Page 49 - Packaging News Magazine Nov-Dec2020

DECADES IN REVIEW | PKN 60 YEARS SPECIAL
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PLASTIC BAG IS POPULAR!
Plastic bag sales are boosted by adoption in supermarkets; paper bag sales fall off to be replaced by the polyethylene bag described as “a more modern way of packaging”. Also, PKN reports: “Free checkout bags here to stay: Australian supermarkets will not follow a current US food retailer trend towards selling bags to customers who do not bring their own.”
fish, poultry promises longer shelf life and better product quality.
◆ Dual ovenable containers catch on in Australia, driven by the increasing penetra- tion of microwave ovens in the market. McCain Foods adopts them for its new range of Dinner Classics frozen meals.
◆ VisyBoardentersthelabellingsector,tak- ing over Melbourne-based Labelmakers, manufacturer of pressure-sensitive self- adhesive labels.
◆ Restructuring continues apace in the paperboard sector.
◆ Thelaminatetubecleansupthetoothpaste market, beating out the aluminium tube. Its next target is the growing DIY sector.
◆ Hello AMCOR, goodbye APM. Amcor announces its new name to the market.
1986
◆ Convenience packaging is a future growth area: Australian shoppers are prepared to pay a premium for better packaging if it pro- vides tangible benefits.
◆ Flexo printers move from four-colour to six colour. Gadsden and Foilcote install six-colour flexo presses with the aim of expanding into the light end range of flexible materials.
◆ Containers will have to shape up to shelf space limitations if a new US-developed retail management concept is adopted in Australia, which involves measuring the profitability of units of shelf merchandise.
1987
◆ Misuse of single trip flexible intermediate bulk containers and the lack of standards on UV degradation highlights the need for establishing Australian standards.
◆ The long awaited Packaging and Labelling Food Products Review is met with cautious optimism by the packaging industry. It rec- ommends sweeping changes to both federal and state packaging and labelling laws.
◆ Containers Packaging introduces a new computer program called Easi-Pack that reduces packaging costs and improves performance.
◆ James Hardie Containers, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amcor, advertises its change of name to APM Packaging to rein- force the link with well known Australian Paper Manufacturers. Amcor lays claim to being Australia’s largest integrated packag- ing company.
◆ The Pratt Group announces plans for major growth overseas in the next few years and the purchase of a $400 million kraft mill in the US, while also committing to spending some $300 million on new invest- ment for its existing Australian operations – the Visy empire starts to take shape.
flagship 185ml bottle because it is consid- ered too small for current metric measure- ments, replacing it with a 300ml bottle of similar shape.
◆ The industry braces itself for limits on CFCs, following the September ‘87 launch of the Montreal Protocol, to which Australia was a late signatory.
1988
◆ While the effects of the great stock market crash of 1987 still reverberate through the world, fuelling talk of recession and sparking yet another rash of corporate bids and acqui- sitions, the major businesses in the packaging industry are brimming with confidence.
◆ SA Brewing becomes a major packaging company. The recent takeover of Rheem Australia, combined with the purchase of J Gadsden Australia, has transformed SA brew- ing from a small regional brewer into one of the largest packaging companies in the world. ◆ In-mould labelling comes to Australia, with common applications being for laun- dry detergents and yoghurt.
◆ Amcor opens a hi-tech $40m box plant in Scoresby, VIC. PKN cites this as evidence of the company’s determination to boost its share of the box market and overtake Visy Board as market leader.
1989
◆ Tetra Pak introduces Tetra Top, a round milk carton container said to have easy pouring and resealability. The product doesn’t take off as expected.
◆ The Pratt Group unveils ‘most advanced’ corrugated plant, a $100 million corrugated box manufacturing facility at Coolaroo, VIC. The plant uses only recycled paper.
◆ There’s growing concern over market con- centration in the paper and board supply sec- tor: four companies, Amcor, Visy Board, Smorgon and SA Brewing hold 80 per cent of the $1.65 billion market. Later the same year, Smorgon bails out of the box market, ending a two-year price war that has cost the corrugated carton-making industry between $50 and $100 million, leaving APM Packaging (Amcor) and Visy Board as two dominant players.
PCA DEFENDS INDUSTRY
PCA hits out at critics who claim packaging is an unnecessary expense that added to the cost of the food, stating: “People don’t realise what is involved in getting their favourite soup or breakfast cereal on to the supermarket shelf. Last year [in 1979] Australians spent an estimated $120 per head on packaging, but $315 per head on cigarettes and alcohol, and $700 on gambling!”
TECHNOLOGY OVERLOAD
This cartoon which ran in the Dec/Jan 1988 issue of PKN tells a story of the times. Electronic control systems are revolutionising packaging technology, never before has such accuracy, speed, versatility and efficiency been possible in all spheres of the industry.
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