The Market for Packaging

The Market for Packaging No single process is used to make plastics packaging materials. Instead packaging forms the most important market for several plastics processes especially film extrusion, sheet extrusion and blow moulding. Indeed packaging is significantly the largest end use market for thermoplastics in Western Europe and one which has shown robust volume growth throughout the history of the industry; this despite the widespread progress of polymer and process technologies directed at the reduction of film thickness (“downgauging”) and package weights generally. Consumption of polymers for use in plastics packaging reached almost 16 million tonnes in 2000, equivalent to more than half of the total market for thermoplastics in Western Europe. Plastics packaging can be classified into several groups
Primary packaging for the final product, in the form of bags, pouches, bottles or other containers. Secondary packaging for the primary packaged product, in the form of shrink or stretch films, bottle crates and transit containers. Retail packaging in supermarkets and other outlets, in the form of bags on the reel, wicketed bags, check out bags and shoppers. Consumer packaging, in the form of freezer bags and cling films.