Go, Speed Racer

Hasselberg also states that continued globalization has been and continues to be a major topic as fewer die companies supply fewer but bigger multi-plant customers.

Paul Madill, executive vice president and COO of Madern USA, explains how these industry trends have impacted converters. “The folding carton industry is in the final stages of consolidation. The merger and acquisition of major carton converters has been ongoing for the last five years,” he says. “The overcapacity in the folding carton industry that previously existed will be eliminated as the major converters finalize their consolidation plans.” He adds that carton converters are receiving contracts for shorter time periods from consumer product companies. Therefore, there will be a need for a wider variety of rotary dies to meet the new demands for lower cost dies and faster deliveries, bringing long-, medium-, and short-run carton applications to be processed on web-fed flexographic printing presses.