It’s Evolution, Baby
In a competitive market, the industry’s demands on release liners are ever changing, but innovation is ever present.
May 2007 By Missy Smith
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Innovation and embracing change is the name of the game when it comes to release liners; at least that was the word at the Global Release Liner Industry Conference in Chicago, March 28-30, organized by AWA Conferences and Events.
At the conference, Todd Schweigert, director of marketing for Loparex, explained how films are driving release liner opportunities—growing at 5-6 percent annually. He also discussed which films represent the “right substrates” for liners in labelstock, composite, industrial, tape, graphic arts, medical, and hygiene markets; choosing coatings; and features of silicone adhesives. Derrick MacDonald, director of films product management for Avery Dennison Fasson Roll North America talked about the benefits of PET liners, which he said experienced a 5-year compound annual growth rate of 22 percent in Avery Dennison’s label business.
According to UPM’s John Smedley, sales director, North America, for Specialty Papers, the release liner world is changing. The industry is demanding greater efficiency, higher quality and speeds, automatic label application, and sustainability and forest managment, he said. As a result, cooperation throughout the value chain is crucial in facilitating innovation.
According to Conference Chairperson Corey Reardon, president and CEO of AWA, while North America and Europe remain the main release liner producers, both regions only saw about 4 percent growth in 2006. On the other hand, Asia and South America are growing at the fastest rate. Asia saw a 9.8 percent increase in 2006, and South America’s market grew by 12 percent. Because of these high growth rates, Reardon said, silicone coating capacity utilization is moving upwards, between 65 percent for in-house coaters and 74 percent for commercial coaters. But, industry threats including liner waste issues, linerless labelstock, incursion into the self-adhesive label market from alternative technologies, and raw material price inflation are still very much a concern, he said.
Reardon concluded, “A real game-changer in the industry has not yet been identified, so, for the time being, changes will continue to be evolutionary. While that is good news in some ways, it is also bad news: evolutionary change can make you lazy,” he said. “We have heard over the last two days how important it is to embrace change positively, in order to stay competitive both in our market segments and geographically. There are still real growth opportunities in liner substrates—both paper and film—and we have heard how there are developments to create different dynamics from the supply side to take costs out on the production side.”
At the conference, Todd Schweigert, director of marketing for Loparex, explained how films are driving release liner opportunities—growing at 5-6 percent annually. He also discussed which films represent the “right substrates” for liners in labelstock, composite, industrial, tape, graphic arts, medical, and hygiene markets; choosing coatings; and features of silicone adhesives. Derrick MacDonald, director of films product management for Avery Dennison Fasson Roll North America talked about the benefits of PET liners, which he said experienced a 5-year compound annual growth rate of 22 percent in Avery Dennison’s label business.
According to UPM’s John Smedley, sales director, North America, for Specialty Papers, the release liner world is changing. The industry is demanding greater efficiency, higher quality and speeds, automatic label application, and sustainability and forest managment, he said. As a result, cooperation throughout the value chain is crucial in facilitating innovation.
According to Conference Chairperson Corey Reardon, president and CEO of AWA, while North America and Europe remain the main release liner producers, both regions only saw about 4 percent growth in 2006. On the other hand, Asia and South America are growing at the fastest rate. Asia saw a 9.8 percent increase in 2006, and South America’s market grew by 12 percent. Because of these high growth rates, Reardon said, silicone coating capacity utilization is moving upwards, between 65 percent for in-house coaters and 74 percent for commercial coaters. But, industry threats including liner waste issues, linerless labelstock, incursion into the self-adhesive label market from alternative technologies, and raw material price inflation are still very much a concern, he said.
Reardon concluded, “A real game-changer in the industry has not yet been identified, so, for the time being, changes will continue to be evolutionary. While that is good news in some ways, it is also bad news: evolutionary change can make you lazy,” he said. “We have heard over the last two days how important it is to embrace change positively, in order to stay competitive both in our market segments and geographically. There are still real growth opportunities in liner substrates—both paper and film—and we have heard how there are developments to create different dynamics from the supply side to take costs out on the production side.”
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