Expanding resources for power communications

The Canmaker
August 2008

Empac's acting chief executive Gordon Shade* explains why a wider membership is necessary to meet the needs of a fuIIy-fIedged lobbying organization

We will all probably recognise that we live in changing times. Legislators, retailers and customers are revising their strategies and establishing new challenges for the packaging industry.

Legislators, with their concern towards the environment and the creation of a sustainable society; retailers with their new green commitments and the need to provide consumers with safe, healthy and value-for-money products and our customers who more than ever need to satisfy retailers and consumers with innovative and attractive products which meet changing lifestyles.

This moving agenda is currently stimulating much discussion inside the metal packaging industry. The good news is  that we all feel our industry is well up to these 21st century challenges: after all we have a wealth of advantages over other packaging.

Surely our industry today has a significant role to play in contributing to the reduction in food waste across Europe? Recent articles in the UK highlight the extent of this problem - some £10 billion's-worth is thrown away annually due to a combination of due date expiry, loss of flavour or breakages - and similar figures exist in other European countries. Contrast this with canned products with their unbeatable barrier properties, their robustness through the supply chain and their value for money.

What about our recycling story? The MPMA's recent advertorial in the July edition of The Grocer magazine highlights the huge advantages of metal recycling and the opportunity this brings to both reduce landfill and carbon dioxide emissions - both of these high upon society's 'to do' list. Again, our industry can and should be in the forefront of this debate as the European recycling champion.

What about can filling speeds? Generally recognized across the packaging industry as being the highest and most economic; or the constant enhancement of safe opening systems with failure rates other packaging materials can only dream about? We could also talk about the stream of prizes metal packaging wins each year as our industry continues to stretch the boundaries of design and technology.

But do our customers value our metal credentials? Do retailers care about them and are consumers even aware of them?

At Empac we all firmly believe there are many opportunities to lobby and promote our advantages; but timing is critical and today our biggest limiting factor remains resources, in other words man hours and money.

The Empac structure and those of the national associations are run on 'downgauged' budgets achieving much with little. However while this is laudable, it is now time to rethink our approach. Canmakers - and their suppliers - need to ask themselves if they should be playing a more meaningful part in our programmes.

An industry renaissance does not happen by chance but by commitment, organization, cohesion and proper funding; so if you want Empac to fully defend an industry of which you are an integral part perhaps you should be prepared to join the cause by helping to increase the resources available to our industry and so necessary in today's world of power communications. We will then be in a position to do justice to our modern, sustainable and handsome product ranges at the right levels and in the right places. We count on your support.

More information from
Empac, Avenue Louise 149/24, Brussels B-l050 Belgium.
Tel: 32 2 535 7651. Fax: 32 2 395 5766.
Web: www.empac.eu

For more information visit....www.canmaker.com