John Penhallow04.04.24
The German research institute Carton Pro interviewed 5,000 consumers in five European countries to establish what they felt about packaging and the environment, and what other concerns ranked high in their preoccupations.
Overall, 62% of this population answered that an environmentally friendly lifestyle had become “more important” or “much more important” for them over the past two years. Climate change was quoted as the “most important concern” for a third of the respondents, especially those in Spain, Italy, and France. Only in Britain was “cost of living” given as most important. In Germany, 66% gave “risk of war” as their main concern.
When market conditions returned to normal, label converters no longer needed to buy until their stocks started to run down. Things improved toward the end of 2023 and FINAT statistics show a modest 2% increase in the 4th quarter compared with the same period of 2022.
CEPI, the Brussels-based nonprofit European confederation of paper industries, confirms these gloomy figures. Europe’s total paper production in 2023 fell by nearly 13% to 74 million tons. Papers for labels and packaging fell by “only” 9%, and European exports were also reduced.
Challenges for the current year, says FINAT, include “…a noticeable shift in consumer preference from branded products to private labels, and alterations in seasonal demand patterns,” although it is not immediately clear why these changes in consumption habits should affect overall label demand.
A more oppressive cloud over 2024 is likely to be the state of the economy, particularly in the heavyweight countries like Germany, Britain, and France, all with annual growth rates at around
zero percent.
Unfea’s general manager Pierre Forcade reports, “This initiative, carried out in conjunction with the French Ministry of Education, aims to prepare young people as effectively as possible to enter our sector, offering them tailor-made training that combines theory and practice. Our aim is to make the adhesive label industry shine in the eyes of new generations, showing them that behind every label is a story of creativity, innovation, and technology.”
The other image problem, which may be linked to the first, is that the label industry is perceived, rightly, as a big producer of hard-to-digest waste. Here, the French label association says it has made progress toward a collection and recycling network, which label converters will actually want to buy into. Details are scant, but if it works it could open up new perspectives.
One machinery supplier is raring to go: Cartes (Italy) will use the show to exhibit two of its latest finishing lines, both with digital embellishing units, and one with integrated laser converting. Landa will be present in a way, but the drupa website lists this company among those “presenting innovations in packaging solutions together with other companies.” A bit of a letdown for those who remember Landa’s great splash at drupa 12 years ago.
Jindal is in the news this month because at a recent trade show in France it launched new PP and PE film solutions “to help the industry implement packaging that is conforming to the new upcoming guidelines for mechanical recycling in Europe.”
The new films are said to use a new barrier coating technology that will be a substitute for PVdC coatings, and will conform to European guidelines for a circular recycling economy.
This presumably does not mean any form of price fixing, which would fall foul of European trust busting laws. When competing companies announce a “partnership,” this often means an acquisition is in the air. In the present case, this seems unlikely: Geostick recently brought in a member of the fourth generation of the Berveling family and celebrated 100 years in the business.
Isidore Leiser, the founder and prime mover of the Stratus group, is a youngster of 55 and shows no signs of wanting to sell out just yet. Nordvalls is the odd man out, not being run by an entrepreneur or a family. The Possehl Group, which owns Nordvalls, is a multi-sector conglomerate based in Lübeck, Germany, and the Swedish label converter is a profitable but small part of Possehl’s €4 billion business.
So, what exactly is going on? Here’s a guess: these three label converters are each dominant in one country, namely France, the Netherlands and Sweden, but with only a modest presence outside. Heavyweight label operators like MCC can meet brand owners like Danone or Unilever on an equal footing. “You need labels worldwide? Tell you what, I’ll give you a deal...”
This new triumvirate of Geostick, Stratus, and Nordvalls can do something similar on a European level. Each one is investing, looking for more business but probably with a tacit understanding not to poach on each other’s turf. “Labels in Scandinavia? I know just the person you should talk to.”
It all sounds like a good idea, but the gallant three should remember the fate of the two Roman triumvirates, who all finished up trying (and in Caesar’s case, succeeding), to stab each other in the back. But, of course, we’re much more civilized today, aren’t we?
Overall, 62% of this population answered that an environmentally friendly lifestyle had become “more important” or “much more important” for them over the past two years. Climate change was quoted as the “most important concern” for a third of the respondents, especially those in Spain, Italy, and France. Only in Britain was “cost of living” given as most important. In Germany, 66% gave “risk of war” as their main concern.
2023 – a year to forget for European labels
Recently published FINAT PS label statistics show a mind-bending decline of over 25% compared with 2022. This almost unbelievable fall is partly explained by the fact that FINAT figures are not label sales, but rather shipments by labelstock producers. These, in turn, were depressed by the long strike at UPM Raflatac in the first half-year of 2022 when label converters Europe-wide were scrambling to get hold of labelstock and in the process building up their inventories.When market conditions returned to normal, label converters no longer needed to buy until their stocks started to run down. Things improved toward the end of 2023 and FINAT statistics show a modest 2% increase in the 4th quarter compared with the same period of 2022.
