Leipa Group Appoints Head of Packaging

Dirk van Meerbeck took over the newly created position of "Head of Packaging" at the LEIPA Group (Munich, Germany) on Oct. 1, 2018. In this position, the packaging expert is responsible for the global sales for the White Top Testliner, Special Paper and Board production areas with a total capacity of 870,000 metric tpy.

Born in 1967 in Dinslaken, the wholesale and export merchant has more than 20 years of sales experience and profound industry expertise. Before assuming his new position at the LEIPA Group, he worked from 2004 at Schoellershammer, Düren, as sales manager for corrugated base paper and head of logistics. Prior to this, he gained many years of industry experience as sales manager for testliner and paper cores at Weig Karton in Mayen and previously as area sales manager for packaging at the Palm Group.

With investment in the PM 5, LEIPA has expanded its white top testliner production capacity to 700,000 metric tpy, significantly strengthening the packaging segment at LEIPA. The objectives and tasks of the head of packaging will include consistently continuing LEIPA's development from a product to a solution provider, steering national and international sales activities in the packaging segment, and to develop further service and performance offerings. Sales management in this product and market segment, which is steadily gaining in importance, will thus be under uniform management at LEIPA in future.

"The focused and structured expansion of our sales activities is, in addition to the continuous further development of our products and services, one of the central tasks in order to be able to offer our customers the best possible consulting on site. With Dirk van Meerbeck, we have gained a proven market and industry expert for this important task in the field of packaging," said LEIPA Group CEO Peter Probst.

"I am very much looking forward to my tasks as Head of Packaging at the LEIPA Group. Based on my many years of experience in the field of packaging papers and my extensive network, I am convinced to find - together with a highly motivated LEIPA team - the packaging solutions of tomorrow for and together with our customers. As a reliable partner and with a consulting service that sets standards," emphasized Dirk van Meerbeck.