The company’s Managing Director Rob Bishop discussed the year gone by in the packaging market.
Bishop wrote an article, Packaging – my year in review, on LinkedIn, in which he stated at the end of the year that “as 2016 comes to a close, it seems a good time to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve seen as the main trends in the packaging market during what has been a year of massive change and disruption in both business and social environments”.
He noted in turn that “predicting outcomes has become challenging even for the pollsters and professionals!” He first discussed customisation, adding that “with the growth of digital technologies and personalisation in general, perhaps it’s not surprising that personalised or unique packaging has been a big thing in 2016”, as “certainly, in our business custom or bespoke packaging continues to be in strong demand.
“With the continued increase in e-commerce and an ever-growing variety of products being dispatched, for example bespoke artworks, [this] means that customers are increasingly looking for customised protective packaging solutions”. On productivity, Bishop stated that “with costs under increasing pressure, improving productivity in the packing process has been a real area of focus for many customers this year.
“Whether that means faster packing processes, reduced mess and wasted materials, or reduced storage space requirements, customers have been constantly looking at ways to reduce packing costs and improve productivity”. He noted that Airpack has “worked with several customers to develop automated options and machinery for inflatable packaging protection, which has been an area of particular focus for our R&D team in our factory”.
On the environmental front, “consumers continue to demand environmental sustainability in packaging, encouraged further this year by high profile public campaigns”. Bishop pointed out that “despite financial and budget pressures, environmentally responsible and recyclable packaging has remained high on the agenda in 2016, and [is] an area we continue to focus on”.
He concluded that “2016 has certainly been a year of change and surprises, and no doubt 2017 will throw up many new challenges and opportunities for us as professionals in the packaging industry”.