First, the International Business Report is a survey of 2,800 global businesses. Among its findings: Those optimistic about the US economy increased from 26% to 36% since the last survey three months earlier (global optimism rose from 34% to 36%). Those expecting to increase hiring rose from 26% to 41% (globally the number increased from 33% to 37%), and those planning to increase employee wages above inflation increased from 5% to 11%, but remain below the global average (14%).

US inflation appears to remain in check, as those planning to increase the price of their goods increased only from 35% to 38% over the last three months (globally, the figure was unchanged at 35%). There was also good news for US manufacturing as investments in plants and machinery increased from 28% to 43% (globally the number increased from 37% to 40%).

Second, the Business Optimism Index was conducted in November/December 2011 with 379 senior executives from various industries across the country responding. Its findings show that 33% of respondents believe the US economy will improve in the next six months, compared with just 18% back in August. The Index itself rose 11.8 points to 57.9, reflecting growing confidence in key economic measures: the US economy, business growth and hiring expectations.

Some of the IBR survey’s global highlights:

Country economic optimism
Canada optimism dropped from 69% of respondents down to 59%; France optimism dropped from 31% to 11%; and Hong Kong optimism dropped from 42% to 26%. Mainland China optimism increased from 30% to 39%; and India optimism increased from 69% to 75%. The six most optimistic major economies were: Brazil 78%, India 73%, Mexico 64%, Germany 62%, Australia 51% and Canada 49%.

Inflation
The highest price increases in major economies: India 66% said they would increase prices (up from 52%); Brazil 50% (up from 48%); Germany 45% (up from 39%); Mainland China 41% (down from 53%); Hong Kong 38% (down from 44%); and Canada 38% (down from 45%). The highest decrease in major economies was Japan – 41% said they would decrease prices (up from 34%), with only 7% planning to increase prices.

Jobs
The biggest increase in planned hiring in major economies was the US, from 26% of respondents saying they plan to hire to 41%; the UK 25% to 29%; and Japan 33% to 39%. The highest overall planned increase in major economies was India at 66% (slightly down from 69%), followed by Mainland China at 45% (unchanged). The biggest job slowdown was Spain, where 28% will cut workforce numbers (while 12% will increase); and France, where 15% will cut workforce and 12% will hire.

PETWIST BT 1231 MBY biaxially oriented PET film is specially designed to have improved twistability for food and non-food packaging applications, such as these Ixxir Love Box candies. Said to feature excellent machinability for high-speed twist packaging with flow pack and pouch processing, the material is non-heat sealable, one-side metallized, one-side white pigmented, BOPET treated for ink and coating adhesion. Oh, and the candies are pretty good, too.

What toothpaste carton doesn’t use a hologram these days? Hmm, I can’t begin to guess, but what struck the judges–and me–was the cool 3D lens on these Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste boxes. The 18-pt SBS cartons are laminated with a 1-mil custom, registered diffraction-effect film rather than the now common, silver metallized or holographic wallpaper. The package’s 3D effect is more pronounced from several feet away from the retail shelf as the consumer walks down the store aisle.

Three varieties of Camel cigarettes come in these flip-top boxes made with 12-pt transfer-metallized SBS paperboard. The non-laminated, film-less material replaces a traditional SBS printed packaging, allowing better gluing and scoring, which are critical to maintaining the high speed of a tobacco packaging line.

Closing the Loop: Road Map for Effective Material Value Recovery provides a detailed systems analysis of international packaging-recovery systems, including successful collection, sorting and reprocessing technologies and infrastructures, as well as the waste-management policies that support or limit recycling.

Focusing on material recovery in several EU nations, as well as Australia and Ontario, Canada, the report presents snapshots of advanced packaging material-recovery systems and best practices that could improve recovery in the US. While much of the Road Map is focused on urban areas, it also includes a section on recovering materials in rural settings.

“Given today’s fragmented recycling landscape, it’s not enough to focus on single material types or recovery methods, incremental technology advances, or local policies,” says GreenBlue project mgr. Liz Shoch, who led the GreenBlue research and authored the report. “We need to radically increase the quantity of materials recovered and the demand for recycled materials. This report lays out a comprehensive framework for moving toward a true closed-loop system that effectively captures valuable materials for the next generation of products.”

