Heidelberg is entering its anniversary year in 2025 with an ambitious growth strategy. March 11, 2025, marks the 175th anniversary of the company’s founding. What began over a century and a half ago as a bell foundry in Frankenthal, in the Palatinate region of Germany, has since developed into a global technology company and total solutions provider for print shops and packaging applications.

“To expand our market position, we are increasingly tapping into growth potential in our core business in packaging and digital printing, as well as in the software and lifecycle business,” says Jürgen Otto, CEO of Heidelberg. “We will also continue to expand our offering in the growing green technologies market. This includes key areas such as high-precision mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, charging infrastructure and software, and new hydrogen technologies.”

In total, Heidelberg sees growth potential of more than € 300 million in sales for all strategic initiatives by the 2028-2029 financial year, while at the same time consolidating performance and increasing efficiency. 

The packaging market has seen significant growth since 2014, Heidelberg notes. Heidelberg is benefiting from the constantly growing global demand for packaging. The end customer market for packaging has grown by more than 60% worldwide over the past 10 years. In cooperation with Solenis, Heidelberg is responding to the global trend away from plastic and foil toward paper-based packaging and will in the future offer solutions for printing recyclable packaging, particularly for the food industry. The company already generates more than 50% of its turnover in the packaging segment. And the trend is clearly upward.

Heidelberg is also seizing opportunities in growing industrial digital printing. According to market estimates, the global digital printing market accessible to Heidelberg, including service and consumables, will grow from around EUR 5 billion today to EUR 7.5 billion by 2029. Heidelberg has significantly expanded its offering, including through its cooperation with Canon. This will significantly increase sales of digital printing solutions. Incoming orders already confirm this from the next financial year. 

Heidelberg also sees a lever for more sales growth in its strong international presence in around 170 countries worldwide, with one of the largest global sales and service networks. The company will continue to expand this internationalization, particularly in growth markets such as Asia, the USA and emerging markets. Heidelberg has strong prerequisites for this, particularly in China, thanks to its local production and partnership with MK Masterwork. More than 85% of the company’s business is already conducted outside Germany. 

Another focus is on Heidelberg’s industrial business to open up new product areas, markets, and industries. To this end, the company has extensive skills, expertise, and resources that are currently already being used outside the printing industry, particularly in the fields of high-precision mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, electromobility, and hydrogen. The company is also increasingly offering its expertise and installed capacities to other companies in order to efficiently industrialize or manufacture their products.

Together with customers, employees and partners, Heidelberg is celebrating its anniversary year with numerous events and activities. In the summer, for example, there will be a week of celebrations at the Wiesloch-Walldorf headquarters in the newly designed demonstration center – the Home of Print – including an anniversary ceremony with guests from all over the world, like customers, suppliers, partners and representatives from politics and society. Family days are planned for employees at individual locations. In addition, there will be an anniversary magazine in which the history of the company will be presented, and the future will be directed.