This year, flexible packaging companies will have a new source of polyethylene: A major petrochemical plant erected by Shell along the banks of the Ohio River in Beaver County, Pennsylvania—about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. The plant is expected to produce 1.6 million tons of polyethylene per year.
Read MoreLike so much else in the economy, corporate deal-making roared back to life in 2021 as COVID-19 vaccines blunted the worst effects of the pandemic and companies adapted to the risks that remained.
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As the pandemic entered its 18th month in September, the federal government prepared new rules that would require businesses with 100 or more employees to ensure workers were vaccinated. For some observers, the process underway indicated an overreach that raised flags about whether precedents were being set that would undermine the autonomy of businesses for years.
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To fill job gaps, manufacturers are seeking employees from nontraditional or largely untapped fields. Veterans, women, re-entrants, and refugees constitute a rich supply of motivated, reliable workers.
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Executives in the flexible packaging industry grasp the challenges in front of them. The hard work lies in moving from understanding to action—or, as Peter Sheahan puts it, from acceptance to ownership.
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From inflation to labor shortages to pinched supply chains, flexible packaging has been going along with the general roller-coaster ride. But the industry has experienced its own unique dynamics based on the diversity of packaged products.
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In recent interviews, some company managers offered insights into the state of the industry and what needs to be done to ensure its vitality, with several of them offering tips on how FPA and the industry can do better.
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The long value chain of plastics packaging, from manufacturers to converters to brand owners, is turning a wary eye to state-level recycling developments. Those developments include new laws labeled as extended producer responsibility (EPR), but they fall short of serving as models.
However, the industry hopes to bring about a workable national policy that brings consistency, a steady and inclusive supply of materials, and innovative infrastructure to recycling.
In the post-pandemic age, automation is more than a solution for labor shortages. It’s the future in a quest for efficiencies, agility, and competitiveness.
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Openings at American Packaging Corp. run the gamut from entry-level production jobs to engineering positions, says Jeff Fuller, the Columbus, Ohio-based company’s manager of organizational development.
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After an FPA Emerging Leadership Council (ELC) committee on recruitment was formed last year, its members quickly determined that they would need to branch out beyond traditional internship programs.
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In a vastly altered globe since last year, flexible packaging converters and suppliers seize innovations as they reinvent for a refashioned, post-pandemic economy.
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The definition of “infrastructure” has been a flashpoint for policymakers in Washington, D.C., ever since President Joseph R. Biden Jr. unveiled a $2.3 trillion spending bill to bolster infrastructure in the United States. Roads, bridges, and broadband internet service make the cut on nearly every list.
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Recycling issues in the U.S. are not new, but the ability to get a coordinated response hasn’t been easy. So, last year, various stakeholders along the supply chain organized a group to see if they could create actionable ideas.
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Without reliable information about COVID-19’s impact on daily life and spending habits, strategic planning becomes challenging for flexible packaging manufacturers hoping to make inroads in, perhaps, Turkey, France, Brazil, or China.
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From scraped knees to heart-valve replacements, every day people depend upon health care and medical/surgical supplies safely delivered in sterile packaging.
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Sustainability goals are shared across the flexible packaging industry, so when it comes to finding ways to improve the circular economy, collegiality and collaboration dominate, says Randy Shermet, vice president of sales and development at Polykar in Burlington, Ontario.
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Mergers and acquisitions in the flexible packaging industry slowed in 2020 as COVID-19 upended the international economy. But as the pandemic ebbs in 2021, the industry will be eager to return to a busier pace for making deals.
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David Luttenberger picks up a bag entered in the 2021 Flexible Packaging Achievement Awards Competition and holds it up in the air, examining it.
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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce was seen as a function of convenience: tap on a keyboard or phone and new shoes arrive at the door.
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