EFTA changes to EFIA

20 May 2010



EFTA has changed its name to EFIA - European Flexographic Industry Association and has a brand new logo. But why the changes and what will it mean? Lesley Hide, MD of EFIA, explains.


EFTA (now EFIA) was formed in 1972 by a group of printers and its early role was to provide a forum for printers involved in flexo to get together to discuss the process.

As we all know, flexo moved on in leaps and bounds over the next 30 years and EFTA grew significantly. More printers joined, as did suppliers. Flexo evolved into the print process we know today and took significant market share from gravure in the flexible packaging market. UV flexo became the predominant process in label production; at the same time corrugated flexo post print quality improved dramatically.

We saw step changes in the use of digital technology for plates, laser engraving for anilox, new ink formulations; and the press manufacturers developed machines to meet evolving market needs.

The flexo industry was vibrant, buoyant and ever changing. EFTA was at the heart of making sure the industry was aware of these changes and provided the forum for the industry. The Flexo Show that ran in Birmingham was EFTA’s brainchild and the EFTA Print Awards challenged the industry to higher and higher quality levels.

EFTA became the place for anyone wanting to be trained to come to – especially after the colleges stopped training programmes.

Fast forward 30 years

In 2010, flexo is now firmly established as the most widely used print process in the packaging marketplace, and while the technology continues to evolve, the speed of change is a little slower now. The marketplace has become increasingly concentrated. We have seen tremendous growth in the power of the major retailers that have become brand owners in their own right, with their ‘own label’ products while the big brands have become global businesses.

Suppliers to the industry have reduced as companies have merged or been acquired by others. There are fewer printers in the UK now than 30 years ago and we have large multinational groups particularly in the flexible packaging and corrugated sectors as well as large companies that are operating in the label sector.

EFIA has adapted to many of these changes – for example we have developed the EFTA Academy – our online learning facility which offers the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of flexo without having to go away for residential training or rely on others to train staff.

  • We have developed unique training offerings with the EFTA Challenge and Masterclass.
  • We have developed and run Lean Manufacturing workshops to help the industry understand how this can improve its bottom line.
  • We offer communication by newsletter ensuring that all EFIA members have the opportunity to catch up with what we are doing.
  • We have invested in a new website that we can update ourselves to make sure that you get the latest flexo news in a timely fashion.
  • We have adapted our Print Awards to reflect the market changes, and these UK Awards still remain the single largest flexo gathering in the UK.

Future challenges

Without a doubt, the challenges we have faced in the past five years remain – and will get more intense. Customers will continue to demand faster turnarounds and lower overall costs but consistently high quality. Pressure for the bottom line will get tougher and the competitive marketplace will not get any easier.

Although our industry has been better placed than many to withstand the economic pressures of the past 18 months it is clear that there will be some difficult economic times ahead.

As an industry we have to recognise the possibility of digital printing impacting on the shorter run lengths we are seeing, especially in the label marketplace, and while this is not a threat to mainstream packaging, we must be aware that 30 years ago flexo was not seen as a major threat to gravure or letterpress.

To succeed in 2010, companies need to be lean, fit and doing all they can to reduce waste in all its forms, as well as understand the environment that we operate in. We need to continue to share information as we did in the early days and learn from Best Practice.

To meet these needs, EFIA has established an online forum for members, to use on our website, and we are hosting a series of breakfast meetings around the UK to meet not only existing members, but potential new members as well, to see what more we can do to assist you, the industry. For details of these meetings please visit our website.


EFIA Lesley Hide, MD, EFIA. Lesley Hide

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