W+D North America Inc. | BW Converting Solutions Tel. (913) 492-9880

What W+D North America Inc. | BW Converting Solutions Tel. (913) 492-9880 does

W+D North America Inc. (Winkler+Dünnebier) is the US operating entity of a German-founded industrial machinery brand that designs and manufactures high-speed converting equipment for envelope and direct mail production, hygiene products (baby diapers, menstrual care, adult incontinence, wipes), tissue converting and packaging, bag converting, and e-commerce mailing. The company originated in 1913 with the invention of the rotation principle for envelope machines and entered hygiene machinery in 1976, building a specialized technology base in precision processing of thin and sensitive materials at production speeds.

W+D became part of Barry-Wehmiller in 2016 and expanded through the acquisitions of F.L. Smithe and Halm Industries in 2017 and BICMA Hygiene Technologie in 2018. In 2023, W+D was grouped with five other Barry-Wehmiller brands (PCMC, Baldwin, Hudson-Sharp, STAX Technologies, Northern Engraving) to form BW Converting Solutions, a unified global converting organization. The combined platform operates across Germany and the United States, with US headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas.

The business model is B2B industrial capital equipment sales through direct enterprise field sales, with quote-based pricing, installation, training, modifications, parts, and field service generating lifecycle aftermarket revenue. Customer segments include mail industry manufacturers, hygiene and personal care producers, tissue converters, and bag converters, supported by trade show presence (Printing United, MIAC, SuperCorrExpo), a global website, and an email newsletter.

Name

W+D North America Inc. | BW Converting Solutions Tel. (913) 492-9880

Legal name

W+D North America Inc.

Website

https://wdnorthamerica.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1913

Operating status

Operating

Short description

W+D North America manufactures industrial converting machinery for envelope and direct mail, hygiene products, tissue, and e-commerce mailing bags, serving mail, hygiene, and packaging manufacturers globally under Barry-Wehmiller's BW Converting Solutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Converting Machinery

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (3333)

SIC

Printing Trades Machinery & Equipment (3555)

akta.pro primary industry

End-of-Line Integration & Packaging Line Systems (IMAHAOAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Form-Fill-Seal (VFFS/HFFS) Machines (IMAHAOAA)

Keywords

• Industrial converting machinery
• Envelope manufacturing equipment
• Mail inserting systems
• Hygiene product converting
• Tissue packaging machinery

Headquarters

HQ city

Lenexa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Industrial Machinery Sales: Sale of capital equipment including envelope machines, mail converting/inserting/printing machinery, hygiene product converting lines, and tissue processing equipment. Revenue generated from new machine sales with additional revenue from lifecycle support services including parts, modifications, training, and field service.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

W+D North America Inc. manufactures industrial converting machinery for the production of envelopes, mail inserts/printed mail, hygiene products (adult incontinence, baby care, menstrual care, wipes), tissue (folded and roll), and e-commerce mailing solutions. The offering is delivered as engineered production lines backed by lifecycle support services for high-volume manufacturing customers.

