SAPAL SA acquires French packaging specialist SMP*

With 120 years of experience in the cheese industry, Swiss-based packaging solutions business SAPAL SA has announced the acquisition of French company SMP*, a food packaging specialist.

With a team consisting of professionals from a major French cheese group, SMP* has technical expertise in engineering and maintenance, as well as know-how in the design of customised packaging machines for the cheese industry.

The acquisition has been designed to strengthen SAPAL’s position in the growing market segment of processed cheese, expanding its portfolio of machines for a wide range of market requirements — including complete lines for triangular, square or rectangular processed cheese portions, covering speeds from 100 to 600 portions per minute; and slice packaging systems ranging from 500 to 2000 slices per minute.

Dietmar Gundel, President of SAPAL SA, said: “We are very pleased to welcome the SMP* team into the Sapal family. SMP* has extensive experience in maintenance and retrofitting, as well as in the development of new packaging machines, always with the objective of minimising machine operating and maintenance costs.”

Jean -Paul Chevaux, founder of SMP*, said: “Sapal is one of the leading manufacturers of packaging and conditioning solutions for processed cheese. As a member of the Sapal Group, we are able to market our innovative machines and maintenance expertise worldwide. Sapal and SMP* are already working on a new generation of packaging and conditioning machines, which will be presented at the interpack trade fair in May 2026.”

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