Cluster co-founder Hansen proposed Gauger as his successor, which was unanimously accepted by the board. Gauger has been active as spokeswoman of the marketing working group since its foundation in 2007, as well as an assessor and later as deputy chairwoman. She was responsible for marketing at the Optima Packaging Group for 15 years.
Packaging Valley Germany is the result of a merger of Packaging Valley Germany and Packaging Excellence Region Stuttgart. It networks around 80 companies with a total of more than 20,000 employees. These include manufacturers of packaging systems and packaging machines, suppliers of software and automation solutions, manufacturers of components, suppliers of services for the packaging industry and public institutions.