The report is the culmination of GreenBlue’s three-year “Closing the Loop” research project—funded through a grant awarded by California’s Market Development Research Grant Program with additional support from GreenBlue’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition^®—which promotes more effective material-recovery systems by connecting packaging designers with available recovery options.

Summarizing successes within various country, state and municipal systems internationally, the report identifies a number of emerging best practices that could be adopted within the US, such as:

• A harmonized approach for all packaging materials, formats and end-of-life options
• Four- or five-bin collection systems for clean, high-quality materials
• Investment in state-of-the-art sorting technology
• Clear and nationally-coordinated waste policies, including extended producer responsibility legislation
• Ongoing public-education campaigns encouraging recycling and composting
• “Hub and spoke” regional recycling in rural areas

Road Map for Effective Material Value Recovery is available free to download at www.greenblue.org/publications/road-map-for-effective-material-value-recovery

My Thoughts: As the report summarizes: “There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ recovery system. Every country or state is different, and there are many ways of achieving success in packaging recovery. However, the most successful systems have structural elements in common that provide a clear foundation on which to build a packaging recovery system – one that may be tailored specifically to meet the needs of its geography, culture, and population.”

While more government intervention into our daily lives is the last thing I’d want, I’m prepared to make an exception. I think the time has come to clearly legislate and mandate packaging recycling and materials recovery on a broader scale. Certainly 50 state-wide sets of rules and regulations is better than the 3,000 US counties’ worth of plans (at a minimum), if not even more for each municipality.

With that in mind, here’s a rundown on the Top 10 Converting Curmudgeon Posts of 2011, based on which received the most traffic this year (whether WordPress- or CQ-located).

1. 2012 US Economic Forecast: Crystal ball “not so clear”
Will it be a “double-dip” recession or 3-percent rise in GDP? That old adage that says, “Ask two economists their opinion and you’ll get three answers,” certainly seems to be holding true as just about everyone lately tries to figure … Continue reading →

2. Get ready for yet another
recycling label system
Sustainability nonprofit GreenBlue just released details on its 2012 national pilot for a new Packaging Recovery Label System (above), a voluntary label developed by the group’s Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) to tell consumers how to … Continue reading →

3. Sleeve-label market forecast:
No shrinkage in sight
Whether as heat-shrink labels, stretch sleeves or those ROSO (roll-on, shrink-on) shrink sleeves, the global sleeve-label market shows no signs of contracting. And, if anything, it will expand faster than industry averages in the next few years. … Continue reading →

4. What dog food, chocolates and Elvis have in common
Disclaimer: I attended the 2011 AIMCAL Metallized and Vacuum Coated Product of the Year and Sustainability competition judging today strictly as an observer. While I have been a judge over the past 10 years or so, I’m now also … Continue reading →

5. ICE USA 2011 Photo Gallery:
A show is born
ICE USA  2011, the new biennial converting-industry tradeshow, premiered last week at the Orange County Convention Ctr. in Orlando, FL. All in all, it was a successful first effort for the new American edition of the ICE (Intl. Converting … Continue reading →

6. Why flexible packaging is doing so well
The US flexible-packaging market is projected to grow a healthy 8% this year to reach $27.5 billion in sales in 2011. Across The Pond, the total European flex-pack market will top €11.9 billion in 2014, rising at about 2.5% … Continue reading →

7. Films, flex packs among 23rd DuPont Packaging Awards
Wilmington, DE-based DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers today announced winners in the 23rd DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation, representing breakthrough developments from global brand giants. Among them were several converted films and flexible-packaging products from companies around … Continue reading →

8. Top metallized packages
shine in AIMCAL Awards
The Assn. of Intl. Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators bestowed its 2011 Product of the Year Award on the Consumer Packaging Div. of Graphic Packaging Intl. (GPI), Marietta, GA, for a series of oval holiday canisters for Kleenex tissues for … Continue reading →

