Quadient sells e-commerce packaging business

French technology group Quadient will dispose of its small e-commerce packaging business as part of its strategic focus on high-growth markets such as parcel lockers and digital solutions.

The company will sell its Automated Packaging Solutions (APS) business and production facility based in Drachten, the Netherlands, to Dutch private equity firm Standard Investment for about €20 million.

APS makes customized ‘pack-to-size’ packaging for e-commerce orders to reduce the use of cardboard and plastics, thus reducing the order’s carbon footprint. Its solutions include CVP Impack and CVP Everest.   

Geoffrey Godet, CEO at Quadient, commented: “As we continue building leading market positions in high-growth businesses that are synergistic with our foundational mail-related activities, we are happy to announce this agreement with Standard Investment, a proven high-profile and hands-on investor, committed to strongly supporting the automated packaging business and the Drachten teams in their journey in the fit-to-size packaging solutions space.

“This transaction marks another important step in our Back to Growth strategy. On the one hand, it will further contribute to the refocus of our business portfolio. On the other hand, it will allow us to optimize our industrial footprint, which will support the high profitability of our Mail-Related Solutions in the future.”

Next-Generation Mailing and Shipping Solutions

Meanwhile, Quadient has also announced that it is bringing its most technologically advanced mailing solutions — the iX-Series mailing systems and S.M.A.R.T mail management software — to Europe. The intelligent iX-Series is now generally available in Germany, with an upcoming rollout in other European markets to include S.M.A.R.T.

Quadient successfully introduced the iX-Series and S.M.A.R.T. (Shipping, Mailing, Accounting, Reporting and Tracking) software to the U.S. market in 2020, where more than 15,000 units have been shipped despite the global pandemic.

“The success of our launch in the U.S. during the Covid crisis is a testament to how Quadient’s Mail-Related Solutions reduce operational expenses, eliminate risk and ensure compliance, and create opportunities for businesses with accurate cost tracking and reporting,” said Alain Fairise, chief solution officer, Mail-Related Solutions, Quadient.

The iX-Series includes Quadient’s advanced postage solutions, available in three models, the iX-3, iX-5 and iX-7. The S.M.A.R.T. cloud-based software complements all iX-Series models, providing consolidated and organized mail management that streamlines workflows and reduces the equipment footprint to a single dashboard. The iX-Series and S.M.A.R.T increases throughput speed and productivity, meets the latest communication protocols and data encryption requirements, offers postage expense reporting and supports chargeback accounting. Standard and customised reporting with real-time item tracking helps provide complete delivery details of every parcel.