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Borgholzhausen, January 26, 2026 – From August 12, 2026, the packaging industry will have to meet many of the requirements of the new European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR). In the core areas of the PPWR, corrugated cardboard has an enormous head start over plastics with recycling rates of over 90%, and in Germany even 95.3% (source: Gesellschaft für Verpackungsmarktforschung, GVM). Fibers can be recycled over 20 times, and the system is established throughout Europe. According to the industry association VDW, approximately 80% of the recycled material consists of waste paper. FEFCO and VDW have succeeded in ensuring that disposable cardboard boxes are largely exempt from reuse quotas for transport packaging.

Nevertheless, there is still a need for action, e.g., in the case of coated corrugated cardboard, i.e., barrier papers that serve as protection against grease or moisture and contain chemicals such as PFAS and heavy metals. Strict limits will apply to these from August onwards. The industry must develop harmless coatings that dissolve during paper recycling. The maximum void ratio of 50% means that manufacturers must increasingly offer customized on-demand packaging, require more flexible machinery, and need additional storage capacity for greater format diversity. In addition, data on weight, recycled content, and chemical composition must be digitized and made available as standard for all raw materials and products.

Automated storage systems for corrugated cardboard

Automated storage systems from Westfalia transport and store heavy loads and bulky formats in a particularly gentle and compact manner, combining these formats flexibly in high-bay warehouses. Photo: Westfalia Technologies GmbH & Co. KG

Westfalia Technologies as a “quality gate”

Capacity on limited space, efficient storage processes and material flows to supply production and retrieve products, as well as transparent data management in transport and intralogistics – automated conveyor and storage systems can do all this.

They are the physical guarantee that raw materials and cut-to-size goods are available to production just-in-sequence, that products from high-performance corrugated cardboard plants are stored and distributed without bottlenecks. And that what is stated on the delivery note – e.g., 100% recycled paper content – is reliably contained in the corrugated cardboard.

Storage systems from Westfalia Technologies GmbH & Co. KG have been proven in the packaging and corrugated cardboard industry for decades. They offer high-density, space-saving storage. Satellite® Storage Systems in particular are designed for fast, material-friendly transport, high loads, multiple transport, and bulky formats. If required, they can also be stored without pallets in shelf compartments with multiple supports and can be integrated anywhere along the production lines on customized floor spaces close to the production lines. Material paths are shortened and material flows are streamlined. The additional capacity makes it possible to purchase raw materials at favorable market prices for stockpiling, but also to produce many batches for stockpiling at different times, thereby minimizing expensive setup times. Westfalia systems are robust, run for decades with minimal maintenance costs and maximum reliability.

Multiple support in the storage channels of Westfalia systems enables the particularly gentle storage of large-format and heavy corrugated cardboard stacks, without pallets if required – as shown here at the Tricor site in Bad Wörishofen. Photo: Westfalia Technologies GmbH & Co. KG
The Satellite® load handling device is designed for a variety of requirements. Multiple and lifting Satellite® devices can also transport corrugated cardboard stacks and sensitive cut-to-size goods without pallets. Photo: Westfalia Technologies GmbH & Co. KG
High-performance production must be seamlessly connected to warehouse logistics. Westfalia systems offer the necessary transfer speeds and capacities on storage and retrieval machines and in high-bay warehouses with minimal floor space requirements. Photo: Westfalia Technologies GmbH & Co. KG

Die Innovation der vom Grundprinzip unveränderten, bewährten Westfalia-Technologien besteht in ihrer Anpassungsfähigkeit. Sie lassen sich leicht auf die neuen Herausforderungen der PPWR adaptieren. Vielleicht die wichtigste Voraussetzung für die neuen PPWR-Anforderungen: Das Savanna.NET® Warehouse Execution System (WES) liefert mit vollständiger Steuerung und Bestandstransparenz die Grundlage für fehlerfreie, genaue Produktionsprozesses und die Datenbasis für IT- und Compliance-Prozesse, um auf Knopfdruck Konformitätserklärungen auszustellen.

Das WES Savanna.NET® verwaltet automatisiert die optimalen Lagerbestände, stellt hunderte Lagerstrategien zur Verfügung und ermöglicht die flexible Aufteilung von Hochregalen, die hochdichte Lagerung und Kombination verschiedener Formate, durch multidimensionale Fachverwaltung. Die Software steuert zudem präzise die Materialflüsse, um die richtigen Rohstoffe, Halbfertig- und Formatwaren sowie Fertigwaren just-in-sequence zu Verfügung zu stellen und mit den geeigneten Lagerstrategien zur optimalen Faserqualität beizutragen. Im Wellpappenwerk stellt das automatisierte Rollenlager aus Tausenden von Papierrollen (Kraftliner und Testliner) die richtige Papierrolle an der Wellpappenanlage bereit.

Art und Position jeder Papierrolle, jeder Formatware und jedes Fertigprodukts ist dem System bekannt: Diese lückenlose Rückverfolgbarkeit erzeugt automatisch den digitalen Datensatz für die Konformitätserklärung. Das System protokolliert Art und Beschaffenheit jeder Ladeeinheit und ermöglicht, automatisch die Zusammensetzung jeder Charge abzurufen.

Daher dient automatische Lager- und Fördertechnik als Quality-Gate: Im Wareneingang sorgt sie dafür, dass nur das definierte Recyclingmaterial in die verschiedenen Produktionslinien gelangt, im Warenausgang sorgt sie für Logistikbündelung, schnelle Distribution und stellt jederzeit die notwendigen Daten für die PPWR-Dokumentation bereit.