Highlights of 2025

On 1 April 2025, Alois Waldburg-Zeil took over as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CPH Group from Peter Schildknecht, who had held this role for 16 years.

Alois Waldburg-Zeil has been at the helm of Zeochem since 2010 and played a key role not only in shaping its development over the past 15 years, but also laying the foundations for its future success. Under his leadership, Zeochem evolved into an internationally successful company producing molecular sieves, deuterated products and chromatography gels. Alois Waldburg-Zeil took over as CEO of CPH Group in addition to his position as Head of Zeochem. He transferred management of the molecular sieve business to an internal successor.

At the beginning of the reporting year, Peter Schildknecht decided to step down as CEO of CPH Group at the age of 62. Moving forward, Peter Schildknecht intends to focus more on strategic activities within the scope of his mandates on the Board of Directors.

Peter Schildknecht’s tenure saw the divisions of CPH Group continue their successful development and record a sharp uptick in corporate results. Since 2016 in particular, Zeochem and Perlen Packaging have expanded through acquisitions and the establishment of production sites in China, Europe, India and North and South America. This has significantly broadened CPH Group’s international reach, resulting in the creation of strong business areas that have filled the gap left by CPH Group’s largest division Perlen Papier, which was spun off in the middle of the previous year under Peter Schildknecht’s leadership with a view to consolidating CPH Group’s global focus as an international company with Swiss roots. Peter Schildknecht shaped the company through his consistent, efficient and successful leadership and anchored CPH Group in the market with a sound financial base.

CPH Group would like to thank Peter Schildknecht for his many years of dedicated and successful service and wish him all the best for his future endeavors.

With the acquisition of Canadian company SiliCycle in July of the reporting year, CPH Group has expanded Zeochem’s product range to include high-quality derivatized chromatography gels.

SiliCycle is one of the world’s leading suppliers for the development, manufacture and marketing of high-quality chromatographic gels for separation processes in pharmaceutical products. These gels boast outstanding physicochemical properties and are used in liquid chromatography in particular, an analytical technique that separates and identifies substances in a liquid phase and is widely employed in research and development laboratories, in process chemistry and in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The company generated sales of CAD 16 million in the previous year and employs around 60 people at its production site in Quebec and at its sales offices in Paris and Shanghai.

Zeochem acquired Sorbchem India, which also produces chromatography gels, back in the previous year. By combining its existing chromatography gel business in Bosnia-Herzegovina with those of the acquired companies in India and Canada, Zeochem is strengthening its market position in this area.

Countless industries and companies around the world are impacted by the shortage of skilled workers. There is also an increasing scarcity of well-trained staff in many regions of the USA. Zeochem is committed to promoting the young talent of tomorrow. At its site in Louisville, Kentucky, two apprentices completed training as part of the KY FAME program in the reporting year. KY FAME combines technical training at a local vocational school with practical experience at a partner company. Tuition alternates with work assignments over the course of 18 months, culminating in an “Associate Degree in Industrial Maintenance” – and often also a permanent position.

Experienced employees from the Zeochem maintenance team serve as mentors for the apprentices during the training period and provide them with targeted support and advice. This creates a partnership between students and teachers, and between theory and practice – always with the aim of making the apprentices permanent members of the team later on. This approach has already borne fruit for two apprentices, with more to follow in the years ahead.

Perlen Packaging Suzhou celebrated its tenth anniversary in the reporting year. Around 80 employees attended the official anniversary celebration at the start of the reporting year in Suzhou (China), located just west of Shanghai. Marc Haller, CEO Perlen Packaging, Boie Karstens, COO Perlen Packaging, and Colin Tham, long-standing site manager in Suzhou, paid tribute to Perlen Packaging’s successes in the Chinese market over the past decade and thanked employees for their hard work and dedication. The celebration ended with an evening dinner featuring competitions and honors for long-serving employees.

Perlen Packaging established its GMP-certified production site for film coating in Suzhou ten years ago, from where it has been supplying the markets in Asia ever since. At that time, the expansion into Asia – following sites in Switzerland, Germany and the USA – was a logical step so the company could respond even more quickly to growing demand in the region and meet local customer needs. Demand for medicines remains high in China in particular due to urbanization, rising incomes and an aging population.

At the beginning of the reporting year, Perlen Packaging acquired LOG Pharma with production sites in Israel and Hungary. The company produces packaging solutions with high barrier properties against oxygen and water vapor for the safe storage of liquid and solid pharmaceuticals, among others, in the pharmaceutical and medical industries. In the 2023 financial year, it generated sales of CHF 26 million and employed around 245 people.

With this acquisition, Perlen Packaging is expanding its product range to include vials and containers as complementary primary packaging for medicines. As both companies serve the same customer base, synergies with the existing business can be unlocked through the integration.

The location in Hungary also gives Perlen Packaging more direct access to the growing Eastern European pharmaceutical packaging market. This market is becoming increasingly important for the pharmaceutical market given that Perlen Packaging’s customers are relocating pharmaceutical blister production to this region. This will enable the company to respond to customer needs locally and at greater speed, and provide its customers with a more comprehensive service.

The acquisition of LOG Pharma marks the continuation of Perlen Packaging’s expansion strategy into niche markets with above-average growth potential, while at the same time strengthening its market position with the new product range.