Germany — Packaging manufacturer August Faller has expanded its portfolio by founding a subsidiary which specializes in the production of folding cartons in small and very small batches – PackEx GmbH in Worms. Customers can order the desired products online at any time and benefit from short delivery times and significantly reduced operating costs.
With the founding of PackEx, August Faller has set itself the goal of meeting the increasing demand of the packaging market flexibly and economically – for small and very small quantities down to batch size 1. “We pursue an open-industry approach. We do not only serve the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, we also have customers in other sectors, like the consumer goods and food industries,” explains Nikolaus Reichenbach, Managing Director of PackEx.
Digital processes increase efficiency
Customers can place their orders with PackEx on a web-based software solution and receive the products in just a few days. This is much faster than the several weeks often needed by companies that use conventional production methods. PackEx relies on a largely digital business model and state-of-the-art technologies. Orders are combined in automated processes, printed together on collection sheets and “punched” using laser technology – and it is this unique and tool-free technology that guarantees even more speed and flexibility in production.
For printing, the Anicolor offset process is used together with digital printing, which is not yet widespread in this sector – and the company can boast the first market-ready application of the seven-colour printing system. The folding cartons are then delivered in handy packages by parcel service. This method is faster and less complicated than the usual transport on pallets – and it also involves lower CO2 emissions.
The intelligent and digitalized production at PackEx ensures that the company produces packaging materials in a, particularly efficient, resource-saving and low-cost manner. “We also offer our customers many options for the individualization, personalization and serialization of packaging options,” adds Reichenbach.
Bringing drugs to market quickly and cost-effectively
Pharmaceutical manufacturers can benefit greatly from what PackEx can offer them because ever-shorter product lifecycles mean that they must get their drugs to market faster than ever before. The number of pharmaceutical products in very small batches, like “orphan” and biological drugs, is also on the increase. Companies can purchase their products from PackEx quickly, cost-effectively and professionally in very small batches for serially-produced approval samples for drug acceptance, for example, or as samples for sales and marketing purposes – and this significantly shortens the time-to-market of the product.
Existing customers from the pharmaceutical industry can also take advantage of the PackEx offer by contacting August Faller as they usually would do. “This means that they still have only one contact channel, so they can rely on their proven and certified supply chain,” says Dr. Daniel Keesman, managing partner of the Faller Group. Thanks to the Worms company’s digital production, Faller can now offer several additional service packages, including the organization of the entire ordering process, logistics process management with repackaging on pallets and even an additional quality inspection. The result is cost-effective, professional folding cartons of batch size 1 and upwards – and they can be delivered in roughly 5 days.
August Faller chose the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Worms as the location for the new subsidiary. “We deliberately chose a location with good transport connections in the heart of Germany, so we can supply our customers as quickly as possible,” says Keesman.