Heidelberg has signed an agreement to acquire the technology, intellectual property, brand rights, and other assets of its long-term partner, the Polar Group. The move strengthens Heidelberg’s position in the postpress and packaging sectors, particularly in growth regions such as Asia, South America, and the Middle East.
The agreement gives Heidelberg exclusive global sales, service, and marketing rights for Polar Mohr’s postpress products. For customers, all processes relating to machine supply, parts and service will remain unchanged.
“This acquisition underscores our credentials as a full-range supplier for our customers in the packaging and label industry, including service, and gives us exclusivity in a growing market,” said Heidelberg CEO Jürgen Otto. “As a systems integrator, we cover the entire value chain of a packaging print shop – on a fully integrated and networked basis – to ensure production is highly productive. Polar Mohr systems play a key role in this context.”
Heidelberg and Polar Mohr have been working together since the 1950s, with Polar Mohr responsible for developing and manufacturing systems and Heidelberg handling large parts of sales and service. This new deal makes those responsibilities global and exclusive.
The companies said the transaction will enable closer integration of Polar Mohr’s automated and digitally connected postpress equipment into Heidelberg’s overall packaging and label offering. The product range includes loading, jogging, cutting, die cutting, unloading, and banding systems.
The Polar Group, owned by SOL Capital Management since early 2023, will continue to partner with Heidelberg on development and manufacturing.
“We have further intensified the collaboration with Heidelberg, and the next logical step was the long-term consolidation of this very close relationship,” said Dr Paul Niederkofler, managing partner at SOL Capital Management. “This transaction will strengthen the market position of Heidelberg in the postpress, label, and packaging market on a long-term basis. It also leaves Polar Mohr to focus entirely on its core competences as a developer and manufacturer.”
