PFFC - December 2008 - (Page 32) EXTRUSION COATING Reduce&Reuse Concerns for the environment represent market opportunities for extrusion-coated packaging, which meets the critical need for lightweight and recyclable containers. By Dr. William Llewellyn, AWA Alexander Watson Assoc. A cross the globe, the traditional commercial markets for extrusioncoated/laminated materials are being eclipsed in terms of volumes by applications in both flexible packaging and liquid packaging. While North America’s main consumption of extrusioncoated materials currently remains in the food service sector—for poly-coated paperboard cups and plates, bowls, and take-out food containers—liquid packaging and flexible packaging continue to represent the best future volume growth. North American Extrusion Coating & Laminating Market Share by Application—Weight Basis 3.7% Photographic 10.9% FlexPack 12.6% Commercial 37.7% Food Service 12.5% Rigid Packaging 22.6% Liquid Packaging Barrier coatings for gabletop and aseptic packaging have become a major area of focus in the packaging world, creating new impetus in the available coating processes and their possibilities. Extrusion-coated materials— the choice for many highvolume applications today— are, of course, affected by the macro trends, particularly in the packaging industry, that currently are driving change. Both margins and methodology are under pressure in an environment of rising raw material costs coupled with aggressive end-user buying, more justWWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM 32 | DECEMBER 2008 http://WWW.PFFC-ONLINE.COM
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