BOBST celebrates 50 years shaping the future of the Latin American packaging industry

In 1974, BOBST opened its first facility outside its home country of Switzerland, which was the Bobst Latinoamerica do Sul plant in São Paulo, Brazil. Strategically chosen to bring BOBST's expertise from the European market to the world, the unit supplied the first folding-gluing machine in the region to Impressora Paranaense, one of the largest folding cartons converters in Brazil back then.

Jean-Pascal Bobst, CEO of BOBST, said: "We are very proud to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of our operation in Latin America. The region has been pivotal in the history of our company's global expansion, and with a highly experienced senior leadership team at the helm, we are confident of continued success for the future. BOBST is recognized as a global leader in packaging converting machinery, and our operations in Latin America are a great example of how our commitment to excellence resonates with packaging converters around the world."

Eduardo Petroni, Managing Director of Bobst Latinoamerica do Sul, commented: "For fifty years BOBST has had a fantastic relationship with customers throughout Brazil and beyond. In the folding carton segment, for example, we maintain an average market share of 70%. This reflects not only what BOBST brings to the market in terms of innovation and performance, but the trust our customers have in us to deliver world-class service and support. We also have a critical advantage in having machinery production in the local market, and notably, our customers can access the benefits of local credit lines. As we reflect on 50 years in the Latin American market, we are of course especially grateful to the loyal customers who have trusted us for all these years to make the business such a lasting success."

After its creation in the local market in 1974, when BOBST acquired the regional headquarters in São Paulo, and in the 1980s its factory in Mauá-SP, in 1996 it moved to the city of Itatiba-SP. In 2020, it moved its operations to a new 18,000 m2 state-of-the-art plant in the same city. The operation manufactures BOBST's world-leading lines of die-cutting machines, such as NOVACUT and VISIONCUT, and folder-gluers, such as EXPERTFOLD and NOVAFOLD, as well as a variety of peripherals and accessories for paperboard packaging converters in the Americas and around the world. The Itatiba production unit has the capacity to produce about 50 high-performance BOBST machines per year. In addition, it has a complete technical support team for all packaging industries in which it operates – folding carton, corrugated packaging, flexible packaging and labels.

Eduardo added: "Over 50 years in the Latin American market, we have seen the evolution of packaging technologies completely reinvent the industry. BOBST has been leading this industry for a long time, putting the focus on efficiency and performance of its technologies, as well as automation and digitalization. We will remain committed to leveraging BOBST's vision for the future of the packaging world and driving our customers' success in the region through technological innovations, world-class equipment, and the most reliable service model."

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