While forecasts predict yet another fall in economic growth in Germany for the summer of 2022, and the next recession seems imminent in the coming autumn, riba Verpackungen GmbH is defying the trend – with investments totalling € 2.5 million. On 18 July 2022, a regional daily newspaper (Westfälische Allgemeine) sported the headline “One of the region’s largest employers safeguards jobs in Hamm”.
David Rückersberg, riba’s head of R&D, met with journalists to answer their questions. “We currently produce around 10,000 tonnes of film at our Brüggenkampstrasse production site. By the end of the decade, this figure is likely to double to around 20,000 tonnes. This will create more jobs.”
20 m long, 5 m high: monster-sized printing technology
First in line, however, was the recent delivery of the new flexo printing press – a delivery that occasioned spectacular logistical challenges. Twenty metres long, five metres high and weighing no less than forty tonnes, the freight was forwarded from the Czech Republic as an oversized load. The new flexographic machine will be ready to print to plastic film at the beginning of August.
Two men who are very excited about the new investment are Frank Rieker, CEO of riba Verpackungen GmbH, and DEBATIN’s CEO Thomas Rose. “It’s a sensational commitment to Hamm as a location, to owner-managed entrepreneurship, and to packaging film as a product,” enthused Rose. The two CEOs jointly head the DERIBA Group, which consists of seven companies including both riba Verpackungen GmbH and Anton Debatin GmbH.
You can find the complete series of photos in the article in the Westfälische Allgemeine | Photos © Reiner Mroß/Digitalbild
Investing € 2.5 million is vibrant proof that we’re on the right track!
Thomas Rose believes that the riba investment sends an important message to the world – and one that will benefit the entire corporate group. “From an early date, riba demonstrated it was pursuing the right course with its production of PCR film. Here at DEBATIN, the investment will help us to cater to the demands of discerning customers. Our customers want high quality, sustainable packaging solutions, and riba products enable us to make environmentally friendly mailing bags in Blue Angel quality. These in turn take the heat off online sellers and shops, who can use the bags to reduce their carbon footprint and package their products more sustainably. All in all, this investment proves to the world that we’re on the right track!”
The new printing press will be joining three existing presses for printing various types of film including the particularly sustainable DERIBA GREENLINE® Folie “In terms of capacity, we’d quite simply reached our limits,” says David Rückersberg. “We decided to invest in the new press because it opens up new business opportunities for the future.”
In Germany, people frequently encounter riba products in the form of plastic bags holding garden soil. The new bags are set to be even more brightly coloured. Churning out an impressive 500 metres of film per minute, the new press in Hamm is set to make a lasting impression!