9. What the global label market will look like in 2015
In a nutshell: More Asian, more pressure-sensitive, more high-tech and more digitally printed. That’s the gist of what was revealed by Dr. William Llewellyn, vp-senior consultant with AWA Alexander Watson Associates, at today’s … Continue reading →

10. What the global release-liner market will look like in 2015
In a nutshell: More Latin American, more plastic and more sustainable. Those are the top descriptions from presentations at the AWA Global Release Liner Conference & Exhibition 2011 in Chicago. Check out these Converting Curmudgeon … Continue reading →

Managing a tax burden has never been more difficult, whether you’re managing your individual tax rates, the rates on your investments, the taxes on your privately held or pass-through business, or the income of executives and shareholders at your company. Fortunately, there’s still time to put last-minute planning techniques into play. So here Grant Thornton offers the following 12 last-minute tax planning tips for individuals and businesses owners.*

1. Accelerate deductions and defer income.
   Why pay tax now when you can pay tomorrow? Deferring tax is a cornerstone of tax planning. Generally this means you want to accelerate deductions into the current year and defer income into next year. There are plenty of income items and expenses you may be able to control, and business owners and self-employed taxpayers often have the best opportunities. Consider deferring bonuses, consulting income or self-employment income. On the deduction side, you may be able to accelerate state/local income taxes, interest payments and real estate taxes. But beware of the alternative minimum tax, which can affect timing.
2. Bunch itemized deductions.
   Many expenses can be deducted only if they exceed a certain percentage of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Bunching itemized deductible expenses into one year can help you get over these AGI floors. Consider scheduling your non-urgent medical procedures all in one year to clear the 7.5-percent AGI floor for medical expenses. To overcome the 2-percent AGI floor for miscellaneous expenses, bunch your pass-through business’s professional fees (legal advice and tax planning) plus any unreimbursed business expenses (travel and vehicle costs).
3. Maximize “above-the-line” deductions.
   Above-the-line deductions are especially valuable because they reduce your AGI, and AGI is used to test whether you’re eligible for many tax benefits. Common above-the-line deductions include traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions, moving expenses, self-employed health insurance costs, alimony payments and any bank penalties you may have had to pay for early account withdrawals.
4. Consider charitable contributions carefully.
   Think about giving appreciated property to charity so you can deduct the full value without paying capital gains taxes. But don’t donate depreciated property. Sell it first and give the proceeds to charity so you can take the capital loss and a charitable deduction. If you’re 70½ or older, consider making charitable donations directly from any traditional IRA distributions so the gift/distribution will not be included in your AGI. This provision is scheduled to expire at the end of this year. As always, double-check the limits and substantiation rules before making any contributions.
5. Leverage retirement account tax savings.
   It’s not too late to maximize contributions to a retirement account. Traditional retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs still offer some of the best tax savings in the tax code. Contributions reduce taxable income at the time you make them, and you don’t pay taxes until you take the money out at retirement. The 2011 contribution limits are $16,500 for a 401(k) and $5,000 for an IRA (not including catch-up contributions for those 50 and older). Remember that 2011 contributions to your IRA can be made as late as April 15, 2012.
6. Roll over into a Roth account.
   “Roth” versions of traditional retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s and IRAs, also provide a great savings opportunity. You don’t get a tax break when you put money into a Roth account, but the money grows tax-free and is never taxed again if distributions are made properly. Rolling over into a Roth account now may make sense. Tax rates are low, and the value of many accounts has been artificially depressed by the economic downturn. Paying tax on the rollover now could save you if tax rates go up and your account recovers. The $100,000 AGI limit on these rollovers was recently lifted, so even high-income taxpayers can convert. Understand that you will be required to pay tax on the converted amount and plan accordingly.
7. Expense business investments
   Business owners have been given a great opportunity to save on taxes while investing in their businesses this year. Legislation enacted in 2010 doubles a bonus depreciation tax benefit for property a business places in service before the end of the year. Under this provision, you can fully deduct the cost of eligible equipment on this year’s return if you place the equipment in service by Dec. 31. To qualify for bonus depreciation, the property you place in service must be new and generally have a useful life of 20 years or less under the modified accelerated cost recovery system (MACRS).
8. Consider your salary as corporate employee-shareholder
   If you own a corporation and work in the business, you need to think carefully about your salary structure. Your tax treatment will vary depending on whether you’re organized as a traditional C corporation or an S corporation (in which corporation income is “passed through” and taxed at the individual level). Distributions of corporate income are generally not subject to Medicare tax. That means if your business is an S corporation, you will pay Medicare tax only on business income received as salary, not income received as a distribution. C corporation distributions also escape Medicare tax, but are subject to a 15-percent dividend tax rate. So many C corporation owners will pay less overall tax on income received as salary (which is deducible at the corporate level), while S corporation owners will do better with more income received as dividends. But remember to tread carefully. You must take a reasonable salary to avoid potential back taxes and penalties, and the IRS is cracking down on misclassification of corporate payments to shareholder-employees.
9. Make up a tax shortfall with increased withholding.
   Don’t forget that taxes are due throughout the year. Check your withholding and estimated tax payments now while you have time to fix a problem. If you’re in danger of an underpayment penalty, make up the shortfall through increased withholding on your salary or bonuses. A bigger estimated tax payment can still leave you exposed to penalties for previous quarters, while withholding is considered to have been paid properly throughout the year. To avoid penalties, the best action plan is to make sure you pay estimated taxes equal to 110 percent of your estimated liability.
10. Don’t forget to use the annual gift-tax exclusion.
    If you may have to pay estate taxes eventually, consider establishing a gifting program for your children and grandchildren to take advantage of the annual gift-tax exclusion. Gifts of up to $13,000 per donee ($26,000 for married couples) are generally excluded from gift tax in 2011 and will be removed from your estate, with no limit on the number of donees. In addition, tuition payments to an educational institution for the benefit of your children or grandchildren are excluded from gift tax.
11. Watch out for the “kiddie tax.”
    The “kiddie tax,” which requires a portion of a child’s unearned income to be taxed at the parents’ marginal rate, has been expanded to apply to full-time students under the age of 24 whose earned income does not represent at least one-half of their support. Be careful transferring income-producing assets to your kids.
12. Perform an overall financial checkup.
    The end of the year is always a good time to assess your current financial situation and your plans for yourself and your business. You should think about cash flow, health care, retirement, investment and estate planning. Check wills, powers of attorney and healthcare proxies for changes that may have occurred during the year. Use the open enrollment period to reconsider employer-sponsored programs that could reduce next year’s taxable income. HSAs and flexible spending accounts for dependent care or medical expenses allow you to use pre-tax dollars.

