Top Flexible Packaging Converters — Pressing Ahead

Faced with trying economic times, packagePRINTING’s Top Flexible Packaging Converters are making the best of it.

April 2008 by Missy Smith

multipage

Last year, the Flexible Packaging Assocation (FPA) predicted that the flexible packaging industry would grow at a rate of 2 to 4 percent in 2007. In reality, the industry grew about 2.9 percent, according to the FPA—right in its target range. Compared to 2006’s growth rate of 5.1 percent, the more modest increase seems to reflect the hard economic times.

packagePRINTING’s 2008 Top Flexible Packaging Converters Survey indicated that growth, though modest, was achieved by the large majority of flexible packaging converters that responded. About 86 percent of these converters reported that their businesses experienced growth in 2007, while 14 percent said business stayed the same or decreased. Last year, packagePRINTING reported comparable growth data among participating converters, coming in at 85 percent.

This year, most of the participating flexible packaging converters reported that they are using a majority of their capacity. The percentage of converters that operated at capacity levels of between 80 and 90 percent in 2007 was 70 percent, up from 61 percent in 2006, while 25 percent are operating at less than 80 percent. Only 5 percent of respondents said they are using above 90 percent of their capacity.

Nearly all of the respondents anticipate that they will expand their package-printing operations, with a majority (74 percent) expecting to get into new end-use markets in 2008. About 26 percent plan to explore the use of new printing processes for their flexible-packaging operations. pP