Coveris completes Hadepol Flexo acquisition to build European market reach

05 Jun 2024 --- Coveris has acquired Hadepol Flexo, a Poland-based manufacturer of flexible paper and packaging films. Hadepol Flexo produces a full range of pre-made wicketed bags and pre-made paper bags for bread, bakery and confectionary products, mainly for the domestic market in Poland. 

The move marks the packaging specialist’s fourth acquisition in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and follows Coveris’ recent acquisitions of packaging sites in Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic.

Speaking to Packaging Insights, Emilio Vidri, sales director of Flexibles at Coveris, details the company’s growth strategy tied to the buyout.

“Although our latest three acquisitions have been in CEE, our growth strategy is not limited to this region. We have a solid growth plan that combines investments in our existing plants with investments in other geographies and markets,” he says. 

“We plan to expand our footprint into new European markets, starting with the DACH (Central Europe) region. Our expertise in wicketed bags will also enable us to explore new segments in the future, such as baby and personal care applications.”

Operations in Poland
Founded in 1994, Hadepol Flexo operates two production facilities located in Rypin, Poland and specializes in flexible paper and film-based packaging solutions for bakeries and supermarkets, mainly for the domestic market.

“The product offerings of Hadepol Flexo perfectly supplement our existing portfolio for bakery and confectionery customers,” Vidri tells us. “Hadepol Flexo will primarily extend our capabilities and competencies in bag making.”

Hadepol Flexo facilities in Poland (Image credit: Hadepol Flexo).“We will be able to offer more features and sizes to our customers immediately, completing our offering,” he adds.

“Our colleagues in Rypin will benefit from access to Coveris’ pool of know-how, planned investments in the site, and all opportunities arising from working in an international company.”

Green advances for flexibles
Coveris teases upcoming “key developments” in recyclability and sustainable solutions for both paper and plastics, such as further developing the MonoFlex product range of recyclable thermoforming film packaging with additional capabilities and functionalities.

We ask Vidri about how Hadepol Flexo aligns with Coveris’ existing sustainability initiatives and whether there are plans to implement certain practices at the Rypin facility.

“Everywhere in our group, we at Coveris are dedicated to our ‘No Waste’ strategy, aiming to avoid waste in all its forms. Therefore, the structure, efforts and guidelines will also be implemented at Hadepol Flexo during the integration process.”

“However, Hadepol’s prior initiatives and commitment to sustainability form the basis of our cultural fit,” he adds. “We are fully aligned in this regard and can only benefit more from exchanging know-how, streamlining R&D projects and initiatives, and jointly executing them even faster than originally anticipated.”

“As market transformation has just started, we can expect the coming years to bring significant changes and a range of new, innovative and attractive products.”

Coveris business activities
In other developments, the Coveris Group is investing over €8 million (US$8.6 million) in production capacity for medical device packaging at its Rohrdorf and Halle sites in Germany, responding to increasing demand for high-quality packaging solutions for the medical sector.

Last month, the packaging supplier extended its block bottom bag range with monomaterial paper, responding to growing market demand for environmentally sustainable and recyclable solutions.

In April, Coveris expanded its barrier film capabilities to produce vacuum skin packaging. The expansion is supported by a multi-million-pound investment at the company’s specialist extrusion site in Winsford, the UK’s largest blown extrusion facility of PE films.

By Benjamin Ferrer