*Keep in mind that these tax tips are general tax advice and may not be applicable to your particular circumstances. Be sure to consult with your personal tax adviser before implementing any changes or additions to your tax planning strategy.

Don’t miss these articles and more in the upcoming issue…

• Photovoltaics / Batteries Market Forecasts: With an astounding growth rate of 55 percent a year through 2015, thin-film photovoltaics will soon represent one-third of all solar-energy modules shipped worldwide. Likewise, the global market for thin-film batteries is projected to grow 46 percent annually, reaching sales of $900 million by 2016. These two breakthrough fields offer tremendous new opportunities to manufacture and sell high-value, converted materials to a broad range of end-user customers.
• Roll-to-Roll Thin-Film Battery Manufacturing: A series of technical articles will cover new processes to increase throughput, decrease complexity, improve performance or provide a combination of all three benefits in R2R thin-film battery converting. Applying multilayer-coating technologies in a cleanroom environment, for example, is ideally suited to such fuel-cell products as well as touchscreens, displays and flexible electronics.
• 2011 Matteucci Award Technical Papers: The winning topics include (Vacuum Web Coating) “Flexible Glass Substrates for Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing” by Sean Garner of Corning, Inc.; and (Web Coating) “Game-Changing Surface Pre-Treatment Technology” by Rory Wolf of Enercon Industries Corp.
• Web-Coating Technical Series: Along with a look at today’s custom microsphere adhesives and their new applications for packaging, labels and tapes, a second web-coating technical paper details innovations behind digital-inkjet applications for spot coating. And Dr. Edward Cohen wraps up his series on Web-Coating Defects with help in controlling dryer defects.
• Spring 2012 Event Previews: It’s going to be a busy couple of months. Get ready with our attendee checklist for the PLGA Global Operational Conference, Converters Expo, FFTA Forum & INFO*FLEX, NPE & ANTEC, CPP EXPO, 
SVC TechCon and drupa 2012.
• Five Technical Q&A Columns: Get the answers to questions on dealing with surface roughness in the vacuum-deposition process; the basics of coextrusion; options for multilayer-coated products; the effects of male knife-blade regrind; and the best cover hardness for a nipped roller.

