KAPSTO®
Plastic protective elements for all cases.
From chicken coop to
Global plastics processor.
Global plastics processor.
What began as an idea in a chicken shed as a cork factory is now a real success story: Today, we are a leading family business in plastics processing, with over 2,500 creators at six locations worldwide.
A profile of our company:
General information & corporate structure
- Founded: 1949 by Hubert and Josef Pöppelmann – from 1953 Josef Pöppelmann as sole owner.
- Premises: Lohne, Lower Saxony, Germany
- Employees: 2,500 worldwide (including 2,300 in Lohne)
- Apprentices: More than 150 in technical and commercial professions
- Production sites: 6 worldwide (three in Germany, one each in France, the USA and China)
- Sales companies: Spain, Denmark, Czech Republic, England
- Ownership: 100% family-owned (Pöppelmann Holding GmbH & Co. KG)
- Subsidiaries: Pöppelmann GmbH & Co. KG Kunststoffwerk-Werkzeugbau, Pöppelmann Kunststoff-Technik GmbH & Co. KG
- Managing directors of the holding company and subsidiaries: Norbert Nobbe, Matthias Lesch, Christian Schwarck
- Third-generation shareholders: Catherin Vitale (Chairwoman of the Advisory Board), Maximilian Forst (member of the Advisory Board), Felicitas Pöppelmann, Vincent Otto
Products & Markets
- Industries: Mechanical and equipment engineering, automotive, electrical, solar, food, chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and medical industries as well as companies in the surface technology and fittings industry
- Divisions: KAPSTO® (protective solutions), K-TECH® (technical plastic parts), FAMAC® (food & medical packaging), TEKU® (horticultural products)
- Product diversity: Around 12,000 products - from thin-walled items to complex functional parts
- Customers: In over 90 countries worldwide
Production & Technologies
- Production sites: Six worldwide (three in Germany, one plant each in France, USA and China)
- Tool Technology Center: Development and production of precision tools by around 100 experienced specialists for in-house plastics processing (tools with up to 48+48 cavities, up to 8 t total weight)
- Development: Article and tool design, filling and warpage simulation, FEM simulation, topology optimization
- Laboratory:
- LIPS = laser-induced plasma spectroscopy and microscopy
- HKV = high-pressure capillary rheometer
- DSC = differential scanning calorimeter
- TGA = Thermogravimetric analysis
- MVR = Melt Volume-flow Rate
- FT-IR = Fourier transform infrared spectrometer
- Mechanical material testing
- Technical Training: Consolidation of company-wide knowledge for use in technological development
- Machinery: 700 plastics processing machines with clamping forces from 100 kN to 27000 kN (injection molding, thermoforming, extrusion)
- Technologies:
- 3D printing
- Rapid Tooling
- Compounding
- Extrusion
- Inline thermoforming
- Thermoform-In-Mold-Labelling (T-IML)
- Plastic injection molding
- Multi-component injection molding
- Two-component liquid silicone rubber (LSR)
- Polyurethane gaskets (PUR)
- Physical foaming of thermoplastics TSG (MuCell®, ProFoam)
- Chemical foaming of thermoplastics
- Organo sheet processing
- Internal high pressure forming process (IHU)
- Metal-plastic connections
- In-mold labeling (IML)
- Technical cleanliness
- Cleanroom production
- Welding processes (laser, ultrasonic, hot gas, vibration welding)
- Assembly technology
- Dry offset printing
Initiatives & Places
Initiatives:
- PÖPPELMANN blue®: A company-wide initiative that develops resource- and climate-friendly product concepts to promote sustainability in all areas.
- PÖPPELMANN digital: A company-wide initiative that develops and drives forward projects, measures and ideas for digital transformation.
- Future Mobile: A trainee initiative that contributes to the sustainable use of plastics with school workshops. With a mobile and interactive stations on the topics of waste separation, recycling, extrusion and injection molding, the life cycle of plastics is taught in a practical way and complements school lessons on sustainability.
