Barsch GmbH & Co. KG looks back on an eventful few months: After the Hessian industry supplier announced a change in management at the turn of the year, a modern company headquarters was moved into in its hometown of Reiskirchen last summer. As part of the restructuring, new packaging solutions were also developed in collaboration with cooperation partners, reports managing director Nadine Barsch on request.
© Barsch GmbH & Co. KG
Frank Lindenstruth and Nadine Barsch celebrated their 15th anniversary with the company on September 11.
A clear sign of growth and sustainability
Since the company was founded in 1986, the specialist for modular flowpack machines has been producing in Burkhardsfelder Straße in the center of Reiskirchen in central Hesse. However, with just under 20 employees and steady growth, the previous location had become too small. The new company building in the same town is around three times larger and offers optimal conditions for production, logistics, and administration, according to Barsch. "We have always worked in a highly professional manner – now you can see that when you enter our new building. Thanks to the increase in capacity, we will be able to manufacture more machines simultaneously in final assembly in the future and thus process significantly more customer orders."
© Barsch GmbH & Co. KGA look inside the brand-new building: from left to right, production hall, construction, and warehouse. "With our new company building, we are sending a clear signal for growth and sustainability," emphasizes Nadine Barsch.
Sustainability requirements and price pressure
In the fruit and vegetable sector, too, the name Barsch has been synonymous for many years with high-quality flowpack machines, which are used, among other things, for packaging carrots and other root vegetables. "Paper packaging is currently in particularly high demand – driven by the desire for greater sustainability. In practice, however, it is rare for paper to be used consistently. The reason for this is the higher costs and the special requirements of the products: fruit and vegetables often release moisture, which causes thinner papers to tear quickly. To remain stable, the material must be significantly stronger, which makes it more expensive and less attractive. This is where sustainability requirements and price pressure regularly clash."
Overall, the fruit and vegetable sector accounts for about half of sales, Barsch continues. "However, the overall trend is downward. We have many loyal customers in the sector who regularly invest in new machines. At the same time, however, there is great uncertainty: it is not yet clear what the specific impact of the European PPWR (Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation) will be. In addition, although the food retail sector is contributing many ideas and pilot projects, price is typically the deciding factor in the end. The higher costs of alternative materials, such as paper, prevent many approaches from becoming established in the long term."
© Hugo Huijbers | FreshPlaza.com
Flowpack line for carrots
Standardization and product protection
Barsch GmbH & Co. KG will be exhibiting at this year's Fachpack in Nuremberg together with Gerhard Schubert GmbH. The focus will be on the compact line configuration for loose cookies. Barsch: "As an additional highlight, we will be demonstrating inline printing with the Videojet DF6530 thermal transfer printer. This allows packaging to be individually printed directly in the process, from personalized customer names to Dialogpost applications. This opens up entirely new business models for various sectors and applications, especially in the food industry."
Across all sectors, the company's management sees enormous potential in the automation of entire packaging processes. "In the fruit and vegetable sector in particular, a great deal is still done by hand, because the products are sensitive and each piece of nature is unique. This is precisely where smart feeding and robotics solutions can bring about major advances in the future. The aim is to standardize processes without losing sight of product protection."
Visit the company at Fachpack 2025: Hall 1, Booth 1-125
For more information:
Nadine Barsch
Barsch GmbH & Co KG
Ferdinand-Porsche-Straße 5
35447 Reiskirchen
Tel +49 6408 96947 12
[email protected]
www.barsch.co