Based on research by organizer IDTechEx, the global market for printed and potentially printed electronics this year is $2.2 billion. Right now, sales of thin-film photovoltaics (aka solar cells), OLEDs (organic light-emitting diodes) and e-paper displays are growing rapidly, followed by thin-film transistor circuits, sensors and batteries. By 2021, the firm predicts the market will be worth $44.25 billion, with 56% of products printed and 43% on flexible substrates.

Rollable e-paper display debuts
Commercially, the most prominent success has clearly been E Ink, the company behind e-paper that has been in use for e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle and B&N Nook. That market has tripled every year since 2006 and now accounts for $180 million in sales. IDTechEx forecasts that worldwide e-reader sales will top $2.1 billion by 2017.

Making an appearance at PEUSA 2011 was the next stage in flexibility and convenience for e-readers: A rollable e-paper display from Polymer Vision (see above).  The 6-in. SVGA display retracts to a 6-mm roll radius, uses a thin-film transistor backplane and SiPix media. It has been tested to roll up and unroll 25,000 times. Reportedly, it will go on sale early in 2012, allowing you to take your e-reader along in your pocket.

ITO replacement for touchscreens
A resistive touchscreen panel made with a Kodak transparent conductive film and featuring completely invisible conductive patterns was demonstrated for the first time at PEUSA 2011. The polymer-based, 14-in. touchscreen panel was fabricated by GSI Technologies LLC and features Kodak HCF-225 film/ESTAR™ Base and Clevios™ PEDOT:PSS coating from Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG with a surface resistivity of 225 ohms/sq. It was built using conventional printing processes, including UV-cured and heat-processed inks. The companies have experimented with a variety of films and formulations to create a touchscreen that provides superior performance, flexibility, stability, transparency, neutral color and low haze at an economical price as an alternative to Indium Tin Oxide (ITO). New technologies such as this are expected to capture up to 20% of the touchscreen market from ITO-based systems, Heraeus says.

A better security package
Vorbeck Materials and MeadWestvaco Corp. teamed up to create a better security package. It unites MWV’s Natralock®–a durable, tear-resistant paperboard card with a thermoformed plastic blister protecting the consumer electronics product from theft or tampering—with new Siren three-alarm technology that employs Vor-ink™ conductive ink. Together, the new packaging eliminates the annoying spider-wraps typically used as anti-theft devices for high-end products at the retail shelf. Natralock’s paperboard can contain up to 30% recycled content.

Screen-printed silver conductor ink
DuPont Microcircuit Materials displayed its latest silver conductor material—DuPont 5064H ink, which is said to provide resistivity less than or equal to 6 milliohms/sq/mil, making it among the most conductive and cost-effective screen-printed, silver conductor material. DuPont 5064H allows thinner prints of conductor traces on a variety of substrates, including PET, PEN, DuPont™ Kapton® polyimide films, and paper. With a solvent-based composition, the ink is designed to be screen-printed in semiautomatic or high-volume roll-to-roll applications. DuPont also highlighted its new low-temperature processing Solamet® PV414 photovoltaic metallization paste, designed for rotary screen printing for high-speed R2R processing of thin and flexible solar cells.

