Weathering the storm

29 September 2009



It is now over 12 months since the recession started. How has the flexo industry fared during this time, and what is its future? Lesley Hide, managing director of the EFTA, the UK’s organisation for the flexographic industry, shares her insights


From a very quiet start to the year when many end users were taking stock after the Christmas period, it is good to see that, overall, the industry is in a pretty healthy state, certainly from a volume perspective. With in excess of 70% of output from the flexo industry going into the food, drink and general consumables markets we are in a better position than many to survive, and even prosper, as people still have to eat, drink, wash, feed their pets, etc. However, cost pressures remain fierce as brand owners and retailers fight to secure market share.

Everyone I have spoken to has remarked on one trend that is repeating across the industry and in all sectors: the reduction in run lengths. This has been happening for some considerable time now and is one of the reasons, coupled with a significant increase in quality, that flexo has taken so much business from the gravure process over the past 10 years. However, run length reduction has accelerated even more in the past six months and there are a number of reasons behind this:

• The economic climate, which has encouraged significant ‘offers’ from major retailers – usually only lasting a fortnight or so.

• Private Label Brand proliferation – for example, the introduction of the Tesco Discount Range.

• The introduction of more products into the ‘value’ ranges of all the major retailers – thus increasing the number of SKUs.

• The desire of all parts of the supply chain to keep stock levels to an absolute minimum in order to respond rapidly to demand changes.

From talking to colleagues in the business, areas that are showing growth are drinks labels – particularly beers and ciders from micro and regional breweries whose products are now being stocked by the major retailers. Another area showing growth is the production of mini booklets as the demand for information becomes ever greater. As a label or carton can only hold a certain amount of information, the need to include statutory as well as product information is being met through the use of these booklets.

Obviously the variability of the weather over the past few months has also had a significant effect on demand. Again, this has all mitigated towards the need for short run and quick turnaround and producers, packers and printers have had to be very nimble in meeting retailers’ demands.

Machines

So how is this impacting on the industry? Talking to machinery suppliers, the level of enquiries for machinery is surprisingly good. The trend towards even shorter runs means that the key demand from customers is that machines take as little time as possible and use minimum materials to change over. It is essential that the production engine is running to maximum efficiency. Money is not made when the machine is standing idle or making ready and this is true of both the narrow web and wide web sectors.

Major machinery manufacturers are meeting these challenges through a series of innovations, many of which were demonstrated at drupa last year and are now becoming commercial reality. Fischer & Krecke is installing a machine at Skymark Packaging (see box) and Windmöller & Hölscher has installed four of its Miraflex presses which debuted at drupa in the UK this year. Wide web press change-over times of 10 minutes for a full 8-colour job are possible and this includes a full wash-up and plate and anilox sleeve changes.

In the narrow web area both MPS and Nilpeter report that after a slow start to the year, enquiries and orders are improving. Again customers are looking to improve their efficiencies with these machines and will be taking out some older, less efficient equipment and replacing it, but inevitably increased capacity will also result from these investments.

With Labelexpo running this month, many narrow web printers will be waiting to see what is new at the show before committing themselves, but Gallus has an intriguing teaser running prior to the show and on the basis of that alone, looks as if it will have something extremely interesting on display.

Undoubtedly there will plenty of digital presses to see – but the jury is still out as to whether this technology will ever be a real alternative to flexo. Certainly there is a market for product from digital presses, particularly in the label sector. Indeed Procter and Gamble has publicly said that it will, in time, want all its label producers to have access to digital facilities. However, there are severe limitations in what the presses can achieve in the flexible packaging market and we doubt whether they will make any significant inroads in this sector.

Consumables: plates and inks

After a slower than normal start to the year, the plate manufacturers are, in the main, reporting ‘business as usual’ with volumes similar to last year. But they have commented that the ‘value’ ranges in the major supermarkets, which have shown significant growth, do use fewer plates as they have fewer colours on them. The first Dupont In the Round system in the UK has been installed at PPP (see box). Fuji announced at drupa that it, too, will be entering the flexo plate arena later this year with a DLE plate; and new water wash plates are available from Asahi as well as new offerings from the Flint Group. Kodak continues to promote the Flexcel NX system – which has won a number of technical awards around the globe. This area of the process is never short of something new to look at.

Ink sales remain similar to last year in all sectors, suggesting again that it is business as usual. One innovation that has yet to be commercialised in the UK is the use of EB curable inks and the associated curing system – demonstrated on the Comexi stand at drupa last year using Sun Chemical’s WetFlex technology. Developments continue, incorporating Dupont in the loop with the Cyrel Fast Plate, providing a solvent-free solution overall; but it remains to be seen whether this technology will be adopted in the UK with the high investment already made by the majority of flexo printers in solvent based systems including the necessary abatement systems.

Everyone I have spoken to seems guardedly optimistic, and whilst there have not been any wildly exciting statements both suppliers and printers remain confident that they will weather the recession. There remain a number of opportunities to improve productivity and these include:

• The introduction of Lean Techniques within businesses focusing on reducing waste in all areas.

• The development of further multi-colour process printing ranges reducing the number of spot colours and therefore ink changes.

• The move to more work away from the gravure process.

Specifically, the second item does require a rethink of the whole supply chain starting with designers, through the separation and repro stage, plate making and ink decisions and on to the press. But when these areas are thought through, the results can been astounding in press efficiency, cost reduction and waste minimisation. The key is a willingness of the whole supply chain to work together.

It is worth noting that, unlike the commercial print sector, there have been very few business failures in the flexo area. This is a sign that the sector is robust, in part brought about by the demanding market we have worked in for a number of years, which will enable the industry to survive and prosper.

About EFTA

The EFTA is the UK trade association dedicated to supporting the flexo industry through technical support and innovative training solutions. The EFTA Academy offers online technical training for all those involved in the flexo Industry and EFTA can also help companies with the introduction of Lean Manufacturing processes.


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