Rewarding achievement

20 May 2010

Although times are tough for companies trying to stay afloat during this recession, I am pleased to report that a lot of innovation and success is being achieved in the industry. We believe that these achievements should be recognised, so Converting Today has introduced an Editors’ Awards scheme.

The monthly awards will be made to companies that have shown their innovation skills, for example in making a contribution to the reduction of environmental impact; or perhaps commercial success in breaking into a new market. We will be taking a look at companies’ products and services that are particularly innovative in terms of standards, excellence, quality and value and I, together with Consultant Editor Mike Taylor, will make a choice of up to three each month to receive this accolade. At the end of the year, we will produce a round-up of the winners in a special November issue.

If you, as an end user, would like to nominate a company that you consider has met with any of the criteria above, then please do let us know.

This month’s winners are NanoPack (see News section), for its work in improving moisture vapour and oxygen barriers on clear PLA (polylactic acid) packaging and films, which results in a longer shelf life for food products.

Another winner is Henkel (see News section), whose FastOne LA 1640-21 Liofol Laminating adhesive replaces isocyanate-containing adhesives and reduces the curing time to just one day.

The third recipient of the award is UPM Raflatac (see News section). Its new, thinner PP30 liner allows more labels on a roll, fewer roll changes, and a reduction in packaging, transport, stock space and waste, which is all good for the environment, and the efficiency of the operation.

Confidence in the future

All of the above companies are showing a commitment to investment in development activities, which show a confidence in future recovery. This is borne out by survey results from ICD for Packaging Gateway (our sister website and e-news source).

The Global Packaging and Converting Industry Outlook to 2010 survey shows that the packaging industry is generally optimistic about the revenue growth of its companies. In all, 66% of packaged goods manufacturers and 62% of converter companies are optimistic about growth, according to ICD Research’s Q4 2009 annual industry survey. Revenue growth optimism grew from 20% in Q2 to 58% in Q4 among packaging suppliers.

Meanwhile, packaging buyers noted an increase of 25% in revenue optimism since Q2 2009. Developing regions (mainly India, China and Brazil) are more optimistic about the sales growth of their companies than developed regions due to growth of the food processing market.

The main challenges to be faced are reported as ‘responding to pricing pressure’, ‘cost containment’ and ‘rising competition’, with 60% of packaged goods manufacturers and converters rating ‘responding to price pressure’ as the most important business concern during 2010 to 2011.

Maureen Byrne

Editor


Maureen Byrne



Privacy Policy
We have updated our privacy policy. In the latest update it explains what cookies are and how we use them on our site. To learn more about cookies and their benefits, please view our privacy policy. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy unless you have disabled them.