Push-Pull Strategies

According to Lynn Crutchfield, executive VP/COO at Acucote (Graham, N.C.), "There is heavy commoditization occurring within the industry, not only from the label converters' position but from the suppliers' as well." Crutchfield sees pricing standardization as a bittersweet by-product of this trend. "On the one hand … the 'playing field' relative to pricing for materials is fairly level," he notes. "On the other hand, traditionally large, high-volume converters are finding themselves squarely competing with smaller, low-overhead converters.