Graphius has just acquired Drukkerij Lowyck. With this transaction, the Belgian printing group with a turnover of 100 million euros and 450 employees wants to strengthen its position in the folding carton market.
Drukkerij Lowyck, located in Ostend, Belgium, is specialized in the production of printed paper (brochures, books...) and food and non-food packaging made of cardboard (meal trays, fruit and vegetable trays, chocolate boxes, game boxes, glass sleeves...).
A "milestone" for the Etiglia division of Graphius
As a result of this external growth, the Graphius Group's label and flatboard division, Etiglia, has two production sites, Etiglia Packaging and Etiglia Labels located in Beersel.
"The acquisition of Lowyck is an important step in Etiglia's expansion, says Denis Geers, CEO of Graphius. Now we are able to fully process folding carton in-house, which means that in addition to a substantial expansion of our production capacity, we can offer better service to our customers."
The Ostend site and its 25 employees remain under the management of the former owners, Steven and An Lowyck.
The entire folding carton activity of the group will be repatriated to this site and brought together under the banner of Etiglia Packaging. The print activity will continue under the name of Drukkerij Lowyck.
Steven Lowyck, director of Drukkerij Lowyck, adds: "As a mid-sized player, it's not easy to continually invest in better materials and with the acquisition by Graphius Group, we are able to future-proof the business for our customers and employees."
4 million euros of investment for Etiglia Packaging
Graphius Group plans to invest 4 million euros over the next two years in this new site.
He plans to continue the expansion and automation of the printing, punching and folding-gluing department.
In addition, an R&D department is being set up. It is in charge of working on new cardboard packaging to replace plastics.
