Dr Stefan König, chairman of the managing board of the Packaging Technology division, said, “North America remained stable at a high level, while sales in Asia fell below the previous year’s figures. India has been experiencing strong development, due in part to our joint venture with Klenzaids. At the same time, however, China has shown great reluctance to invest, and a host of homegrown competitors have emerged over the past few years. They have created immense competitive and price pressure, especially in the sector for simpler systems.”

At Interpack, Bosch is presenting a range of innovations in machines and digital services on around 3,500 square metres booth space. This includes the world premiere of Xelum, a platform for the continuous production of tablets. Powder is produced continuously, while intelligent sensors constantly monitor the manufacturing conditions and prevent longer downtimes.

“In 2016, we have begun to strategically align the company even more towards Industry 4.0 and complete solutions,” said König. “We have delivered a great number of single machines, complete lines and systems. And we will continue building increasingly better and connected machines. More specifically, they will be even more reliable, easier to use, and more flexible with high output at the same time. In addition, we executed more large-scale turn-key projects.”