Syntegon subsidiary Ampack marks 50th birthday in style
Celebrations were in full flow for Syntegon subsidiary Ampack, which has marked its 50th anniversary producing filling and packaging machinery for the food and dairy sector from its base in Königsbrunn, Germany, writes Neill Barston.
As the company explained to Confectionery Production, it warmly welcomed customers, employees and, their families, and representatives from politics and the business world to mark five decades in the sector, which has seen the business expand notably in its portfolio.
Significantly, its parent Syntegon firm was among winners at our World Confectionery Awards at the World Confectionery Conference held in Harrogate, Yorkshire, UK, last week, for its Nutraflash line of starchless gummy processing.
“We are proud of 50 years’ worth of successful history and our contribution to the safety of many food products,” said Markus Schlumberger, Managing Director Sales at Ampack. “I am particularly excited about the commitment that our more than 200 employees have shown to our customers for many years. We place great value on this close cooperation and satisfaction – on both sides.”
Some 50 years ago, the engineer Siegfried Ammann founded the company under the name Ampack Ammann and began selling packaging machines for dairy products. In 1976, he launched the first fully automated cup filling and sealing machine. By 1996, Ampack had grown to the point where it needed to build a new company headquarter at Lechfeldgraben 7 in Königsbrunn. Another milestone was achieved in 2012 with the affiliation to Bosch Packaging Technology – Syntegon since 2020– and the access to an international network.
Ever since, the machine manufacturer has invested in technological development. Today, Ampack develops filling and capping machines for preformed cups and bottles – enabling dairies and food manufacturers to package liquid and viscous foods at all levels of hygiene. Additionally, the company supports customers in planning and integrating complete production lines – from filling to secondary packaging and palletizing. And that’s not all: in 2017, the 450 m² research and development center Technikum was established. Here, Ampack collaborates with customers to test and develop, for example, sterilisation processes, sealing or dosing technologies, sustainable packaging solutions and retrofits for existing machines on state-of-the-art equipment.
“With our many years of expertise, we support our customers right from the start, from analysis to well beyond commissioning – that is our formula for ensuring high customer satisfaction,” explained Schlumberger. More than 1700 machines installed worldwide are proof of this. Thanks to close collaboration and an application-driven approach to development, Ampack has become a pioneer in aseptic technology in Europe and today offers customers a broad portfolio of modular machines that cover all hygiene levels.
In addition to flexible lines that can be quickly adapted to different products and formats, it is sustainable solutions that play an increasingly important role for Ampack’s customers. Therefore, in 2021, the company launched the LFS, which is suitable for clean and ultra-clean applications and fills products such as yogurt, dips, and deli salads as an addition to the proven FCL filling machine for ultra clean and aseptic applications. Both machine types process sustainable materials such as paper or mono-material, improving the recyclability of the packaging. Ampack is committed to continuous development for the years ahead and is already working on new, future-proof technologies.
Furthermore, the company added that it had placed sustainability at its heart, which has been demonstrated by the fact that many of its employees have remained with the business for an extended period of time.
Dr. Alexander Schmidt, managing director of Ampack GmbH in Königsbrunn, noted: “Many employees have been with Ampack for many years. We offer a lot of different tasks and opportunities for further professional development. Especially young talents appreciate this and every year we are happy to welcome motivated apprentices from the region.”
