The Identification Solutions division (PID) can look back on another successful business year 2022 with a growth in turnover of 9 %. This was not necessarily foreseeable at the beginning of the year due to a strike in Europe’s largest paper mill over several months, which led to a massive shortage of pre-products for label production and thus to a significant drop in sales of self-adhesive labels. Thanks to long-term contracts and close relationships with suppliers and customers, the negative effect was mitigated and the resulting backlog was reduced in the final quarter, when material was again available in sufficient quantities. The successful acquisition activities of the past years were also continued. While the overall operating turnover development stagnated, the operating performance of most production sites improved significantly. This applies in particular to the Hartenholm site, where throughput times for new machines were significantly reduced and margins noticeably improved. The stronger cooperation between the PID companies and the first joint trade fair appearance at Scanpark in Gothenburg should also be emphasised.
In the past year, the division has placed a great deal of focus on the topic of digitalisation. The cross-divisional project “PID-Ware” for the development of a joint print & data management software is in full swing. The project also includes the development of a machine data platform in cooperation with Possehl Analytics, which will be used by all PID companies. “PID-Ware” will be released as the first joint product on the market in mid-2023.
In 2022, a team of experts within PID looked at possible acquisitions in the field of software solutions in the identification & labelling sector and intensively analysed a wide range of companies. As a first result, the Norwegian company LabelCraft was acquired by PID in December. LabelCraft develops software for label design and is an ideal addition to the PID product portfolio. Further talks are currently being held with companies, among others in the field of serialisation and aggregation solutions.
