Pro Carton appoints new president

Pro Carton, the European association of carton and cartonboard manufacturers, has named Horst Bittermann as its new president.

Pro Carton, the European association of carton and cartonboard manufacturers, has named Horst Bittermann as its new president

An experienced sales and marketing professional of 25 years, Bittermann, head of marketing at Mayr-Melnhof Karton, has worked in a variety of senior roles in private banking, retailing and now packaging. Joining MM Karton in 2008, he currently heads up the marketing department of one of the world’s leading manufacturers of coated, recycled cartonboard with an increasingly strong position in the production of recycled liner and virgin fiber cartonboard.

The company operates seven cartonboard mills in the heart of Europe, with an annual capacity of 1.7 million tons. In addition to overseeing MM Karton’s marketing activities, Bittermann is instrumental in driving business growth in the FMCG, pharmaceutical and retail sectors.

Recent months have seen Pro Carton step up its communication around Europe, highlighting the role its members can play in creating a new circular economy and raising awareness of the design, economic and ecological benefits of using cartonboard over alternative packaging types.

With sustainable packaging very much in the spotlight globally, Bittermann’s appointment comes at a strategically important time for the association, which aims to promote the benefits of carton and cartonboard over other forms of packaging.

Bittermann is taking over from WEIG-Karton’s Roland Rex. He commented: ‘It is an honor to become the president of Pro Carton at this exciting time for the packaging industry. Pro Carton is the voice for cartonboard and folding cartons, and as sustainable packaging becomes increasingly valuable to brands, retailers and the planet as a whole, we need to communicate the sustainable nature of our members’ products even more intensively.

‘Packaging has to deliver on three main functions, or the three Ps – preserve the quality of the product, promote the sale of the product and protect the environment. As well as being an extremely eye-catching packaging medium, folding cartons do not leave any lasting scars on the environment, but rather help protect it by reducing product damage and food waste. Cartonboard as a material is made from renewable sources, is biodegradable and almost fully recyclable – all attributes which epitomise the circular economy that we should be striving for.

‘I am certain that cartonboard and folding cartons will become the most widely-used packaging medium in the coming decade and that Pro Carton can play an important role in achieving that success.’