expanding core competences Corex

expAnding core compeTences

Corex is a market leader in the design and manufacture of tubular packaging and edge-protection products. Its latest major acquisition enhances the company’s presence in both Asia and North America, whilst at the same time increasing its product portfolio and significantly extending its global footprint, as Philip Yorke reports.

Corex is the cores, tubes and edge-protectors division of the international VPK Packaging Group, a rapidly growing integrated industrial group based in Denmark. The VPK group operates in the cardboard packaging sector and has over 5,000 staff spread across 47 plants in 16 European countries. Corex is an integral part of the VPK Group and has around 500 employees in 12 different European countries.

Corex manufactures over 150,000 tonnes of cardboard tubes, cores and edge-protectors every year. These are produced in spiral and parallel configurations for winding tables that in turn create a whole host of products involving film and paper, as well as a wide variety of modern packaging materials.

The company explained to Industry Europe, “Thanks to our vertical integration with the VPK Packaging Group and our market orientation, we have grown to become the market leader in our sector. We attribute our success to our customer-orientated products, combined with outstanding service and competitive pricing”. Composite growth

VPK’s core and tube division, marketed under its Corex brand, has 14 sites for the production of industrial cores ad tubes for winding paper, foil, textiles and metal. In addition, Corex also produces composite cans used for packaging food snacks, spices, cosmetics and spirits. The acquisition by VPK of Corenso’s European and Chinese activities have brought its two modern cardboard mills and 13 core converting plants.

The European and Chinese businesses of Corenso include two core-board mills located in Finland and France together with a network of 10 core and tube winding plants in Europe and 3 in China. Their combined turnover is more than 170 million euros. Today Corenso has 850 employees in Europe and China.

The acquisition of Corenso broadens both VPK’s and Corex Group’s geographical spread to regions where the company has not been active to date. The important new markets for Corex are Finland, Spain and China. CEO Pierre Macharis said, “Corex and

Corenso have both made an impressive journey over the last decade. We are delighted to join forces with them to provide a wider geographical spread, whilst making optimum use of the network and unrivalled expertise of VPK. Customers can rely on our unique quality of service offered by Corex and Corenso. By integrating two additional paper mills, we also provide a strategic, geographical axis for raw material supply from Finland via Belgium to the south of France”.

Romania’s cutting-edge

Following their recent move to new premises, Corex Romania S.R.L. has moved forward with the installation of cutting-edge equipment for the manufacture of its latest ‘edge-protectors’.

Edge-protectors provide vital, optimal protection for packaged goods that virtually eliminates any damage that may be caused during handling and transportation. The Corex Group now has a second state-of-the-art facility in tandem with Corex France.

With its new plant, Corex Romania is now capable of producing sophisticated edge-protectors with wings ranging from 35mm to 100mm, and thicknesses from 2mm to 7mm. The latest Corex Romania production lines can now manufacture edge-protectors to a maximum length of 4000 mm. This makes the new facilities the most flexible and extensive available on the market today.

Prioritising sustainability

Today corporate sustainability is firmly on the radars and agendas of companies around the world. The Corex Group recognises the growing importance and relevance of global environmental, social and economic challenges. It is now possible to see how sustainability issues affect a company’s bottom line and Corex is therefore looking beyond traditional business and financial parameters to map out the group’s strategies and priorities.

Being a key part of the VPK Packaging Group, Corex gets the full support of a dedicated team in order to drive its sustainability strategies forward. The company clearly sees the benefits and the opportunities provided by embracing its growth from ‘green’ innovations and the interest from an investment community that increasingly considers sustainability factors, such as sound environmental stewardship, social responsibility and good governance in calculating a company’s long-term value.

The Corex Group’s cores and edge-protectors are made from recycled paper and fit into a deep belief of a managed circular economy. Regular energy audits within the various Corex plants and the installation of solar panels that offer a capacity of over 700mw in Corex Belgium, are only a few examples of the culture of sustainability within the Corex Group.

Today the company delivers long-term value in financial, environmental and ethical programmes and in doing so complies with all the VPK business ethics and codes of conduct.

For further details of the innovative packaging products and services offered by the Corex Group visit: www.corexgroup.com