State of the Flexible Packaging Industry

The proliferation of pouches on the store shelves is happening in many areas besides food and pharmaceutical/medical, and a recent example can be seen in the article on p. 30, Eco All Around. For a long time, motor oil was packaged in metal cans and reconfigured not too long ago in rigid plastic containers. Now, one company, Universal Lubricants, has introduced its line of re-refined synthetic blend motor oil in a stand-up pouch. The development of this new product packaging demonstrates the innovation—in terms of material selection, pour spout, and pouch and graphic design—that is typical in the flexible packaging industry. Brian Votaw, director of sales and business development for Star Packaging, the printer/converter for this project, also points out one of the hurdles facing new pouch implementations. "The biggest barrier to transitioning to pouches is the existing capital investment in rigid packaging equipment," he maintains.