There are people in an industry whose name eventually comes to stand for more than just a position or a title. It comes to represent an attitude. Reliability. Experience. A particular way of dealing with people and challenges. In the world of Saueressig, Stephan Lammers has long been exactly that kind of person. For many, he is simply: “Mr. Saueressig.”
Anyone looking back on nearly five decades of company history inevitably also looks back on Stephan Lammers — on a professional journey that is remarkable not only for its longevity, but for its consistency, passion, and extraordinary loyalty.
In August 1979, he began his apprenticeship as a gravure printer at Saueressig. It marked the beginning of a career that can rightly be described as exceptional. Interrupted only by military service, he returned to the company in the mid-1980s with great ambition. While working full-time, he completed his master craftsman qualification and, in 1986, successfully graduated as a certified industrial master printer — an early testament to his determination never to settle for past achievements.
Even then, the qualities that would define Stephan Lammers for decades were already evident: technical excellence combined with a strong sense of responsibility and genuine human connection. As deputy head of the proofing department and trainer of young printers, he passed on not only knowledge, but also values. Precision, reliability, and passion for the craft were never mere buzzwords for him — they were part of everyday life.
In 1989, he broadened his horizons by joining a major customer in Switzerland. For two years, he experienced “the other side” of the business — an experience that permanently shaped his understanding of customer needs, processes, and markets. That he later returned to Saueressig was no coincidence, but rather an expression of deep personal commitment.
From 1991 onward, his path increasingly led into leadership roles. In sales and customer service within the packaging printing forms division, Stephan Lammers evolved into one of the defining personalities of the company. International assignments — including work with Saueressig Polska in Tarnowo Podgórne, Poland — further expanded both his perspective and his influence within the group.
With his appointment as Deputy Head of the Packaging Division, he became the right-hand man to Klemens Brückerhoff. Following Brückerhoff’s retirement, Stephan Lammers ultimately assumed a key leadership role himself: first as Head of the Packaging Division, later as Global Director Packaging, and eventually with full executive authority. Yet titles were never an end in themselves for him. What mattered most was always the task — and the people behind it.
Those who worked with Stephan Lammers rarely remember organizational charts or job titles first. They remember his presence. His persistence. His ability to tackle problems head-on rather than postpone them. He was, and remains, a consummate professional — demanding, direct, at times uncompromising on technical matters, but always fair. Someone who listened. Someone who was accessible. For customers as much as for employees. Almost around the clock.
At a time when leadership is often mistaken for distance, Stephan Lammers always remained approachable. Down-to-earth. Human. He was never a loud voice, but rather someone who made things possible. Not an administrator, but a person who carried responsibility — over decades, through change, crises, technological disruption, and the transformation of an entire industry.
Many colleagues associate him not only with professional expertise, but with personal memories. One long-time companion describes him as a “rock in the surf” and a “builder of relationships” — someone who cultivated connections and never allowed contact to fade. Indeed, this was one of Stephan Lammers’ defining qualities: he always knew how to bring people together. Not out of obligation, but out of genuine interest.
On April 30, 2026, a professional life officially came to an end that was far more than just a career. With his transition from phased retirement into full retirement, a personality departs who helped shape Saueressig and the international packaging printing industry for decades.
And perhaps that is Stephan Lammers’ greatest achievement: he never tried to stand at the center of attention — and yet, for many, he became exactly that.
With his departure, the printing and packaging industry is not merely losing another name from an organizational chart. It is bidding farewell to a true character. A passionate printer. A manager with integrity. A colleague of the old school in the very best sense.
Or simply: “Mr. Saueressig.”