Product overview

W+D (Winkler+Dünnebier) is a portfolio of industrial machinery under BW Converting Solutions, a Barry-Wehmiller company. The offering is organized around multiple product lines: Mail Solutions (converting, inserting, and printing), Hygiene Solutions (adult care, baby care, menstrual care, and wipes), E-commerce Mailing, and Tissue Converting and Packaging. W+D was founded in 1913 and acquired the F.L. Smithe, Halm Industries (2017), and BICMA Hygiene Technologie (2018) brands. In 2023, W+D joined five other Barry-Wehmiller companies to form BW Converting, unifying product brands under one global organization. The portfolio includes complete converting and packaging lines, industrial manufacturing solutions, and comprehensive lifecycle support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mail Converting Solutions Industrial converting lines for producing envelopes and mail products, designed for high-volume paper substrate conversion. Targeted at industrial envelope and mail manufacturers.
• Mail Inserting Technology High-speed inserting systems for assembling printed mail pieces with inserts for direct mail and transaction communications. Targeted at commercial mail producers and direct-mail operators.
• Mail Printing Inline printing modules for envelope and mail converting lines, enabling variable and static printing during mail production. Targeted at commercial and direct-mail manufacturers.
• Hygiene Solutions Converting machinery for absorbent hygiene products, including adult incontinence (heavy and light), baby diapers, menstrual care products, and wet wipes. Built around high-speed handling of sensitive absorbent substrates. Targeted at personal care and hygiene product manufacturers.
• Tissue Converting Converting equipment for tissue products, configured to support both folded and roll tissue packaging formats. Targeted at tissue producers and converters.
• Tissue Packaging - Folded Packaging machinery for folded tissue products, integrating converting and packaging steps for folded formats such as facial tissue, kitchen towels, and napkins. Targeted at tissue manufacturers.
• Tissue Packaging - Roll Packaging machinery for roll tissue products, supporting converting and packaging of toilet paper, kitchen rolls, and similar roll-format tissue items. Targeted at tissue manufacturers.
• E-commerce Mailing Solutions Converting equipment for the production of e-commerce and parcel mailing items, supporting shipping mailers and related paper-based packaging products at scale. Targeted at converters serving e-commerce and shipping channels.
• Lifecycle Support After-sales services for installed converting equipment, including spare parts, retrofits, upgrades, remote support, and field service across the W+D product portfolio. Targeted at manufacturers operating W+D equipment seeking to maximize uptime, throughput, and asset lifespan.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• BW Converting (Sister Brands: PCMC, Baldwin, Hudson-Sharp, STAX Technologies, Northern Engraving)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023In 2023, W+D joined with PCMC, Baldwin, Hudson-Sharp, STAX Technologies, and Northern Engraving to form BW Converting, unifying quality and innovation of each brand under one global organization with shared resources and cross-brand collaboration.
• BICMA Hygiene Technologie GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Acquired in 2018 to bolster focus on the hygiene sector, strengthening W+D's hygiene product converting business.
• F.L. SmithecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Acquired in 2017 along with Halm Industries, expanding W+D's envelope and mail processing capabilities in North America.
• Halm IndustriescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Acquired in 2017 along with F.L. Smithe, expanding W+D's presence in the North American envelope and mail equipment market.
• Barry-WehmillerflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Barry-Wehmiller acquired W+D in 2016. In 2023, W+D was brought together with five other Barry-Wehmiller companies to form BW Converting, creating a unified global converting organization.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Quadient: European-origin (formerly Neopost/HASLER) provider of mail inserting, folder-inserter, and document automation equipment - directly competing with W+D's mail inserting technology offerings to enterprise and postal customers.
• Bowe Systec: German manufacturer of mail inserting, sortation, and document processing equipment with direct overlap to W+D's mail inserting product portfolio and a comparable European industrial customer base.
• PCMC (Paper Converting Machine Company): Sister company within BW Converting Solutions, PCMC manufactures converting machinery for hygiene, packaging, and other industrial applications - directly overlapping with W+D's hygiene converting and packaging equipment lines and serving many of the same B2B customers.
• Hudson-Sharp: Sister company in BW Converting that specializes in bag converting and pouch machinery - directly competitive with W+D's bag converting product line (pouches, wicketed bags, seal bags) and serving similar packaging customers.
• Curt G. Joa: U.S.-based specialist in hygiene converting machinery for baby diapers and adult incontinence products, supplying similar global hygiene OEMs as W+D with comparable converting technology and machine formats.
• GDM (GDM Packaging): Italian manufacturer of hygiene product converting machinery (baby diapers, feminine care, adult incontinence), one of the largest direct competitors to W+D in global hygiene converting equipment and serving the same hygiene OEM customers.
• Pitney Bowes: Major direct competitor in mail inserting and document processing equipment, serving enterprise and postal markets that overlap with W+D's mail inserting and direct/transactional mail product lines.

Broad incumbents

• Valmet: Finnish industrial engineering firm specializing in pulp, paper, and tissue machinery - a major established player in tissue converting equipment whose tissue packaging and converting product lines overlap with W+D's tissue packaging offerings.
• Andritz AG: Austrian industrial machinery conglomerate with significant tissue and paper converting operations - competing with W+D in tissue converting while serving a much wider industrial machinery portfolio across pulp, paper, hydroseparation, and metals.
• Bühler Group: Swiss industrial machinery leader with diversified packaging, food processing, and converting operations - a much broader incumbent whose converting technology touches on some of the same hygiene and packaging customer accounts as W+D.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/winkler-dunnebier-machinery-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about W+D North America Inc. | BW Converting Solutions Tel. (913) 492-9880