Who will be your flexibles supplier in 5 years time?

Posted on 04 Jul 2021

How many of these Companies can you remember?

Alcan, Arrow, Arteb, ASP, Brayford Plastics, Bridge, Brittons, Cannings, Contemporary, Crest, Cropac, Danisco, EBR, EPL, Excelsior, Falcon, Flexible Vision, Flexiprint, Grahams, IG, Lawson Marden, Learoyd, Malpack, Merlin, Orion Flexo, PP Global, Paragon, Primopost, QC, Rapid Action Packaging, Roloflex, Romney, Scandiflex, Tullis Neal, Ultimate, Venus, and Wheatley.

The consolidation of the flexible packaging industry has unintended consequences for its customers as

1. The loss of independent companies reduces the choice for the packaging buyer
2. The acquirers of independents often close sites to optimise their production efficiencies
3. This optimisation of production usually results in a reduction of customer service
4. Smaller / medium size print runs are not welcome as they reduce plant productivity

These outcomes are not immutable but become more likely as optimisation of print capacity becomes the main target.