Locations:
Our ZUKUNFTSWERKSTATT includes our technical center and the permanent exhibition of the Zukunftsmobil:
- Training center: Central point of contact for interdisciplinary fundamentals in plastics technology, metal technology, technical communication and electrical engineering as well as technical instruction, exam preparation and uniform basic training.
- DigitalLab: A freely accessible place for everyone to understand and experience how digital transformation has changed and will continue to change the way we work at Pöppelmann, including cobots, 3D printing, artificial intelligence and extended reality
Our
Business areas.
Business areas.
Our expert teams for innovative plastics concepts are active in the global markets of the automotive, medical technology, food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries as well as in horticulture.
K-TECH®
High-precision plastic injection molded parts.
FAMAC®
Functional parts and state-of-the-art packaging.
TEKU®
Products for commercial horticulture.
At home anywhere in the world,
always a team.
always a team.
With three production sites in Germany and one each in France, the USA and China, we are globally positioned and at the same time firmly anchored as one team. Whether just around the corner or on the other side of the world, together we ensure that our products are of the highest quality.
PLANT I
Headquarters in Lohne,
Germany
Production location
Development center
Distribution location
Bakumer Str. 73
49378 Lohne
PLANT II
Lohne,
Germany
Production location
Development center
Distribution location
Hermann-Staudinger-Straße 1
49378 Lohne
PLANT III
Lohne,
Germany
Production location
Development center
Distribution location
Pöppelmannstraße 5
49378 Lohne
PLANT RIXHEIM
Rixheim,
France
Production site
Development center
Distribution location
3 rue Robert Schuman
68172 Rixheim Cedex
PLANT CLAREMONT
Claremont,
USA
Production location
Distribution location
2180 Heart Drive
Claremont, NC 28610
PLANT KUNSHAN
Claremont,
USA
Production location
Distribution location
2180 Heart Drive
Claremont, NC 28610
Shaping the future,
since 1949.
since 1949.
February 1949
Application for approval of a cork factory.
Submitted to the Lohne municipal administration by Hubert (22) and Josef Pöppelmann (21). Start after payment of an administration fee of 5 D-Mark.
July 2, 1949
Opening of the Gebröder Pöppelmann cork factory.
The factory: an old chicken shed on his parents' farm in Brockdorf near Lohne.
1953/1954
Move to Bakumer Straße 2.
Construction of a combined production, warehouse and residential building: the nucleus of the Pöppelmann Group. Today, the building is home to the Lohner youth club.
19 August 1954
Marriage.
Josef Pöppelmann walks down the aisle with Gertrud Hövemann. She had already been working in the company before the marriage and supported her husband in all entrepreneurial activities from the very beginning. The couple have six children.
April 1955
The first plastic product: a handle cap.
Purchase of the first plastic injection molding machine at the Hannover Messe. It is used to produce the first handle cap for a cork, which serves as a closure for a spirits bottle. Start of the plastics & rubber industry at Pöppelmann.
April 1957
Begin of the construction of KAPSTO
Purchase of the first robling-type machine tool. Very rapid development of KAPSTO® sealing plugs and protective caps as well as protective sleeves into a versatile range sold throughout Europe.
1966
New factory premises at Bakumer Straäe 73.
Pöppelmann is growing. Construction of Hall 1 begins in 1966 on a plot of land on Bakumer Straüe. A new administration building is also completed here in 1972 (photo).
Further halls and a second office building are added at this location (Plant 1) in the following years.
28 May 1966
Plastiques Pöppelmann France (PPF)
Foundation of the first foreign branch in Mulhouse, Rue du Rhin. Plastiques Pöppelmann France, an independent company under commercial law, takes over the distribution of the entire Pöppelmann range for France. Move to the company's own plastics plant in Rixheim in 1977.
1971
Start of the TEKU® program.
The TEKU® program starts with the production of the first plant pots. To this day, this division develops and produces plants and propagation systems for commercial horticulture.
June 1974
25th company anniversary.
Honoring the men of the first hour: (from right) Aloys Wienhold, Gottfried Thobe and August Böckmann. At the same time, a new company building is inaugurated: Hall 3. The company has 200 employees at this time.