CEPI, the Brussels-based nonprofit European confederation of paper industries, confirms these gloomy figures. Europe’s total paper production in 2023 fell by nearly 13% to 74 million tons. Papers for labels and packaging fell by “only” 9%, and European exports were also reduced.
Challenges for the current year, says FINAT, include “…a noticeable shift in consumer preference from branded products to private labels, and alterations in seasonal demand patterns,” although it is not immediately clear why these changes in consumption habits should affect overall label demand.
A more oppressive cloud over 2024 is likely to be the state of the economy, particularly in the heavyweight countries like Germany, Britain, and France, all with annual growth rates at around
zero percent.
Don’t tell my mother I work for a label converter!
When it comes to recruiting young talent, labels have an image problem. The French label association has made this problem one of its main goals for this year. The association has ramped up its online advertising on Instagram and (for the present) also on TikTok, and is also working with a regional technical college to develop training programs that will meet the needs of the label business.Unfea’s general manager Pierre Forcade reports, “This initiative, carried out in conjunction with the French Ministry of Education, aims to prepare young people as effectively as possible to enter our sector, offering them tailor-made training that combines theory and practice. Our aim is to make the adhesive label industry shine in the eyes of new generations, showing them that behind every label is a story of creativity, innovation, and technology.”
The other image problem, which may be linked to the first, is that the label industry is perceived, rightly, as a big producer of hard-to-digest waste. Here, the French label association says it has made progress toward a collection and recycling network, which label converters will actually want to buy into. Details are scant, but if it works it could open up new perspectives.
A bright spot at drupa
Several L&NW readers complained that last month’s Europe column was too pessimistic about Europe’s biggest print show, drupa. Well, could be. Pessimism is something your correspondent does well.One machinery supplier is raring to go: Cartes (Italy) will use the show to exhibit two of its latest finishing lines, both with digital embellishing units, and one with integrated laser converting. Landa will be present in a way, but the drupa website lists this company among those “presenting innovations in packaging solutions together with other companies.” A bit of a letdown for those who remember Landa’s great splash at drupa 12 years ago.
News from Jindal
Your correspondent tries to cover news from many European countries in each edition. Luxembourg is an exception, mainly because it is too small to rate big news. It is, however, the European headquarters of Jindal films, an Indian-based BOPP specialist with production plants in Germany, Belgium, and Italy.Jindal is in the news this month because at a recent trade show in France it launched new PP and PE film solutions “to help the industry implement packaging that is conforming to the new upcoming guidelines for mechanical recycling in Europe.”
The new films are said to use a new barrier coating technology that will be a substitute for PVdC coatings, and will conform to European guidelines for a circular recycling economy.
A new triumvirate
The recently-formed partnership between three European label musketeers – Geostick (the Netherlands), Stratus (France) and Nordvalls in Sweden – has raised eyebrows, mainly by people wondering exactly what this “partnership” might lead to. Each of the three groups is of roughly the same size, with sales in the €60to €100 bracket, Cees Schouten of Geostick points to joining forces and sharing knowledge, which yield concrete competitive advantages and “an organization for competitive prices and services.”This presumably does not mean any form of price fixing, which would fall foul of European trust busting laws. When competing companies announce a “partnership,” this often means an acquisition is in the air. In the present case, this seems unlikely: Geostick recently brought in a member of the fourth generation of the Berveling family and celebrated 100 years in the business.
Isidore Leiser, the founder and prime mover of the Stratus group, is a youngster of 55 and shows no signs of wanting to sell out just yet. Nordvalls is the odd man out, not being run by an entrepreneur or a family. The Possehl Group, which owns Nordvalls, is a multi-sector conglomerate based in Lübeck, Germany, and the Swedish label converter is a profitable but small part of Possehl’s €4 billion business.
So, what exactly is going on? Here’s a guess: these three label converters are each dominant in one country, namely France, the Netherlands and Sweden, but with only a modest presence outside. Heavyweight label operators like MCC can meet brand owners like Danone or Unilever on an equal footing. “You need labels worldwide? Tell you what, I’ll give you a deal...”
This new triumvirate of Geostick, Stratus, and Nordvalls can do something similar on a European level. Each one is investing, looking for more business but probably with a tacit understanding not to poach on each other’s turf. “Labels in Scandinavia? I know just the person you should talk to.”
It all sounds like a good idea, but the gallant three should remember the fate of the two Roman triumvirates, who all finished up trying (and in Caesar’s case, succeeding), to stab each other in the back. But, of course, we’re much more civilized today, aren’t we?