New structure for the Pago Group

In 1978 the Company Management of Papierhof AG laid the foundation for its international activity with the founding of Pago Etikettiersysteme GmbH, Germany. This was followed by the partnership with the firm of Sancoa in the USA and the establishment of subsidiaries in France, England and, more recently, in Italy and Romania.

The various companies were combined as a legal entity within Pago Holding AG, founded in 1989. With the advancing process of globalization and the resultant increasing international activity on the part of the Pago clients, the demands for a separate management structure also grew. Up to then it had frequently been possible to organize the customer support based on geographic viewpoints. Today, the focus has to be increasingly placed on client segments and being part of a group.

Over the last two years the Board of Directors of Pago Holding AG has been working intensively on this subject and adapted the strategy to meet the new situation. The aim is for the name of Pago in Europe to continue being closely associated with product decoration. The range of self-adhesive labels has therefore recently been expanded by the addition of the new sleeves and rollfed labeling processes. Shrink sleeves are understood as being a foil tube which melds into the shape of the products to optimum effect under heat or steam. This process is particularly suited to full surface labeling of highly specialized forms of packaging. Rollfed labels are non self-adhesive strips which are wound around the product and secured at the beginning and end using a strip of glue. This low-cost process lends itself in particular to labeling cylindrical packaging.

Pago sees itself in future as continuing to be a systems supplier and one of the few in the sector to offer labels, application technology and after-sales under one roof. The main target market remains Western Europe. However, the Group is also intended to be positioned in order to provide its regular clients in Eastern Europe with the same technology and quality of after-sales service. The intention is to maintain the position in the USA. The presence in the labeling machines business is to be expanded in all the strategic markets.

In order to implement this strategy the Group has created a new management structure for itself and strengthened the management capacity. The international activities will be led by Pago International AG, newly formed on 1.1.2007. The Management Board of Pago International comprises Fritz Beglinger, CEO, Emanuel Schpper, marketing director, Urs Schwenk, technical director machines, and Markus Rttimann, CFO. The two main sites at Grabs, Switzerland and Aichtal, Germany are also represented by their managing directors Mathias Engler, Manfred Macht and Dirk Lautenschlager. In addition, the intention is to add a technical director printing during the course of this year.

Photo: Management Board of the newly-formed Pago International AG; seated (l-r): Hans Vetsch, Fritz Beglinger, Emanuel Schpper; standing (l-r):: Mathias Engler, Urs Schwenk, Markus Rttimann, Manfred Macht, Dirk Lautenschlager