August 1983
Josef Pöppelmann dies at the age of only 55.
The company is now managed by Gertrud Pöppelmann and her brother-in-law Karl-Heinz Diekmann. His work is inextricably linked to the company's success story: in 1955, Josef Pöppelmann brought the then 23-year-old into the company as a commercial employee. Just two years later, Karl-Heinz Diekmann became an authorized signatory, and in 1980 Managing Director.
May 1996
Opening of plant 2 in Brockdorf.
Pöppelmann grows – and builds the second location at the headquarters in Lohne in the immediate vicinity of the former Pöppelmann farm. The K-TECH division produces high-precision technical plastic components here in Brockdorf under the management of Franz Nordlohne (Managing Director from January 2005).
April 30, 1997
Change in management.
Gertrud Pöppelmann and Karl-Heinz Diekmann (2nd from right) join the Advisory Board and hand over the management of the company to Friedrich Kühling, Guido Schmidt and Alfons Sieverding (from left).
July 2, 1999
50th company anniversary.
With 800 employees and subsidiaries as well as branches in France, Spain, England, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands, Pöppelmann is one of the leading plastics processing companies in Europe.
2007
Pöppelmann Plastics USA (PPUSA).
Site opening with the TEKU® division in Claremont, North Carolina. The group of companies employs over 1,300 people worldwide.
April 18, 2009
Owner Gertrud Pöppelmann dies at the age of 84.
The group of companies remains 100 percent family-owned. The company is managed by Friedrich Kühling, Norbert Nobbe and Franz Nordlohne.
2009
Rome Trip
On the occasion of the company's 60th anniversary, the motto is: "Off to Rome!" At the invitation of the Pöppelmann family, employees and their partners will experience unforgettable days in the Italian capital.
May 2010
Opening of plant 3.
Pöppelmann FAMAC® develops and produces functional parts and packaging made of plastic to the highest standards for the medical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.
2013
Holdorf compounding plant goes into operation
To reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, Pöppelmann produces high-quality recyclates from plastic waste.
2018
Founding initiative PÖPPELMANN blue®.
With PÖPPELMANN blue®, the company has set itself company-wide strategic goals for climate protection and resource conservation.
2019
Expansion of the learning workshop into a training center.
In Hall 26 in Plant 2, trainees in technical professions are instructed in the fields of plastics technology, technical communication, electrical engineering and metal technology at state-of-the-art training stations.
2020
The third generation continues the family tradition.
The third generation bears responsibility as shareholders (from left): Maximilian Forst (member of the Advisory Board), Felicitas Pöppelmann, Catherin Vitale (Chairwoman of the Advisory Board) and Vincent Otto.
2021
Founding of the PPdigital corporate initiative
Pöppelmann pools experience and expertise across the company to actively shape the digital transformation and establish new services on the market.
2022
US plant expands capacities
Start of construction of Hall 3 at the US Pöppelmann plant in Claremont, North Carolina.
2023
Start of construction of Hall 43
Plant 2 is one of the most modern plastics processing sites in Europe. The planning and implementation of the new hall follows the standards of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB).
2023
Awards as a climate protection company.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke admits Pöppelmann to the association Klimaschutz-Unternehmen e. V. (Climate Protection Companies). This is a network of German companies that are actively committed to climate protection and energy efficiency as well as the sensible use of resources. The initiators are the Federal Ministry of Economics, the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
2023
Opening of the technical center.
New materials and innovative production technologies are designed and tested in the new technology forge in Plant 2.
2023
"Science Based Targets initiative" confirms Pöppelmann climate targets for 2030.
The SBTi is a joint initiative of the global non-profit environmental organization CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It has reviewed the company's climate targets and confirmed that they are in line with the 1.5 degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement.
2024
Opening of the Digital Lab.
New technologies can be experienced in the Digital Lab. The immediate proximity to the training center is fitting: Because the Digital Lab is also about learning and understanding how digital change has changed and will continue to change our work at Pöppelmann. All colleagues are invited to familiarize themselves with digital technologies in this unique learning workshop.
