Europe’s biggest network of medium-sized, owner-managed packaging retailers was further strengthened on March 1, when Switzerland and the Baltic States became the newest members of the PackSynergy network. Coplax Verpackungen AG and SOMI UAB take the network’s total membership to 20 regional mid-market leaders with around 40 facilities in 18 countries. CEO Thomas A. Baur, who in future will manage the association as a network brand, sees PackSynergy as a key competitive instrument for packaging SMEs in Europe.
PackSynergy AG’s expansion continues unbroken. Having already secured new members in 2018 and 2019 from Denmark, the UK, Serbia, Croatia and northern Germany, the network is now also reaching out to Switzerland and the Baltic States.
CEO Thomas A. Baur is “delighted to welcome two new and committed partners – Coplax and SOMI – to the PackSynergy family. The Baltic States and Switzerland will strengthen our network with two more important packaging markets.”
Coplax Verpackungen AG
Coplax Verpackungen AG of Zug, not far from Lucerne, is a family-run firm and one of Switzerland’s leading specialists for packaging. As a system supplier, Coplax develops comprehensive packaging concepts – from product-specific packaging consulting through CAD packaging design, warehousing and professional logistics to the delivery of packaging material according to actual needs. “Our products and services meet the highest quality requirements. All Coplax processes have DIN EN ISO 9001 certification”, says Roger Welti, Managing Director of Coplax. As far as the new PackSynergy membership is concerned, Welti is particularly looking forward to the international exchange of experiences with partner companies, the chance to strengthen our market position by collaborating in a network and the optimum purchasing terms offered by the association.”
SOMI UAB
Headquartered in Vilnius, SOMI UAB has 4 sites in Lithuania serving the entire Baltic region. The company was founded in 1992 and has been market leader for logistics and packaging for more than a decade. “Apart from large international corporations, our customers also include the majority of private enterprises in the Baltic States plus numerous public institutions organizations”, explains Ingrida Slidžiauskien?, Executive Director of SOMI. Slidžiauskien? anticipates that the partnership under the umbrella of the PackSynergy network will generate “even more clout as well as new ideas, products and solutions, not to mention the additional impetus for the firm's future development. In a borderless world for buyers and sellers alike, expertise and solutions are among the most vital commodities. That’s why we’re very much looking forward to the partnership and the transfer of know-how within the PackSynergy team.”
PackSynergy as a European network brand
PackSynergy CEO Thomas A. Baur returned from the latest meeting of PackSynergy members with some exciting news. “We took a joint decision to design and manage our PackSynergy brand as a European network brand in the future. The aim is to explicitly leverage our regional strength in combination with our European presence. PackSynergy gives international customers and suppliers cross-border access to locations and markets throughout the European continent. At the same time, the expanded network of PackSynergy members with suppliers and industry partners results in a significant pool of knowledge and a think tank for the industry.”
Baur sees his association as “a key competitive instrument” for packaging SMEs in Europe. The PackSynergy partners are a team of self-determined and independent companies working together, with the strength to assert themselves boldly against investor-driven competitors with branches everywhere.”