Page 51 - Packaging News magazine Jul-Aug 2021

July-August 2021 | www.packagingnews.com.au PACK & LABEL PRINTING
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up those opportunities.” Ellis said the idea that digital was just for smaller players was simply not the case, saying, “We have customers with $150m-plus turnovers who are placing new orders for digital packag- ing solutions every week.”
Getting close to customers was seen as key by the panel, Price raised the issue of the tension between cus- tomers’ marketing and procurement departments, where one wants the lowest price, the other wants a real solution. He said, “Print is not the sexiest subject, it is not shiny and new. One of the biggest challenges is getting into all departments. Ellis said he views himself as the doctor and the customer as the patient, where he addresses their needs, he said, “I am working with three busi- ness right now to help create new products with them.”
Gage then asked the panel what they thought of as their biggest chal- lenges going forward. Price said, “We are producing a static media in a digi- tal world, that’s our challenge. We need to stay up to speed, that is the number one issue this year.”
Price said educating customers was always a challenge, not only in what printers could achieve for them in providing great solutions to their needs, but also in logistics, he said, “Australia is a big country, getting print to Darwin or Alice Springs overnight isn’t simple.”
Ellis said: “Keeping debtors reigned in is always a challenge. And, keeping in front of customers with great solu- tions to a changing market is where the opportunity is. For us, for instance, ready meal pouches, off the back of consumer demand for meal convenience, are really working.”
Gage wrapped up the event saying, “Educating customers is both a chal- lenge and an opportunity as we come out of Covid. We know what we are talking about.”
Dscoop ran for a week, with some 70 seminars, workshops and keynotes taking place in the global virtual event, which covered the Asia Pacific, Europe, and the US, with participants given a virtual tour of Clarke Murphy Print’s factory in Sydney. ■
Amcor invests in ePac for digital flexibles
Global packaging giant Amcor, has made a strategic investment in ePac Flexible Packaging, the fast growing global digital flexible packaging business, which has installed 76 HP Indigo presses.
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MCOR’S investment is estimated to range between $10-15 million, including a minority ownership interest in ePac Holdings, and fund- ing for one or more ePac sites.
Each ePac location, and there are now 16 of them, provides digital printing prepress, lamination,
the globe and generates annual reve- nues of approximately $100 million.
“ePac is an entrepreneurial tech- nology-driven company and has proven its ability to rapidly scale up a flexible packaging business, dou- bling revenues each year since its for- mation in 2016,” explains Ian Wilson, executive vice-president of strategic development, Amcor.
”This is an exciting opportunity for both companies to benefit from the combination of innovative technolo- gies and business models, and the deep expertise of the industry leader.
“We look forward to working with the ePac team and exploring oppor- tunities to further extend this part- nership in the future.”
ePac’s founders began with a mis- sion to provide locally based con- sumer packaged goods companies the ability to compete with large brands with great packaging. According to the company, its customers benefit from speed to market, the ability to order to demand, and the latest in connected packaging technology through ePacConnect. ■
pouch making, and sales to the mar- kets they serve.
The investment is a first for Amcor. Ron Delia, Amcor’s CEO, says, “We are incredibly proud of Amcor’s inno- vation and R&D capabilities, but with our scale and global footprint we are also positioned to supplement our internal efforts with investments in complementary technologies and business models.
“Our investment in ePac is the first corporate venture-type investment for Amcor, and provides a great opportunity to learn from a high growth start-up.”
ePac has a fast-growing interna- tional footprint and is focused on ser- vicing the needs of small – and medium-sized consumer goods cus- tomers through a digitally enabled, and scalable business model.
With the 16 sites fully operational, and five more currently underway, ePac serves thousands of customers around
Investment first: Amcor’s stake
in ePac marks
a shift in corporate venture strategy by the packaging giant.