“At the start comprised of thirty upscale paper bag manufacturers a decade ago in Europe, the market extended currently to almost sixty suppliers due, of course to the development of the market itself but also because of the arrival of new companies often built up by people coming from former businesses,” explains Eric Blanche from PAK 2000.
The result is an increasingly competitive market where difference quite obviously lies in experience, quality and deadlines. “In this battle, we have maintained our position very well,” says Eric Blanche, “thanks to our excellent network of industry partners scattered mainly in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, which have acquired a unique expertise and are able to develop appropriate techniques to make even more beautiful and attractive high quality paper bags”.
200 million bags per year
Yet the last year’s crisis struck hard the entire profession with a fall in demand that reached at times 30% in Europe. “Our sales network in France, Germany, England and Italy, and our presence in North America, globally supported by our development team based in Lausanne, have helped us absorb this shock wave and not only meet market demands but also be there when the market turned around,” explains Eric Blanche.
Each year it is nearly 200 million bags [1] that come out from PAK 2000’s factory, a quarter of it to supply the higher-end segment. “In such conditions, our development prospects are obviously huge”, believes Eric Blanche. “Especially since many of our current and potential customers haven’t yet taken full advantage of the extraordinary potential of the bag as a vehicle for communication and as an image media. Of course we do our best to convince them and when it’s the case it works! Especially as we offer the top level in printing and accessory quality”.
Four growth issues
Clearly, it’s the company’s focus for the five years to come is:
– Guide the brands in their choices so that paper bags become real vectors of image and communication.
– Continue to develop industrial capacity bearing in mind cost control.
– Capitalize on our capacity to innovate, improve responsiveness and the array of available responses.
– Further develop solutions for environmentally friendly products.
“Concerning this last point” explains Eric Blanche, “we are developing a brand new eco-friendly packaging line by exploiting the possibilities offered by materials and accessorization”.
