Cartonmakers Must Accentuate Positives

Should folding carton converters follow containerboard's lead and turn their attention to nickel-and-dime-oriented aspects of consolidation? McGuinness says yes. "Folding carton consolidations will only benefit the industry if older plants and older equipment are shut down and retired," he says. "Sometimes these older assets are inflated to leverage the debt required to purchase a company, making them difficult to write off later on."