The future of corrugated

It is a privilege to represent such a buoyant and progressive industry as corrugated packaging. Although corrugated has been around for more than 100 years, recent times have seen corrugated going from strength to strength. There are a number of reasons for this.

First, the industry’s customers have become more aware than ever of the way that corrugated can take cost and carbon out of their supply chains as well as offering enhanced presence at the point of sale. The phenomenon of retail ready packaging in particular has provided a strong stimulus to corrugated sales.

Perhaps the most fundamental reason for predicting that corrugated will continue to be essential to British manufacturing industry for a long time to come is that it readily enables customers to meet their environmental goals throughout the supply chain. Since corrugated can be cut and shaped to virtually any format, it is possible for designers using the latest software to ensure pallets can be stacked to the maximum and lorries filled to the roof. This takes lorries off the road as fewer are needed to carry the same volume of products.

Second, consistent and heavy investment in new technologies, from print to complex die-cutting, has increased the already fantastic flexibility of corrugated, allowing it to move into new categories and replace less environmentally friendly materials. In fact, the corrugated packaging industry has been undergoing a technological revolution. Huge programmes of investment by UK papermakers have enabled recycled papers to be manufactured to a higher and higher level of quality. As papers have become stronger and lighter, this has allowed the corrugated industry to produce packs that carry more goods using less material. Perhaps most importantly of all, the development of new software allied to new design techniques has meant that corrugated packs can be perfectly optimised for individual supply chains. New die-cutting machines have been able to produce ever more complex shapes.

Third, corrugated has an environmental record that is second to none. Over 80% of all used corrugated in the UK is already recycled and, on average, 75% of every corrugated box made in the UK comes from recycled fibres. A food manufacturer’s retail ready pack can be recycled and back on the shelf as part of another box within 14 days! Where virgin fibres are used by UK manufacturers they come from well managed forests, an important sustainable resource for the future.

I could go on, but it’s the future that’s important – not the past.

The Coalition Government has recognised the need to rebalance the economy by providing support for manufacturing and we welcome the three main areas of Government policy that have been announced to support manufacturing: to improve access to finance, a commitment to science, and work to support and modernise workplace skills.

In the corrugated industry we are in a good position to comment on British manufacturing. Since we provide products and services to thousands of manufacturers throughout the UK we act as an excellent barometer of the manufacturing economy.

That’s why we are working at the highest political levels, to promote policies that will encourage the revival of manufacturing in the UK. We are co-sponsoring a Parliamentary initiative that brings together research which gathers the views of the public, business people and politicians in order to reach a consensus on policy priorities.

This research will inform the round table discussions that are taking place in Westminster and at party conferences in the autumn. It culminates, at the end of this year, in specific recommendations to the Secretary of State for Business.

Of course, it takes time to change attitudes and even longer to change laws, but we need to take a long-term view of our industry’s interests. While corrugated will continue to enjoy a prime position as an essential packaging medium, growth must ultimately come from a re-invigorated British industry using the latest, and increasingly low carbon, technologies and working practices.

I’m optimistic about the future of corrugated packaging. We have a dynamic and highly skilled industry providing an environmentally sound product that helps our customers achieve many of their business objectives. I look forward to waving the flag for corrugated.

Views expressed on this page are those of the author and may not be shared by this publication.