Belgian carton packaging manufacturer expands into Germany

Belgian carton packaging manufacturer P. Van De Velde Group has expanded into Germany with the acquisition of Bergische Kartonagenfabrik. 

The acquisition of the German company comes months after P. Van De Velde Group bolstered its footprint in the Netherlands, with the acquisitions of counterparts Wesly Printing & Packaging (Maastricht) and Royal Schut (Eerbeek). The bolt-on is part of the group’s strategy to build a market leader in the Western European market, leveraging a buy-and-build approach, while being better prepared to embrace the broader shift toward folding carton packaging and folding synthetics packaging.

Established in 1931 by Fritz Nießen in Velbert, Bergische Kartonagenfabrik has since inception grown to solid market player in Germany’s packaging industry. The company, together with sister company Coburger Kartonagenfabrik, produces well over 5 million folding boxes daily for both food and non-food organisations in the consumer goods industry, with a focus on companies in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. These boxes are manufactured from solid fibre board or corrugated cardboard and can be treated with a wide range of coatings and embossments, as well as be customised to customer or sector needs.

The acquisition sees Bergische Kartonagenfabrik and its around 100 employees based in the Velbert production site – which focuses on the production of solid fibre board – join its new Belgian parent. The Coburger Kartonagenfabrik (300 employees) is not part of the deal.

As part of the integration, Bergische Kartonagenfabrik will continue to operate in its current form and the company’s current management team will remain responsible for daily business operations. The German addition will however benefit from the support of centralised services, while extending its product range and client network, opening up avenues for new and previously untapped commercial opportunities, according to a spokesperson of the firm. 

Dealmakers

The Belgian family-run enterprise was advised on during the transaction by M&A experts from three external firms. Fortaleza Capital provided corporate finance advisory (deal team: Alexander van Rossum and Dirk Schut), DELTA Revision supported with financial and tax matters (Klaus Bertram and Jeffrey Larson), while German law firm Oppenhoff & Partner was tapped for legal expertise (Myriam Schilling, Anna-Catharina von Girsewald and Sarah Scharf). 

Seller Bergische Kartonagenfabrik relied on the merger & acquisition services of Nachfolgekontor (corporate finance; Fabian Schmidt and Julian Will), ECOVIS International (tax; Bernhard Umlauft) and Andresen Rechtsanwälte (legal; Alexander Mahlke and Bernd Andresen). 

P. Van De Velde Group further has three locations in Belgium (in Lichtervelde, Kruishoutem and Wetteren) and one in Poland (Poznan).