Family businesses characterise the self-adhesive label manufacturing industry. They network in the Association of Manufacturers of Self-Adhesive Labels and Narrow Web Converters (VskE). How is the industry doing? What does the future hold? We talked about this with Chairman Robert Mägerlein.
pj: Mr Mägerlein, three years ago you welcomed the 100th member to your association. How have the membership figures developed since then?
Robert Mägerlein: Fortunately, the number of members continues to rise. We now have 109 full members, 71 supporting members and seven associate members. Our association is dominated by owner-managed medium-sized companies. The VskE organises two conferences a year, providing a welcome platform for exchanging experiences.
pj: If you follow the industry news, you will notice that there have been repeated reports of company mergers in recent months? Do you see this as a general trend?
Robert Mägerlein: The number of Mergers, company sales or takeovers has increased and, in my opinion, will remain at a high level. This means that our industry is following a development that already took place in the folding carton industry, for example, more than ten years ago. However, our industry will continue to be characterised by the Family business be characterised. The challenge will be to offer customers a comprehensive service and to be able to draw on a network of colleague companies with little search and coordination effort. Association work can support this. We are in close contact with other associations such as the DFTAthe FINAT and other national labelling associations in Europe.
pj: VskE has been publishing the material cost index for many years. What significance do these figures have for your member companies?
Robert Mägerlein: The Material cost index provides our member companies and their customers with neutral trend information on the development of material costs. This means that multi-year supply contracts can be concluded with a fixed price that takes into account the development of material costs. Of course, the time series for the different material combinations do not develop homogeneously. For example, the influence of the oil price on the euro can be seen in the films with a time lag and in a weaker form. Anyone interested is invited to find out more about the index on our website http://www.vske.de to inform.
pj: One of VskE's main tasks is to promote occupational health and safety and environmental protection in its member companies by providing practical solutions, for example in the „Good practice in label and narrow web printing“ information collection. What challenges do you see for the future?
Robert Mägerlein: Most recently, VskE, together with the Employer's liability insurance association ETEM has launched a project to supplement „Good Practice in Label and Narrow Web Printing“ with the area of digital production. We group the challenges into four subject areas: Employees, Technology/Materials, Market and Products and Environment, Safety, Legislation. Our measures for the area of employees include our Wikilabel, an online knowledge base in the members' area of our homepage, cooperation with the Johannes Gutenberg School in Stuttgart, exchange of experience with vocational school teachers and, most recently, a Young Talents working group that has been formed internationally under the umbrella of FINAT. There, young people from our industry are thinking about how modern communication can be used to inspire young people to work with and around label production.
pj: A separate working group deals with the topic of „Conformity of food packaging“. Do the legal regulations in this area correspond to business practice?
Robert Mägerlein: The demands of customers or the markets on the Conformity of products are increasing much faster than the corresponding regulations are being developed. On the other hand, the possible solutions for manufacturing compliant products are also developing rapidly, but are lagging behind in terms of time and content. The challenge is therefore to keep the gap as small as possible. Ultimately, there is still a lack of suitable methods for measuring, monitoring and regulating conformity criteria in production.
pj: The topic of recycling also has its own working group within VskE. Setting up a recycling infrastructure is a huge logistical challenge for companies. How far along is the development towards a largely closed recycling loop in the production of labels?
Robert Mägerlein: Until now, we have been familiar with localised or material-related isolated solutions. For example, backing papers for self-adhesive labels with their silicone-containing coating require a special recycling process. Unfortunately, only a few paper manufacturers therefore utilise the recycling of these valuable resources. It would also be desirable to increase the proportion of users who bring the material into the recycling cycle after use. These could be packaging service providers, retail companies and brand owners, for example.
pj: Industry 4.0 is the buzzword on everyone's lips. How are the companies in the VskE facing up to this challenge?
Robert Mägerlein: Many companies and suppliers are already working on this topic. They will be demonstrating this at Labelexpo with many innovations. The VskE has formed its own „Digital“ working group. Every company must ask itself what type and what degree of Digitisation will really be effective.
pj: When you look into the future, where do you see your industry and your association in ten years' time?
Robert Mägerlein: Despite all the changes, our industry will continue to grow and the pace of development will increase. We thrive on innovations, most of which are developed by or with our suppliers. I am convinced that we will continue to offer our customers new technologies and material solutions.
[infotext icon]The Association of manufacturers of self-adhesive labels and narrow web convertersr (VskE) was founded in 1980. It sees itself as a competence centre and innovation driver for its members. Its chairman is Robert Mägerlein, former managing partner of Marburger Eukerdruck GmbH & Co. KG. The company, now run by the third generation of the Mägerlein family, was acquired by the Canadian company CCL Industries in 2016. [/infotext]
