In so many ways, the unrelenting COVID pandemic has made it seem as if time is standing still.
Converters have, out of necessity, adapted to new ways to keep their team members safe, meet with and satisfy customers, and get product out the door. Often, these new ways are rooted deeply in emerging technologies.
It is likely that these new technologies, revolutionary though they may be, are in place to overcome the isolation that battling the pandemic brings. The sense of isolation is what makes it look like the clock has stopped.
But we know that we cannot stop time. To the contrary, so many of the industry’s suppliers have been making great use of time. They have been devising the technology that is driving the corrugated industry to new standards in terms of meeting customers’ needs and making the most sustainable packaging media on the planet—corrugated—even more indispensable in the eyes of brand owners and consumers.
SuperCorrExpo 2021, a trade show jointly hosted by TAPPI and AICC, is scheduled to run Aug. 8-12 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. Postponed from its original Sept. 13-17, 2020 dates by the pandemic, the new dates seems to be well-timed with the hoped-for emergence of expected vaccination regimens and on the heels of several early-2021 canceled machine shows.
SuperCorrExpo will be the place to see the latest developments in technology for the corrugated industry up close, in-person.
Smarter Tools
Flexography is still the king in corrugated. And with good reason. Flexography is the predominant print process across the entire gamut of corrugated production, from single-color RSCs to multiple-color e-commerce packaging to point of purchase displays—and everything in between. The process will be well represented among the 221 exhibitors and the 142,150 sq. ft. of exhibit space they occupy at SuperCorrExpo.
There were several new flexographic machine installations made in North America throughout 2020. These machines brought buyers higher levels of print quality capabilities. They delivered extremely fast changeover times from one job to the next. They included automated features to bring the board into the press and to transition the finished product down the line—steel, robotics, electronics.
“Flexography is the predominant print process across the entire gamut of corrugated production, from single color RSCs to multiple-color e-commerce packaging to point of purchase displays—and everything in between.”
When one looks at this new generation of flexographic press from a distance, one sees a sleek, well-enclosed, designed-for-safety machine. That view makes it easy to forget that the process of flexography is indeed that—a process. Throughout the press, suppliers in the market have improved the tools that make up the process: anilox rolls, printing plates, inks, dryers, tooling, machine control systems and more.
These tools have not only been improved by their manufacturers to better do what they have traditionally done. In many cases they have been made smarter. Features based on artificial intelligence, open architecture, accessibility and interconnectivity have led to predictive maintenance; better man-machine interface; intermachine communication; remote data access; and the ability to handle a broader range of corrugated substrates. These mean more agile scheduling, increased uptime, better material handling of increasingly lighter weight paper, and correspondingly more productivity.
Every one of us in the past year has appeared more on camera than we may have previously in our lives. I know I have, as has corrugated production. On-press camera systems, inspecting for color, registration, quality, missing print and the like are becoming more prevalent. This kind of confirmable precision is required in a time of no inventory holds for customers, customization and the ever-present rush order.
Hybrids & Economics
Corrugated box manufacturers are also applying flexography in a number of new ways driven by evolution in the requirements of their customers. At the last SuperCorrExpo, inside/outside printing of the box was introduced and considered a growing novelty. It is no longer a novelty. Many of the aforementioned press installations in the past year have this capability in multiple stations on the press. We’re also hearing more and more of the hybridization of print. Machines that have both flexographic and digital capabilities. Retrofits of digital heads into the flexographic press are growing.
New digital printing presses and digital converting machines garner a lot of interest from converters and the press these days. AICC has run numerous webinars on these processes. Inevitably, there is always a question after one of these sessions: “Will digital spell the end of flexography?” The answer to this question given by the speaker is universally the same: “There will always be flexography.”
Why? Simply put, there are things flexography does well and there are things digital does well. Economics is the primary driver in terms of run lengths, ink coverages, copy and the like. Digital is certainly having an impact on the litho-lam segment of the corrugated industry. Digital capability is also driving new customers for corrugated converters. Improvements in flexography are driving new ways to satisfy all customers.
The year 2020 saw so many unusual events. One you may not be aware of is that corrugated box shipments have grown, year-on-year. Significantly, this has never happened in a recession year. But since this is a year like no other, it seems less than strange.
As 2020 drew to a close, Q3 numbers indicate a 36 percent year-on-year increase in e-commerce sales in the US. Q4 numbers should be even higher, given the heavy influence of the holidays on the corrugated business. Several analysts have noted that e-commerce activity has shifted forward five years, meaning actual e-commerce in real numbers is at the projected levels that had been made for 2025.
In addition to changing how the product is delivered to the consumer, it changes the way the box looks and functions. Unboxing, personalization, mass customization, subscription boxes, and all the discussion and design that goes on with brands has changed.
Efficient, Yet Sustainable
Sustainability is also a big part of those discussions and design as corrugated is predominantly comprised of recycled material and can be recycled again and again. This messaging is vital to brand owners and becomes a big part of what the corrugated converter can offer customers compared to other processes. Their investment in new technology that has lower energy consumption, utilizes less water, and less electricity, supports this sustainability message that will become more built into the entire supply chain going forward.
You have seen and experienced personally how much the world has changed in one year. The last SuperCorrExpo show was held more than four years ago. In terms of technical development, four years is a lifetime.
Rather than merely reading the generalities shared in this item of just over 1,000 words, spend four days in August at SuperCorrExpo to see and experience first-hand the latest in equipment, substrates, consumables, systems and services for the corrugated industry.
SuperCorrExpo 2021. See flexography’s future there. See your business’ future there!
About the Author
Mike D’Angelo has been AICC president since July 2019, having served the organization as vice president from 2016 to 2019. He joined the association following a long history of experience and service in the corrugated, folding carton, and rigid box industries in sales and executive roles at Bobst (30+ years), an active AICC member, and Goss International.
Mike has served on the Board of Directors of the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation, including a term as chairman in 2007 to 2008. He also co-chaired the corrugated-focused session, “Transitioning from Brown Boxes to Multi-Color Flexographic Printing – Join the Growth,” at FTA’s FORUM 2019.