A report by ING Wholesale Banking and consultancy group Edge predicts that the flexible packaging industry in Europe needs to consolidate and innovate over the next ten years. In the consumer packaging sector, plastics demand is expected to grow by 5.9% pa up to 2009, while paper and board growth is expected to be 5.3%. Opportunities are growing for converters as retail channels diversify, pack lifecycles shorten and retailers seek differentiation.
Further consolidation is likely, with private equity owners continuing to participate, but the report also suggests other options for packaging groups - partnerships, open innovation, joint ventures, vertical integration and spin-offs.
Packaging converter business models are all too often dominated by the build it bigger, faster, economies of scale and efficient production mentality.
28-Jan-08 
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