opened, it continues to evolve. At the beginning of 2026, Progroup secured a new partner for the packaging park in the form of Akarton GmbH (see here). This cooperation strengthens the network of independent packaging manufacturers and underlines the partnership-based approach that Progroup has always been renowned for.

The stories of Burg, Douvrin and Schüttorf have one key theme in common. Each site is synonymous with a decision that has had a profound impact on Progroup: the internationalisation of the company, the start of the company producing its own paper, or the development of integrated production concepts. Together, they show that at Progroup innovation is never an end in itself. New technologies are always created with the aim of making processes more efficient, conserving resources and being a reliable partner to customers for a long period of time. This development would not have been possible without the people who work at the sites. Many of them have been with Progroup for decades, contributing their experience and helping the plants to keep developing. This has also been supported by a corporate culture that does not just focus on short-term success, but aims to deliver sustainable growth over generations. With three paper factories, 14 corrugated sheetfeeder plants, two waste-to-energy plants, a dedicated logistics company and around 1,800 employees in six European countries, Progroup is in a stronger position today than it has ever been.