SÜDPACK ranked the second most innovative German SME

“Another great result and additional recognition of our consistent, future-oriented corporate strategy” – SÜDPACK is delighted with its renewed award from WirtschaftsWoche. As recently as two months ago, the film producer was named 36th out of the 50 most sustainable German SMEs in the renowned business magazine’s cross-sector sustainability ranking of over 4,000 companies. WirtschaftsWoche has now reassessed these 4,000 firms. The result: SÜDPACK is in second place in the 2022 Innovation Ranking – read all about it Issue 33/22 dated August 12. 

SÜDPACK clearly proves that sustainability, tradition and innovation are not mutually exclusive. The global technology leader in the high-performance film sector has been family-owned since it was founded in 1964 and is deeply rooted in the Swabian region. Thanks to its innovative film and packaging concepts for a wide range of industries, extremely material-efficient and recyclable products and commitment to an effective circular economy in the packaging industry, SÜDPACK repeatedly provides new market impetus – actively promoting development be means of pioneering solutions.

The selection process

On behalf of WirtschaftsWoche, Munich Strategy has now analyzed the innovative strength of a total of 4,000 SMEs across multiple sectors. During the initial phase, the Munich consultancy evaluated annual reports and presentations. 400 firms were ultimately shortlisted, which were then examined in more detail. The consultants primarily conducted detailed interviews with CEOs, customers and competitors – and determined a so-called ‘innovation score’. One third of this is based on sales and profit growth and two thirds on the innovative strength of the respective company. The assessment also included how many and which product developments the SME launches and how much it spends on research and development every year, as well as its innovation classification on the market. “All the winners are extremely adaptable, developing clever concepts to overcome staff shortages – and sustainable ideas for the climate,” reports Munich Strategy – explicitly including SÜDPACK as “one of the pioneers of sustainability”.

Inherent sustainability

“By sustainability, however, we don’t just mean our investments in a cogeneration plant and solar panels. We take a holistic approach,” confirms Carolin Grimbacher, Managing Partner of the SÜDPACK company group. All its ecological, economic and social responsibility activities and targets are bundled in a sustainability road map and its results are substantiated with reliable facts and figures. Production, for example, is aligned with closed material cycles that incorporate plastic granules from mechanical recycling into the manufacture of new films.

In addition, SÜDPACK is investing heavily in CARBOLIQ, a pioneering chemical recycling process. “We’re resolutely committed to establishing this technology as a supplementary recycling process in the market, in order to provide companies with maximum support in meeting ambitious recycling quotas and retaining existing plastics in the cycle,” says Carolin Grimbacher.

Unbridled innovative strength

The list of current innovations is long: from recyclable, PP and PE-based high-performance Pure-Line films, to aluminum-free, extremely material-efficient and equally recyclable doypacks for snack packaging in the food industry.

In 2021, SÜDPACK developed a PP-based film that is free of halogenic substances for the manufacture of blister packaging and other pharmaceutical solid product applications for the pharmaceutical industry – thereby launching a sustainable alternative with an excellent barrier profile to the widely used PVC/PVdC blister materials for the first time.

SÜDPACK also revolutionized package printing with its pioneering SPQ technology (Sustainable Print Quality) and was the recipient of the German Packaging Gold Award in 2021. Because SPQ significantly improves the carbon footprint of package printing, thanks to reduced ink and solvent consumption, less production waste and a lower expenditure of energy – with improved print quality.

Carolin Grimbacher explicitly regards the company’s excellent position in the current WirtschaftsWoche ranking as a call to action: “Innovation is the key to success – and thinking outside the box is a strategically important tool. We can only consolidate and extend our position as market leader if we think about the future today. In all our endeavors. Which means taking ecological, economic and social responsibility.”