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Most numbers place the size of the packaging printing market in the United States at $160 billion, with the greatest current growth seen in flexible packaging, according to Sam Ingram, chairman of the department of graphic communications at Clemson University in South Carolina.
"All printing processes have a share [in this market], but flexographic printing leads with offset and gravure behind," he explains. "Flexo has made significant market share gains during the past 10 years in the United States. Gravure remains a leader in Europe."
Leading the charge in the expanding U.S. packaging market is Hammer Packaging, Rochester, N.Y. The reason the company is so successful is because management understands that it needs to be flexible to meet the demands of whatever its customers' packaging engineers dream up next.
A decorating solutions company established in 1912, Hammer Packaging is run by Jim Hammer, the fourth generation of Hammers to run the firm. He is currently the sole owner of the 450-person establishment.
According to Lou Iovoli, director of sales and marketing for Hammer Packaging, "We continue to evolve our operations to run more variety of materials, in particular film grades, because packaging continues to take more form and function and requires conformable, shrinkable materials."
Operating out of five facilities in the Rochester area, Hammer's primary clients are multi-national organizations that provide the company with the finished artwork to reproduce. Hammer does not design.
"Our responsibility in the packaging market is to ensure we execute the repeatability of their image with consistency and predictability. We take it very seriously that label number one could be on a shelf next to label number 100 million," Mr. Iovoli points out.
Mr. Ingram believes that the future demand for packaging will be in flexible packaging and printed electronics, with firms looking seriously at sustainability in 2007.
Resourceful Wrapping
Mr. Iovoli says demand will be spread among many categories. "The point is that our clients are continuing to search for ways to expand their brands and the points of availability for their brands, meaning the same brand, is being spread across many different packaging forms. For example, Bounce fabric softener comes in dryer sheets, liquid form, and now in lint rollers. This means they need consistency among a folding carton, bottle, and roller label.
"All products that were traditionally offered in one-style packaging, such as sugar in a bag, will continue to reach for multiple package styles to meet the needs of the end users in various occasions. This trend means packaging converters need to be flexible or lose their business to alternatives," he says.
Owning the right equipment to consistently produce a product means that Hammer Packaging invests in new technology regularly. "We have continued to reinvent ourselves to keep up with the demands of our clients," Mr. Iovoli says. "Packaging is a capital-intense market if you want to be able to offer your clients solutions. In the past five years, we spent in excess of $45 million to equip ourselves to provide the highest quality, consistent, high-performing products."
Anticipating clients' needs is paramount to Hammer's success. "If the weather is more than 100 degrees in Texas we know the bottled water labels we ran last week will not be enough, and we have the ability to quickly replenish the pipeline for our clients," he adds. "You have to be forever flexible with packaging because demand is unknown until the consumer reacts."
Whether the package is high end or mass produced, the prevailing thought is that packaging printers need to be flexible and offer unique solutions in order to be profitable in this billion-dollar industry.
author: By Liz Fedorowicz