Spring is a busy time here at packagePRINTING. We are gearing up for a number of annual projects that will show up in future issues. Leading off the list is our annual Top Flexible Packaging Converters listing which will appear in the April issue. This ranking of flexible packaging converters in North America is based on financial information obtained via a questionnaire that has been sent out to converters in our database.
Richard Roffers was promoted to plant manager at Harper Corp.’s Green Bay manufacturing facility in De Pere, Wis. Geoffrey Loftus was appointed to the position of press business general manager at Presstek Inc. Marcel G. Hage was promoted to president, North American and Exports at Maxcess International. Anderson & Vreeland Inc. has appointed Mark Kyle technical sales representative for Michigan and areas in adjoining states. Greg Lawson was named president of US Ink, a business unit of Sun Chemical. Previously president of Filtrona Extrusion, Joe Piccione, was appointed president of Innovia Films Inc., Americas. Heidelberg USA has named Ralph Pasquariello vice president of
Eastman Chemical Company has introduced Embrace High Yield shrink film in North America. The new product is positioned to complement the company’s Embrace shrink film product line. Embrace High Yield’s intrinsic material attributes provide natural UV blocking capabilities and easy label separation for bottle recyclability. Embrace High Yield shrink film can be used for light sensitive products, such as dairy and pre-filled beverages, due to its intrinsic UV blocking capabilities. The new film is manufactured by combining Embrace shrink film with 15-30 percent Embrace High Yield 1000 compound. When stretched, Embrace High Yield creates a white, opaque micro-voided shrink film that can have
The folding carton packaging market is working through some challenging times. Integrated companies and converters/printers alike are dealing with such issues as rising energy costs, overcapacity, overseas competition, and alternative packaging solutions. Despite these challenges, or more appropriately, because of them, industry players are circling the wagons, focusing on the strengths of their product attributes and making the difficult decisions required to consolidate and reduce costs. Commenting on his outlook for Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., Patrick J. Moore, chairman, president, and CEO, states, “The company faces critical challenges and opportunities as a result of dramatic shifts in the market that call for a profound change
In today’s packaging markets, constant change is just the starting point. Technology is moving rapidly, with flexible packaging now playing a major role—in the form of pouches, often barrier-coated—as the container of choice for many snack foods, drinks, and other consumer products. Molded packaging is a major feature on supermarket shelves, as are all rigid plastics; and metal containers are also showing growth. Increasing awareness of the good environmental characteristics of paper-based products has led to a resurgence of interest in cartonboard as a packaging medium. In the product-decoration field, sleeving in all its forms, is growing fast. Print technologies have also
The tag and label industry is facing issues with dynamically differing effects. On one hand, the industry is brimming with opportunity. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), security packaging, and shrink sleeves have grown and continue to grow in popularity, providing a burgeoning source of revenue across the industry. At the opposite end of the spectrum, tag and label suppliers and converters are facing shrinking margins. Economic pressures from industry consolidation and higher costs in energy and raw materials have squeezed the industry on all sides. Something has to give in the near future, and market predictions are leaning toward a positive result. Scott Pillsbury,
Flexible packaging is a dynamic area for package printing. Although other package-printing segments, such as tags and labels and folding cartons, are following a relatively normal course of innovative solutions, flexible packaging is experiencing a step increase, moving into packaging areas that are the domain of competing packaging methods—most notably, rigid containers. In a study titled, “Converted Flexible Packaging,” released in January 2006, The Freedonia Group predicts that the demand for flexible packaging will increase more than 4 percent each year through 2009. The advantages that flexible packaging offers over rigid packaging include cost, performance, and source reduction (less material used). Growth
