Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | F | Flexible Packaging

Exopack: converter on the go: having gone global and gone for the gold in industry competitions, where will continuous improvements and a joint venture take Exopack next?

Article Excerpt
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

North American converters face intense competition from virtually all corners of the world. At the same time, record fluctuations in the prices of raw materials rub like salt in deep wounds. How could a flexible packaging converter faced with these challenges successfully grow--much less maintain--business?

Exopack has turned to its growing network of global production partners in its mission to deliver paper and plastic flexible packaging solutions to the many markets it serves. This strategy effectively complements the manufacturing capabilities of Exopack's 17 production facilities in North America, plus one in the United Kingdom. The list of applications Exopack addresses is long and includes lawn and garden, food and beverage, pet products, medical, agricultural, chemical and mineral, industrial and electronic markets.

"We're a solutions provider," says Lani Craddock, vice president of corporate marketing and innovation development. "Whether we manufacture it or whether we find it externally, we're going to find the right solution for our customers. It's a competitive advantage that Exopack brings to the table."

GO EAST, YOUNG MAN

Exopack flexes its international muscle under the brand name Global Packaging Linx (GPL), a strategic initiative aimed at securing flexible packaging resources--including films, rollstock and completed retort pouches--from a global network of packaging manufacturers who share Exopack's quality and service standards. Through this program, Exopack matches the requirements of its multinational customer base with both its domestic capabilities--which include film extrusion, coating/lamination and bag/pouch-making--and low-cost, high-quality offshore technologies offered by global partners. In identifying global partners for the GPL network, Exopack evaluates the prospective partner's cost structure, quality standards for manufacturing, efficiency in logistics and technical expertise.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

In April 2009, GPL partner and Lebanese flexible packaging converter INDEVCO became a stronger link in Exopack's international initiative when the two companies entered into a joint venture agreement to produce co-extruded polyethylene film in...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!