Industry News
Folding carton demand set to outstrip supply in 2022
Paper packaging industry analysts at NOA say indications are that demand across Europe for folding cartons will rise by 4.9% this year (compared to 3.7% in 2021), and nearly 2% of this growth is due to the ‘green wave’ or replacement of plastics.
In the UK, the plastic tax which came in on 1 April, is also likely to increase demand for paper-based packaging, as brands and manufacturers switch. Corrugated is also in high demand, although the rate of the increase is beginning to ease a little in the first few months of 2022. In the UK this demand for corrugated spiked at +10% in mid-2021, falling back to +2% in the summer when working from home rules were relaxed. Other European countries had a similar experience. Germany, France, Italy and Spain all saw a marked rise in demand for corrugated in 2021, with the rate of increase also falling away in the summer of 2021 when hybrid working arrangements became more common.
Corrugated demand has dropped in the first two months of 2022 compared to 2021, but in early 2021 the Brexit factor caused congestion in the supply chain, with high demand and a lot of over-ordering. Compared to January/ February 2020 demand for corrugated is still at a healthy 2-3% growth. In 2022, the changing pattern in working from home, to working in the office three days a week (a trend dubbed TWT – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) has eased the demand for ecommerce corrugated. Destocking, inflation and the impact of war in Ukraine may also be having an effect. Papers mills and sheet plants had been struggling to keep up with demand across the board over the last six to nine months, and the situation became exacerbated by a shortage of fibre in the right places last year. Pre-pandemic, fibre recycling rates in the UK and mainland Europe were around 85%, but more recently these have dropped as low as 65%.
Xwww.noa.uk.net
Revealed: the nation’s favourite cardboard boxes
It’s no secret that the packaging industry is currently questioning the future of cardboard boxes. Actions in Russia could lead to packaging shortages while demand for folding carton boxes may outstrip supply as retailers make the swap from plastic packaging. Packaging retailers RAJA used Google Search Trends and SEMRush keyword research to discover what types of cardboard boxes people in the UK are most interested in, and when. RAJA found that UK consumers are most likely to search for keywords about cardboard boxes that include the words “cardboard boxes near me”, “cardboard storage boxes” and “large cardboard boxes”. Searches for “small cardboard boxes” follow closely behind. Despite renewed interest in sustainability, recycling appears less frequently (starting with 260 searches).
The research also combined all similar individual searches to find the most popular types of cardboard boxes. Top searches include “lidded cardboard boxes”, “large cardboard boxes” and “cardboard storage boxes”. Less frequent searches include “brown cardboard boxes” (910 searches) and “transparent cardboard boxes” (500 searches).
A deep dive into Google Search Trends finds that November tends to be when UK consumers search for cardboard box related terms. There are peaks in September and October for searches such as “storage cardboard boxes”, “packing cardboard boxes”, “cardboard box printing” and “brown cardboard boxes” and in August for searches such as “buy cardboard boxes” and “lidded cardboard boxes” or “cardboard boxes with lids”.
Xwww.rajapack.co.uk
Dedicated production line for sustainable shrink sleeve film
Innovia Films (Innovia), is opening a 6.2 metre multi-layer co-extrusion line at its site in Płock, Poland. The state-of-the-art line will be dedicated to manufacture low-density polyolefin shrink film for shrink sleeve labels and tamper evident applications.
“The opening of the line concludes our strategic investment into a high- performance shrink film, that enables more circularity when it comes to packaging – an important goal for consumer goods companies,” said Simon Huber, managing director, Innovia UK and Poland. “The new capacities will allow us to supply label and sleeve converters with high-quality floatable
shrink sleeve material that has the potential to revolutionise the market and the way packaging is decorated to move towards more sustainable choices” continued Huber.
RayoFloat APO is a clear, uncoated shrink film that floats, as its density is <0.93 g/cm³. The film is also glossy, scuff resistant and printable, with a controlled TD shrinkage up to 70%. RayoFloat has been endorsed by the European PET Bottle Platform EPBP, although this film is perfect for use on a variety of HDPE and PP containers too.
Xwww.innoviafilms.com
CON-SEP21-RIGAKU QUARTER:CON-SEP21-RIGAKU 30/08/2021 14:44 Page 1
www.convertermag.com
June 2022
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