STATE OF THE INDUSTRY ON THE OFFENSIVE

"Two years ago, growth could be found easily by just adding capacity," observes Huston Keith, principal at rigid and flexible packaging consultancy firm Keymark Associates. "Now, more market research will be needed prior to spending millions of dollars for expansion."

Optimism in economics

Flexible packaging bests most other printing segments in growth predictions. The Freedonia Group's study, "World Converted Flexible Packaging," charts the industry as advancing 4.6 percent per year through 2005, with total shipments reaching 14.3 million metric tons.