40 years of RRK Wellpappenfabrik Bottrop - many news in the West

After only a few months of construction (from May to September), the RRK Wellpappenfabrik has built a four-decade success story since the start of production in the autumn of 1976. The decision to move to another production location in western Germany followed the very extensive development of sales to the industrially strong region in the 1970s by the already existing Panther plants in the North, East and South of Germany. Panther had already built up a market there with reliability and quality – with the founding of the RRK Wellpappenfabrik, a production facility was established directly on site, which significantly increased the Group’s presence and competitiveness. Since then, customers have been supplied quickly and comprehensively at the highest quality level, also in the neighbouring BeNeLux countries. The location is particularly convenient with connections to the main motorway connections to the surrounding region.

The initially 21,000 m2 area provided space for a first production hall for the production and processing of corrugated board. But expansion of production capacities has been a regular feature of the successful location ever since. For example, a fully automated paper warehouse was built, production and storage halls were expanded and the technical equipment was constantly renewed. Above all, however, the RRK Wellpappenfabrik has always succeeded in employing highly motivated employees who consistently achieve the demanding level of quality with a great deal of flexibility.

The food industry has always been a particularly important market for the RRK Wellpappenfabrik. Bottrop creates market- and brand-appropriate packaging for these customers, which at the same time take into account the constantly growing commercial needs. For this reason, the Panther Group has invested in recent years in, among other things, the comprehensive renovation of the corrugated board plant, new folding box production lines, a six-colour high-tech rotary die-cutting machine and, in 2015, the world's first installation with two new generation mirrored high-end flatbed die-cutting machines. A new warehouse for tools and clichés has also been created. Most recently, at the beginning of 2016, the entire internal finished goods logistics of the RRK Wellpappenfabrik was updated.

In addition to technical investments, RRK Wellpappenfabrik and the entire Panther Group ensure the competitiveness of the companies through continuous process optimizations, so that the highest demands of the customers with regard to economy and ecology are met.

However, quality management and the explicit customer orientation are only lived by the employees. The RRK Wellpappenfabrik currently employs over 200 men and women, 18 of whom are trainees. Consistent continuing education is one of the main pillars of the success of the Bottrop location – as well as the entire Panther Group.

As a result of continuous development, RRK Wellpappenfabrik has grown from approx. 18 million m² in 1977 to more than 150 million m² of corrugated board sold in 2015, thus becoming a strong partner for customers and one of the leading and most modern corrugated board companies in the region of West in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. The 40-year success story is celebrated and continued with the values and performance standards of the Panther Group.