Founder of SOMIC Group dies at 83
Manfred Bonetsmuller, the founder and managing director of the SOMIC Group for decades, died Oct. 10. He was 83.
Bonetsmuller, who founded the Germany-based company in 1974, grew SOMIC from a four-person business to a global mechanical engineering leader by continuously developing technical innovations, according to a news release.
His focus on individual customer requirements helped SOMIC gain popularity in Germany and France with automated stacking, portioning and wrapping packaging machines for the cheese industry, according to the release.
In the early 1980s, Bonetsmuller developed SOMIC’s first carton erector. SOMIC later offered complete packaging lines for dairies and became a leading supplier in this sector.
He opened new market segments when SOMIC developed a compact machine that combined two systems. For the first time, products could be collected and packaged in one machine, allowing more product shapes to be processed.
From tray packers and lid tray packers to wraparound packers, SOMIC machines are now used in food, non-food and health care sectors globally.
SOMIC expanded to North America with SOMIC Packaging Inc. in 2014 and added another production facility in 2019 by acquiring SOMIC Haag. Last December, subsidiary SOMIC Packaging Asia Pacific Co. Ltd. opened in Thailand.
