Dr Isabell Schmidt has been the new Managing Director of the Industrievereinigung Kunststoffverpackungen (IK) since November 2018. Schmidt is taking on her new role under favourable circumstances. The IK expects sales growth of 5.1 per cent in the production of plastic packaging in the current year. The production volume is expected to increase by 3.9 per cent.
Isabell Schmidt holds a doctorate in geo-ecology and has been with IK since 2010, where she was previously responsible for the Environment and Sustainability department. In her new role, she will focus on the circular economy. The overall management of the IK will be headed by Chief Executive Officer Dr Jürgen Bruder.
Stronger growth expected than last year
The forecast growth figures are above those of the previous year. „Negative reports and discussions in the media are currently having no impact on the market,“ summarises IK economic expert Inga Kelkenberg. The plastics packaging industry is benefiting from the favourable economic situation in Germany.
For the industry as a whole, the IK is forecasting sales of 15.5 billion euros. There are significant increases across all segments. Turnover also increased in part because raw materials became more expensive. This is the case with bottles, for example.
At the same time, however, companies in the sector are complaining about rising energy costs and growing difficulties in filling new vacancies. The market assessment is based on currently available statistical figures and an industry survey conducted by GVM Gesellschaft für Verpackungsmarktforschung mbH on behalf of the IK.
