Converter Outlook: Part II (CONT’D FROM PAGE 1)
Board Converting NEWS INTERNET DIRECTORY
us solve these problems. I wish you all the best in 2025!”
OX BOX Addison, Illinois: Guy Ockerlund reports, “We’re excited to announce that Ox Box will be expanding our corrugated and kitting products business. We will be focusing all of our resourc- es and future investment to grow our capabilities to be best in class producers of heavy duty and jumbo corrugated boxes as well as corru- gated and pallet kitted products. 2025 will commence a four-year plan that will be the largest invest- ment in manufacturing technology to date at Ox Box. More to come soon on that. “To make room for this expansion, we’ve divested our wood products division to Cole Pallet Services Corpora- tion. Cole Pallet is an industry leader in wood pallet man- ufacturing and is expanding their operations to include wood box manufacturing. We will be working collabora- tively with Cole Pallet to offer heavy duty corrugated crate boxes with custom engineered crate pallets.” TAVENS PACKAGING & DISPLAY SOLUTIONS Bedford, Ohio: Mike Schaefer reports, “Major integrated producers continue to direct, if not manipulate, the market Guy Ockerlund
ADVANTZWARE www.advantzware.com
Advantzware provides a comprehensive system to address the business management needs of the independent box business, as well as the ERP requirements of full scale pack- aging plants and integrated companies. With modules for estimating, scheduling, production, inventory and account- ing, this scalable system supports companies that produce corrugated boxes, folding cartons, point of purchase dis- plays, assembled partitions, and paperboard products. AIR CONVEYING CORPORATION www.accfilter.com Air Conveying Corporation is a leader in the industry of Pneumatic Conveying Systems and has been in business since 1968. As an equipment manufacturer rather than sim- ply a sales organization, we have complete control over the quality of material and products which make up your pro- posed system. Our equipment is found in printing, folding carton and corrugated plants throughout the world. We've been designing, manufacturing and engineering pneumatic conveying systems since 1984. We partner with our customers to ensure they operate efficiently and guar- antee our systems meet or exceed their specifications. ASDI specializes in full pull-through systems trim separators, and NFPA compliant systems with full electronic controls. AMTECH SOFTWARE www.amtechsoftware.com AIR SYSTEMS DESIGN, INC. www.airsystemsdesign.com Amtech offers the industry’s most innovative and com- prehensive corrugated and packaging ERP, integrated scheduling software, and engineered automation technol- ogy. For over 30 years, Amtech has kept our customers competitive in an ever-changing economy with customer digital storefronts and workflows, business intelligence, automated scheduling for corrugators, converting and shipping, proactive roll stock and inventory management. APEX INTERNATIONAL www.apexinternational.com World’s largest Anilox and Glue & Metering roll manufac- turer, providing the widest selection of corrugated engrav- ings and complementary services. Anilox engraving options available from our North American manufacturing facility include elongated 75°, 60°, 45°, plus Apex’s patented GTT technology. Glue rolls are produced with Hardened Stain- less Steel and a max TIR of 10 µ for Single, Double Facers.
with the announcement of upcom- ing 2025 price increases. We feel these announcements are signals to the market but may not actually be the plan. As we all know, box pric- es tend to increase once the RISI index reports that liner and medium buyers are paying more whether demand dictates it or not. This an-
Mike Schaefer
nouncement mirrors a similar proposed increase in Q3 of 2023 for January 2024. That increase eventually went through in March, though there was little evidence, even in the RISI publication article discussing the increase, that prices had in fact moved. “Regardless, many box makers are tied to the index with their vendors and usually end up paying more for raw material when the index reflects these changes. If this in- crease were to take effect, it would result in an 11 percent increase in raw material to box makers. “The integrated producers are not attributing increased demand for their products, or any supply constraints to justify this increase. Instead, they are citing inflation and cost pressures that are driving down margins. We believe this indicates that the ongoing consolidation in North American corrugated market allows the largest producers to dictate prices outside of the normal supply and demand dynamics. Clearly, they feel they are in a strong enough
ALBANY INTERNATIONAL www.albint.com
Albany International has a corrugator belt for every appli- cation. Our reputation for durable performance is the trade- mark of the most dependable belts in service today.
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January 13, 2025
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