Printed-CMOS memory goes to market
Thin Film Electronics ASA announced a partnership with Polyera, a developer of high-performance functional materials for the flexible, printed electronics industry. The two companies will jointly develop organic semiconductor materials for high-volume printing of Thinfilm Addressable Memory™ and printed integrated systems. The collaboration hopes to bring printed integrated systems, such as smart sensor tags, closer to commercial availability by co-development of gravure-based ink formulations for use in high-throughput printing equipment. Polyera’s work on n-type organic transistors has paved the way for printed CMOS circuits—more energy-efficient logic circuitry with simpler design, says their press release.

Using Polyera materials, Thinfilm and PARC, a Xerox Co., recently demonstrated a prototype of the world’s first printed non-volatile memory device addressed with complementary organic circuits—the organic equivalent of CMOS circuitry. Thinfilm Addressable Memory combines Thinfilm’s polymer-based memory technology with PARC’s transistor technology using complementary transistor pairs to construct the circuits. The addition of integrated circuits makes the roll-to-roll printed Thinfilm Memory addressable by printable logic.

New conductive materials, EMI-shielding film
Toyo Ink America LLC introduced Rexalpha™ conductive inks and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding films. Rexalpha conductive silver inks are said to offer ultra-low resistance properties and low curing temperatures of 100 to 130° C, for faster curing times and superior printability. Compatible with rotary screen, flat screen, flexo and gravure, Rexalpha inks can be used to fabricate flexible printed circuits (FPCs), RFID-label antennae and EMI shields. Made from a proprietary urethane formulation Toyochem’s EMI-shielding films can protect sensitive electronic devices from electronic interference. The shielding structure is reduced to two layers versus the conventional four-layer design, resulting in a 22-μm post-press thickness of the shielding layer.

By Mark Fihn

As young children, among our very first lessons in life, we learned to paint with our fingers. We’ve now come full circle — the rapid evolution of touchscreen technologies has helped create a useful and very popular way for us to once again use our fingers as a tool to immerse ourselves directly into the content we’re working with. With a view to identifying some of the new developments that will serve to create entirely new markets and quite novel ways to interact with devices of all kinds, here are six general predictions for the future of touch screen displays.

But first, it’s important to review the, at least, five distinct aspects of touch that the human brain registers. They are:

• Mechanoreception – related to tactile feeling
• Equilibrioception – related to balance
• Thermoception – related to temperature sensing
• Nociception – related to pain
• Proprioception – related to motion and awareness of the body in space.

1. Explosion of hybrid touch technology offerings. One of the reasons that so many touch technologies are currently competing for a position in the market is because none of the existing technologies perfectly satisfies the needs of the application. As such, numerous developments are underway to combine more than one touch technology into a single solution – thereby broadening the usage model. It’s quite predictable, that in the absence of technology breakthroughs that satisfy all user needs, that hybrid approaches will continue to be introduced into the market.

2. Haptic feedback. Studies indicate that the human sense of touch is enhanced significantly by both audio and force-feedback cues. Without such extra-sensory feedback, touching a glass-like surface is unappealing, (which helps explain the sounds we receive with regard to a typewriter and the keystroke response of a typical computer keyboard). Even the sound of a pencil on a sheet of paper provides feedback cues that are helpful to the user. As such, it’s very likely that the touch screen market will increasingly include haptic feedback technologies. There are several haptic technologies competing for a share of this growing market, and there will be a bit of a battle to identify the best haptic solutions for the future.

3. Non-touch interactivity. The popularity of Nintendo’s Wii has demonstrated a need for enhanced motion recognition and digital interaction with display devices. Both Sony (with its newly released Move) and Microsoft (Kinect) have signaled a substantial response to the Wii – enabling much more sophisticated interactive capabilities. We’ll almost certainly see these sorts of gestural solutions gain favor in the home and the workplace – ultimately replacing the traditional remote control, and perhaps even making inroads into the mouse market.

