PLASTICS MARKETS
Germany's IK packaging industry association continues to engage plastics producers / IK president Roland Roth meets with Dow EMEA manager Javier Constante / Importance of Europe emphasised
 Javier Constante (left) and Roland Roth: The future of the plastics industry can only be successfully shaped through mutual efforts (Photo: IK) |
The pressure caused by last year’s spate of force majeure announcements in Europe remains painfully on the minds of plastics packaging producers. The unprecedented period saw the combination of raw material shortages and steep price increases and was difficult to comprehend for many (see also Plasteurope.com of 30.04.2015). To avoid a repeat of this scenario, the German plastic packaging industry association Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (IK, Bad Homburg; www.kunststoffverpackungen.de) has underlined the need for good cooperation between raw material producers and plastics processors.
Laying the foundation for such relations, IK president Roland Roth recently met with Javier Constante, commercial vice president of Packaging & Specialty Plastics EMEA at Dow Chemical (Midland, Michigan / USA; www.dow.com). The two men agreed that the future of the plastics industry can only be shaped successfully through mutual efforts.
“Our industry must close ranks,” Roth said, pointing out that “producers and processors have gone separate ways for a long time.” He warned that the situation of spring 2015 should not be repeated. The IK president also emphasised the importance of Europe, saying, “We need a commitment on the reliability of our production supplying capacities in Europe and the will to continue supporting innovation in Europe.”
This concern was also addressed by Constante, who said Dow believes the European packaging industry will continue to grow. “Europe is not only a market, but first and foremost an innovation production location,” the manager said, adding that Dow plans to maintain its capacities here and offer new products to the market. Germany is the second largest production country for Dow, and also its second largest sales market, on the heels of the US.
Within The Polymers for Europe Alliance, European processors can vote online to choose the region's best polymer suppliers. Polymer users can register via the Polymers for Europe Alliance on the Polymer Comply Europe website: www.polymercomplyeurope.eu/node/210/register. The voting period is open until mid-May 2016 (for more details, see Plasteurope.com of 25.02.2016).
Laying the foundation for such relations, IK president Roland Roth recently met with Javier Constante, commercial vice president of Packaging & Specialty Plastics EMEA at Dow Chemical (Midland, Michigan / USA; www.dow.com). The two men agreed that the future of the plastics industry can only be shaped successfully through mutual efforts.
“Our industry must close ranks,” Roth said, pointing out that “producers and processors have gone separate ways for a long time.” He warned that the situation of spring 2015 should not be repeated. The IK president also emphasised the importance of Europe, saying, “We need a commitment on the reliability of our production supplying capacities in Europe and the will to continue supporting innovation in Europe.”
This concern was also addressed by Constante, who said Dow believes the European packaging industry will continue to grow. “Europe is not only a market, but first and foremost an innovation production location,” the manager said, adding that Dow plans to maintain its capacities here and offer new products to the market. Germany is the second largest production country for Dow, and also its second largest sales market, on the heels of the US.
Within The Polymers for Europe Alliance, European processors can vote online to choose the region's best polymer suppliers. Polymer users can register via the Polymers for Europe Alliance on the Polymer Comply Europe website: www.polymercomplyeurope.eu/node/210/register. The voting period is open until mid-May 2016 (for more details, see Plasteurope.com of 25.02.2016).
11.03.2016 Plasteurope.com [233579-0]
Published on 11.03.2016