New partnership: Christiansen Print from Ilsenburg and the THIMM Group from Northeim
Together, Christansen Print and the THIMM Group could print the entire surface area of Italy, with a combined capacity of 300 million square meters per year. This makes them the European market leaders in pre-printed corrugated board base paper. Huge rolls of the stuff stand in the modern production facility in the industrial area in Ilsenburg am Harz. This especially tough paper is used for printing well-known advertising images – of Czech beer and French nappies, Italian wine and German spirits. The manufacturers of these branded products are not the customers, that’s the suppliers of printed corrugated board. Over 30 percent of the goods produced are sent abroad, including to Scandinavia, France and Spain.
“THIMM“ – the new partner – produces 150 million square metres of pre-printed paper per year, finishing 80 percent of this themselves into corrugated board packaging or displays. This family company, which has 60 years’ experience, is Christiansen Print’s largest customer, which is why their coming together was such an important strategic step. Not least, the cooperation allows the companies to offer their customers all printed formats, from small to extremely large, at good prices and in high quality.
At Christiansen Print, printing continues almost round the clock on the world’s largest servo driven central cylinder flexo-printing machine. It is the technological heart of the company and one of the most modern printing machines currently available on the market, allowing continuous printing in eight colours. “Sort of like potato printing,” explains company director Lars Christiansen, “except that around 460 metres are printed per minute on a work surface measuring just 2.5 by 2 metres. We print around 16,000 tonnes of paper per year. That’s a lot, which all has to be moved by lorry. If it were feasible, we’d like to use the railways for transport, but it just isn’t flexible enough for our fast-paced business. A real shame.”
When Christiansen Print was founded six years ago and production started in 2005 in Ilsenburg, Saxony Anhalt, the central location in the heart of Europe was crucial for the entrepreneur Lars Christiansen, who comes from Denmark. With the wild and romantic Harz mountains, the 47 year old doesn’t just have Saxony-Anhalts number 1 holiday region at his feet – on a clear day he has a view of Brocken, the highest mountain in central Germany.
“In the beginning we had no supply contracts, so the staff used to drive around soliciting printing orders,” tells Christiansen. “It went really well. Our first printing contract was with the company ‘Jägermeister’. We were all proud of that one.” Today, the company achieves a turnover of around 16 million euros per year and has 46 permanent staff, as well as 11 on temporary contracts. “I like them to feel at home here,” says their boss, “so I have to look after them.” Visitors to the company can sense that he really means it. The working environment at Christiansen is just as open and friendly as the entrance hall of the large open office. It is noticeable how many young people are working at the modern workstations. Some staff are standing at their raised desks, while others sit on ergonomic chairs. Everyone can make eye contact with everyone else, even the boss, who is separated from the open office only by a glass wall. Everyone is on first name terms – typically Scandinavian. The average age of the staff, who come from Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony, is just over 30. The 62 year old maintenance worker Bernd Köhler is an exception. He’s been at the company from the very beginning, having started at Christiansen as a cleaner. He had previously been unemployed and, reveals his boss, shed tears of joy when he was given the job. Bernd Köhler turned out to be too good for his work and proved his skills as a craftsman. Today, Lars Christiansen couldn’t do without his “favourite worker”, as he himself calls him. Köhler keeps the equipment running. Soon, a new high-performance machine will be added.
Christiansen is convinced that the trend will continue to develop towards multicoloured packaging with high-quality print. The demand for flexo preprint products is growing constantly. Christiansen was already preparing for this in 2007, when he founded subsidiary INNOWO Print, also in Ilsenburg. The company is just across the street, printing multicoloured non-woven fabrics for hygiene products. A top European company – with an international focus – in the middle of Saxony-Anhalt.
Author: Margitta Häusler.
Contact:
Christiansen Print GmbH
Trift 4
38871 Ilsenburg
Tel.: (039452) 48400