Ahead of the Curve

Expert opinions suggest carton converters should avoid putting off strategic choices or continuing to muddle through on middle ground in the coming year. Making the right choices, however, could require tracking moving targets.

"With competitors aligning, processes converging, and markets combining, it will be increasingly difficult for converters to differentiate themselves," Van de Water states. "Those who try to be all things to all people will be stuck in no man's land."