Ceepackaging

Corporate

STI forms strategic venture with U.S. Display and Packaging Expert, Alliance

Alliance is a leading in-store marketing solutions provider that develops both promotional and permanent displays and packaging programs supported by innovative marketing services for major consumer packaged goods and service companies and retailers. Alliance parent company, Rock-Tenn Company, is one of North America’s leading manufacturers of paperboard, containerboard, packaging and merchandising displays, with pro forma annual net sales of approximately $3.0 billion. Alliance annual revenues exceed $300 million. Alliance is headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

According to Prof. Dr. Frank Ohle, CEO of STI Group, “Alliance is the best partner to offer our multi-national customers multi-national capabilities, combining global campaigns with local requirements and providing tailor made solutions. The cooperation is a real win-win-win situation for our customers as well as Alliance and STI by not just adding the strength of two companies but raising the results to a higher level.”

According to Jim Einstein, Alliance Executive Vice President and General Manager, “The marriage of Alliance capabilities and know-how in the U.S. and Canada with STI Group’s strengths in Europe provides our customers with an integrated, well-managed solution to global in-store marketing programs. We have canvassed a number of our key customers with multinational brands and they are all excited by the prospects of this integrated global service offering.”

As part of the agreement, Alliance and STI will share display and packaging designs, proprietary products, technologies and new materials as well as exchange the experience of their design, sales and production teams.

The co-operation in the United States is a further important step in the development of STI Group’s position in the European market. “For us, internationalization means implementation that is oriented to our customer’s needs. This approach will help us work even more closely with our customers,” said Ohle. “It is our aim to offer comprehensive solutions in the domains of design, technology and processes for our customers. Together, with our partners, we want to differentiate ourselves in the market.” With the installation of new production sites and design centres in the most important economic regions in Eastern and Western Europe and in Australia, along with the eventual expansion of our cooperation network, our market position should be propitiously enhanced over the next few years.