The Northeim-based company THIMM – THE HIGHPACK GROUP has well mastered the effects of the worldwide financial crisis in 2009. The strained profit situation in the industry, decreased capital investments and increased costs of raw materials affected the entire corrugated board industry. According to the German association of the corrugated cardboard industry (vdw), the industry turnover has declined by 13.6%. The THIMM Group generated 280.5 million Euro in this period (compared to 311.6 million Euro in the previous year), a decrease of 10 percent. The gross profit was 134.9 million Euro (compared to 141.6 million Euro in 2008). EBITDA amounted to 33.9 million Euro (compared to 40.1 million Euro the previous year). The commercial equity ratio was 56.8 percent. Mathias Schliep, head of the executive board, stated: “Despite the global crisis, we have worked hard and clearly did better compared to others in the industry. Moreover, we have increased our capital investment and thus taken another important step in further developing the THIMM Group.”

The independent, family-owned company invested 16.2 million Euro in the past business year (compared to 14.6 million the previous year), primarily in the modernization and extension of machinery. The largest capital investment project was the complete renewal of the corrugator in the packaging plant in Alzey, which successfully started at the beginning of the year. Other funds went to business IT systems and a new office building in Northeim. 

The number of employees at the THIMM Group remained constant in 2009. At the end of the year, the company employed 1,534 employees (2008: 1,535) at a total of ten sites in Germany, the Czech Republic and Romania. Across Germany, THIMM also trained 91 young people in different professions (2008: 88). The apprenticeship ratio increased to 9.3 percent (2008: nine percent).

“The turnover increase of nearly 13 percent in the first quarter has made us optimistic about 2010 as a whole,” says Jens Fokuhl, managing director at THIMM. “We expect a sustained growth in turnover for the rest of the year with results that will indeed be reduced, but still positive. Moreover, we plan to continue our capital investment program this year with an overall amount of about 25 million Euro.”