March 19, 2013
Successful jubilee year
Within just a few decades, WILD-INDAG has developed into the global market leader in pouch technology and the leading supplier of process technology and machines for the food industry. On its 50th anniversary, the company from Eppelheim can take pride in its continuing excellent track record. Following yet another successful business year in 2012, WILD-INDAG’s machine production is expected to be working at full capacity all year on machines and equipment scheduled for shipment to Europe, Africa, Asia and the USA within 2013.
WILD-INDAG has been developing and providing modern processing units (e.g. for dosing and mixing syrups) and machinery to the beverage and food industry for five decades. Today, 200 filling machines are in operation in 30 countries and 650 processing units in over 60 countries around the world.
Company founder Rudolf Wild paved the way for this success with the stand-up pouch - developed specially for Capri-Sonne - made of an aluminum composite foil. “My father had faith in the packaging right from the outset and, against all the odds, spent years optimizing it and making production more efficient,” Dr. Hans-Peter Wild recalls of the company’s early days. “Thanks to INDAG the stand-up pouch has been continuously improved and is now the world’s most efficient packaging technology.” Today, around one-fifth of the worldwide available stand-up pouches are produced and filled by WILD-INDAG pouch machines.
Business year 2012: stand-up pouch is a revenue generator
Last year WILD-INDAG recorded a sales increase of more than 20 per cent, thus doubling the company’s sales figures since 2009.
“The stand-up pouch is the flexible packaging solution of the future,” Carsten Kaisig, Managing Director of WILD-INDAG, is convinced. “It provides maximum protection for food and beverages as well as for non-food products, with a minimum use of materials.” The pouch system, classified as “ecologically friendly” due to its balanced carbon footprint, enjoys an average annual growth rate of 11 per cent. It is also practical and, as such, in tune with the global convenience trend.
WILD-INDAG’s excellent performance record is boosted by a series of sustainable innovations. One example is the recently developed aseptic filling machine that considerably improves both the quality and flavor of food and is a major energy saver. The system will be rolled out in conjunction with the expansion of Capri-Sonne in Eppelheim, near Heidelberg. A further example of the company’s commitment to sustainability is the installation of energy and cost-effective electric drives in all WILD-INDAG machines and equipment.
In 2012 WILD-INDAG stepped up its marketing and sales activities. The company presented its solutions at significant industry trade fairs like the Anuga FoodTec and Brau Beviale. Besides, WILD-INDAG invested both in a new website and a customer newsletter.
Machine production at full capacity
The additional undertakings are already bearing fruit. “Last year’s marketing and sales activities have had a clear impact,” confirms WILD-INDAG Managing Director Mansur Güngör. “Our machine production will be working to full capacity throughout 2013. There is continuing high demand for our engineering expertise as well as our manpower skills – we have a whole team of staff installing and upgrading machines worldwide.”
Seven pouch production machines and 14 filling machines have already been ordered for delivery to customers around the globe in 2013. One of the key accounts is a US American food corporation who will also be having existing machines modernized and upgraded. These projects will be handled by five- to six-strong teams from Eppelheim. As a result of the close cooperation with the product developers of ingredients manufacturer WILD Flavors, WILD-INDAG staff are also familiar with the required raw materials and the technology processes involved in beverage production.
WILD-INDAG furthermore identified the pet food sector as a promising market and stepped up its efforts to acquire new customers there. According to the Allied Development Study 2012, 19 per cent of pet food for the European market is already being filled by WILD-INDAG machines. WILD-INDAG will ship six new filling machines to pet food manufacturers in 2013.
INDAG equipment in demand worldwide
2012 saw the initiation of various machine engineering projects in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. Consequently, beverage manufacturers in Mongolia, Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa will be receiving equipment like inline mixers, sugar dissolvers, compact dosing modules, pasteurization units and CIP cleaning systems in the course of this year.
On European soil, new equipment will be installed in Norway, Sweden and Portugal in 2013. WILD-INDAG also supplies the headquarters with its systems, providing process technology as well as filling and packing machines to cater for Capri-Sonne’s capacity expansion.
