mand. Another factor that increased the demand for con- tainerboard is the push for sustainable packaging. There is a growing concern and importance to avoid using single use packaging and this social awareness is helping to fuel demand for multi-use, easily recyclable materials such as containerboard. “To conclude, 2021 was filled with pressure and uncer- tainty from every direction. Price increases were passed without objection, costs increased dramatically, employee shortages were common everywhere and e-commerce established itself in almost every household. There will be more supply added to the market in 2022, however, the demand will continue to rise due to the above factors and will keep the industry healthy. Newer and more innovative box plants will continue to open, which will hopefully bring in new employees and inject new blood into the industry. I am very optimistic about our industry and the future of containerboard is an exciting industry to be a part of.” OPUS PACKAGING Grand Rapids, Michigan: Butch Stoner reports, “This too shall pass!” That may have been the advice that Kevin Man- or, my cousin/partner, and I would have received from our fathers. Our fathers started their careers in the corrugated industry shortly after World War II and had a combined 90 years making boxes. I certainly hope their optimism would Converter Outlook, Part 2 (CONT’D FROM PAGE 12)
hold true today, however, the consensus at the beginning of 2021 is that we would be out of the throes of the pan- demic by mid-year. Is the current state the “new normal”?
“The challenges we are fac- ing as we enter 2022 are unique compared to how the corrugated business has operated over the past 70 years. Opus Packaging is facing the same concerns as most manufacturers: lack of employees,
Butch Stoner
supply chain issues and spiraling costs. These factors con- tribute greatly to our ability to service our customers. “Labor is the number one challenge in our ability to service our customers. We have increased our wages and benefits dramatically to attract and retain employ- ees. These changes have helped but we are still short 75 employees across our seven manufacturing plants. This does not even account for the daily task of rearranging our workforce because of Covid-related absences. Hope- fully, we do not see the shutdowns that occurred in March 2020 that crippled our economy or the need to start all over again if the current vaccines are ineffective against the Omicron variant. On the bright side, Opus, through the dedicated and loyal efforts of our core associates, was able to continue our sales growth over a Covid-affected 2020 by 32 percent.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
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January 17, 2022
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