2024
Initiative FutureMobile.
They are shaping the world of tomorrow: since 2018, trainees of different age groups from various training professions have been making the topics of plastics, material cycles and recycling very practical „mobile“ in this initiative and are also happy to provide information about them as "mobile workshops" in schools and at events.
May 2024
75th anniversary.
With six production sites at its headquarters in Lohne (Germany), Rixheim (France), Claremont (North Carolina) and Kunshan (China), the family-owned company Pöppelmann is one of the leading plastics processors in the industry. More than 2,500 employees worldwide produce innovative plastic products for global markets including the automotive, medical technology, food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical and horticulture industries.
1 June 2025
Triple expertise in management.
Matthias Lesch (Managing Director of Marketing, Sales and Innovation since 2019), Norbert Nobbe (Managing Director of Quality Management, Development and Technology since 2008) and Christian Schwarck (new since June 2025 as Managing Director of Finance, HR and IT) manage the company (from left).
20 June 2025
Opening of Hall 43.
With the opening of Hall 43 at Plant 2 in Brockdorf/Lohne (Oldenburg), the company officially puts one of Europe's most modern production facilities in the plastics industry into operation.
THE FAMILY PÖPPELMANN
With drive, enthusiasm and a flair for new opportunities, Josef Püppelmann founded the company in 1949, which was continued by his wife Gertrud after his death. She significantly shaped the corporate culture through her humanity and respectful treatment of the women and men employees. These values created an atmosphere in which innovation could flourish. Today, the third generation is continuing the family tradition. Curiosity and innovation are still our key to growth. At the same time, we know that Sustainable success only comes from working together.
Josef Pöppelmann
At the age of 21, Josef Pöppelmann (1928 - 1983) founded a cork factory together with his brother in a chicken shed. He was an entrepreneurial personality who steered the company on the road to success with energy, a flair for change and courage. His enthusiasm set a unique company history in motion in 1949 and remained a driving force even after his early death. A doer who shaped the future.
Gertrud Pöppelmann
She was a modern woman, deeply rooted in faith and nature. As an adolescent, Gertrud Pöppelmann (1924 – 2009) completed her commercial apprenticeship with flying colors, unaware that she would one day be at the helm of one of the largest companies in the region. She treated her much-loved female and male employees with modesty, gratitude and respect. Her humanity and kindness perfectly complemented the skills of the managers next to her, shaped the workforce and continue to have an impact on the corporate culture to this day.
The third generation
As shareholders, Maximilian Forst (Member of the Advisory Board), Felicitas Pöppelmann, Catherin Vitale (Chairwoman of the Advisory Board) and Vincent Otto are currently in charge (from left to right). Their ambition: to actively shape the future with dedication and creativity. Their goal: to inspire the world of tomorrow with future-proof, innovative and sustainable products. To achieve this, they rely on motivation, team spirit and an honest and open corporate culture.
Making 75 years possible
convincing our customers:
convincing our customers:
We like to work
with Pöppelmann,
because ...
Packaging specialist supports packaging optimization.
"The collaboration with Pöppelmann has intensified, especially in recent years, which has also led to both companies developing an understanding of each other's requirements. One of the results of this good cooperation is our new herbal quark pot, on which numerous departments at DMK and Pöppelmann have worked together."
Henning Götsche, Packaging Development of the DMK Group's Private Label business unit.
Resource conservation with distinction!
"We very much appreciate the overall strategy of our partner Pöppelmann FAMAC® to promote the use of recycled materials and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For this, we awarded Pöppelmann FAMAC® 2nd place in the Sustainability category at the Dräger Supplier Awards"
Kathrin Huth, Project Manager at Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA
More sustainable packaging.
"The development of sustainable packaging solutions is one of the top issues in our industry. A partnership in which both sides are seriously committed to this and pull together in the search for new concepts offers the best conditions for this. And so it is no coincidence that we can already boast a whole series of joint solutions in this field."
Jessica Gerst, Head of Packaging Development at Wernsing Feinkost GmbH.
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