4. Indirect touch solutions. The notion of “touch screen” technology predisposes one to consider touch technologies that directly address the surface of the display. But there are many surfaces besides the front of the screen that can be used to manipulate data on the screen. Consider the backside of a smart phone. Rather than obscuring the images on the display with your fingers, the touch interaction could be easily shifted to the back surface of the phone – functioning to some extent like a mouse.

5. Interaction with 3D displays. Stereoscopic 3D-display technologies have recently gained mass-market attention, particularly in the TV space but also in various PC announcements. One of the biggest challenges associated with 3D displays is that most user-interface technologies, (including touchscreens) register in only x/y space.  Manipulating images in 3D space has not been developed in concert with the emergence of the 3D-display market. Although 3D mice and camera-based solutions have been developed to recognize user inputs in 3D space, the technology is still in its infancy. It’s predictable that, in the coming years, we’ll see more and more developments related to interacting in 3D space – across all applications.

6. Any surface can be touch-enabled. Think of walls, carpeting, tables – non-display solutions.  Our sense of touch is used everywhere – and will be digitized.

My Thoughts:  Mark offered a wide-ranging review of current and potential developments in this area of high-tech converting. Yes, converting is a lot more than just packaging. Its numerous processes—solution and vacuum coating, laminating, slitting, sheeting, finishing—are all part and parcel when it comes to manufacturing many of the computer devices that we’ve come to take for granted. And converters will be there tomorrow to help create the tools that exist only in a designer’s mind today.

Market forecasts

• The 2010 global label market grew by 5.5-6.0 percent to 43.4 billion sq meters (US$28-30 billion in sales of finished, printed materials).
• Global growth for pressure-sensitive label formats was 8.5 percent last year.
• Overall, growth for the world label market will slow to 4.0 percent annually over the 2010-2015 period.

Threats

• There’s rising competition among different label formats in all sales markets.
• New flexible-packaging apps are replacing the need for labeled rigid containers.
• Film-based label use is growing at multiples of the rate for paper-based labels.
• Retailers often now control market dynamics, and CPGs want cost transparency such that label converters are less and less in command of what will happen.
• Increasing costs of polymer, adhesives, inks and chemicals are slashing margins.
• Sustainability issues are being driven by the perception of high waste levels in the supply chain, the classification of release liner as packaging waste and European eco concerns over incompatible materials used to label PET containers.

Opportunities

• Want to sell labels? Go East (and South), Young Converter. Growth in emerging markets such as China (9 percent a year to 2015), India (11.5 percent annually) and South America (5 percent/yr) will outstrip levels in North America and Europe.
• Eighty percent of pressure-sensitive label growth will come from various emerging markets.
• Label-sales and volume growth in the Rest of the World are being driven by new converting capabilities and demand in the Middle East and Southern Africa.
• Strong end markets for p-s labels include cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, foods/beverages, and beer/wine/spirits.
• Top end markets for shrink-sleeve labeling are HBAs, cosmetics, food/bevs and household-care products.

So, what might those 16 months hold for the converting, web-processing and finishing industries? A survey of 1,000 converters (conducted by C2 Coating & Converting) gives some predictions.

• 47% foresee strong growth for the paper, film and foil markets in 2011-12, while another 36% predict some level of lower growth.
• 62% say South America will see strong growth with similar positive forecasts for other regions: Germany (51%), Middle East (50%), US (48%) and Asia (41%).
• Only 12% predict strong growth in 2011-12 for Europe (likely the fault of the continuing Greek debt crisis and concerns for the future of the Euro).
• 80% of respondents see growth for their own companies now vs. 2010.

ICE Europe was a lot like a miniature version of the PACK EXPO / CPP EXPO shows held earlier this fall. Lots of running machinery (okay, slitter/rewinders mostly) and demonstrations of components and inspection systems. While traffic was a little anemic on opening day (in Hall B5 at least), the aisles and booths all around were busy on Day 2 and even on the morning of Day 3. Additionally, AIMCAL had a respectable presence with a Hall B6 pavilion featuring 10 member companies in a turnkey setup reminiscent of its popular pavilion at last spring’s ICE USA in Orlando, FL.

On that note, I close out coverage of our Bavarian adventure. Bis später (Until next time).