Reader's "Die"-gest

An edge on expectations

When it comes to assessing business prospects, a wave of feel-good vibes washed forth from both diemakers and converters. Nearly three quarters—69 percent—of diemaker respondents expect growth to continue in the next 12 months.

Some chalk up their upbeat predictions to converters' positive outlook, as well as continued expansion of end-user businesses, such as CD packaging. Converters' ever-increasing technical knowledge is also working in diemakers' favor. "Due to increased awareness of converters, quality tooling should take a larger share of the market," comments Clint Medlock, president of Stafford Cutting Dies, a provider of rotary and flatbed dies which largely serves the corrugated segment.