Illig Launches a New Solution for Packaging Made from Natural Fibers

Last March, Illig was faced with the most difficult decision in the company's history, and going to insolvency court seemed unavoidable. The management of the Heilbronn-based company, which remained in charge, immediately began looking for investors and a solution to the economic emergency. In July, the debtor-in-possession restructuring proceedings were completed, a new investor was found and the reorganization and restructuring of the company could begin.

The German SME investor Orlando Capital from Munich took over 100% of Illig, and on August 1, Illig Packaging Solutions GmbH was launched, which will continue to operate the Illig brand unchanged. Orlando Capital is using exclusively equity capital for the takeover; the new company now holds the tangible assets.

Premiere at FACHPACK: Packaging Solution Made from Natural Fibers

To mark the new start, Illig Packaging Solutions directly presented a new packaging process, the premiere of a packaging solution made of natural fibers (Dry Fiber) took place at FACHPACK.

With the new modular production system, an output of 20 to 120 million packs per year should be possible, and the machine manufacturer is thus taking its first step into the market for sustainable packaging solutions. According to Frédéric Engel, Product Manager Dry Fiber, there is a demand for a technology to produce fiber packaging with a high output rate.

Savings in Energy and Water Consumption

The new packaging is based on dry natural fibers that require less energy and no water to produce. Illig aims to achieve high energy efficiency and a small CO2 footprint. “Dry fiber is a game-changer technology in the packaging industry. The fiber material can be used flexibly in the production of sustainable FMCG packaging,” explains Jürgen Lochner, CSO/CTO of Illig. Illig is thus prepared for current and future requirements for sustainable packaging systems.

The development was based on solutions for packaging with barrier properties, which can be installed using various processes. These include inline lamination or upstream coating. According to the company, Illig is cooperating with manufacturers of machines for the production of non-woven materials based on the airlaid process. The new process enables the production of more diverse and deeper shapes.

“The requirements for a wide variety of shapes and specific properties for food and non-food applications have been at the heart of our development from the very beginning. With the new Illig Dry Fiber Systems, we now offer an alternative to existing solutions for food and non-food packaging that has noticeable advantages in terms of production costs, output and stretch ratio,” says Frédéric Engel.

Strengthening the Business with New Machines

In addition, the existing product portfolio will remain unchanged and will continue to be offered in all global sales regions. The production sites in Heilbronn and Sibiu, Romania, will also be retained.

The focus will be on developing solutions for sustainable and recyclable plastic and cardboard packaging. With the help of the capital inflow, Illig also hopes to strengthen the business with new machines. “We need to make our processes and the supply chain at our headquarters in Heilbronn even more efficient in order to remain competitive in the long term,” says the company management. In addition, the focus is on international growth and the development of strategic product areas.