uncertainty in europe and currency fluctuations has failed to dent the good fortune and optimism of metal packagers. jez abbott finds out more.roberts metal packagingroberts metal packaging has been running since 1887. today the 75staff company in thamesmead boasts sales of around £6m a year and is a niche maker for big personal care brands. half of what it produces &ndash aluminium jars for haircare, lip balm and body cream products &ndash is exported. managing director chris saunders explains more.how has business been for your company in the past yearbusiness has been absolutely phenomenal and we heading for 20 growth this year. our factory recently gained brc certification we are flying.what challenges are you facingfor a growing business the main challenge is finding trained, competent engineering staff. university graduates are not drawn to packaging, meaning companies have to take people off the street and train as best they can. this can work well, as there are clever people out there, but the lack of investment in manufacturing for 25 years will be felt for at least a decade to come. i&rsquom also worried about the weakness of the euro.what markets are you strongest inwe supply pharmaceutical, food and household sectors but are strongest in personal care, especially haircare and colour cosmetics such as eyeshadow containers.how much goodwill do consumers have towards metal packagingit&rsquos strange. metal has been around for decades with food and people rarely get excited about it. but elsewhere, soft and alcoholic drinks for example, it&rsquos a massively growing market and consumers are really excited.how big a selling point is the recyclability of metalmetal is no longer seen as binfodder and can return as another can or part of a bridge or car bonnet. but whereas carbon footprints is considered at a corporate level, at a purchasing level clients are still driven by price and &ldquohow many can i fill&rdquois it difficult to innovate in this sector, and if not, what examples of innovations do you havefor such a mature sector it can be difficult to be innovative aluminium has been around for the last century. but we offer embossing, different shapes, decoration and all sorts of finishes.how is 2015 shaping upthis is going to be the best ever year for the second year in a row &ndash it will be fantastic. it&rsquos early days but i can&rsquot see us doing anything but go further than last year.tinpactinpac, with offices in milton keynes, swansea and sydney, australia, designs, makes and supplies packaging such as tins and aluminium containers for a range of sectors and customers. they are based as far away as australia, new zealand and south africa, canada, usa and mexico. director lee carlsen explains more.how has business been for your company in the past yearwe have hit abovetarget growth for the uk operation and have maintained levels in australia.what challenges are you facingagreeing and honouring reasonable payment terms that are acceptable to both parties is challenging and, given a chance, one thing i&rsquod change about the business environment.what markets are you strongest inour main markets are confectionery, sweets and snacks, personal care, coffee and tea, supplying customers in volumes ranging from small oneoff orders of a few thousand pieces to ongoing container quantities.how much goodwill do consumers have towards metal packagingif the process is managed well, a good deal metal offers many advantages. designs can be ambitious and highly detailed and consumers respond to the packaging as it represents good quality.how big a selling point is the recyclability of metalhuge tin is 100 recyclable and it is produced from viable sources of primary and recycled materials. and even though it is infinitely recyclable, it doesn&rsquot lose quality.is it difficult to innovate in this sector, and if not, what examples of innovations do you haveinnovation is not difficult. we&rsquove seen tins that function as musical boxes and help brands extend their reach, such as novelty lunch boxes. metal packaging is very adaptable, can be vintage, fun or opulent, and boast exceptional artwork and contemporary print techniques and finishes.how is 2015 shaping upwe are extremely positive this year is already looking to be an exciting year, with new suppliers providing products and several new customers in key regions.emballator packagingemballator, based in bradford, west yorkshire makes a turnover in excess of £28m from serving customers in markets including paint, building, yacht and marine, automotive, food, trade print and chemicals. packaging news caught up with managing director gerard dibb.how has business been for your company in the past yearbusiness has been positive we developed the onestopshop concept with the addition of a new plastic manufacturing factory in conjunction with the metal production, contributing to 8 growth in 2014.what challenges are you facingdifficult economies across europe has led to increased competition, currency fluctuations and an increased focus on service and lead times with shorter production runs being an ongoing challenge. throughout 2015 we will invest in new production lines for metal and also in printing and labelling.what markets are you strongest inwe have a strong presence in all of our markets and work closely with customers to develop and build these markets.how much goodwill do consumers have for metal packagingthere is a great deal of goodwill towards metal with its opportunities for exciting packaging designs and industrial products, such as dangerousgoods packaging subject to un certification.how big a selling point is the recyclability of metal packagingmetal is infinitely recyclable without losing its intrinsic properties it is europe&rsquos most recycled packaging. emballator is the first producer of tinplate packaging to be certified as carbonneutral.is it difficult to innovate on this sector, and if not, what examples of innovations do you havedevelopment, innovation and forward thinking. our duraline pail series with a single pail fitting a full range of closures demonstrates this. the easyopen pail offers both decorative and solutions for most customer needs.how is 2015 shaping upthe year has started well and we are ahead of our expectations. investments in new machines demonstrate our commitment to the sector.canpack ukcanpac, based in scunthorpe, north lincolnshire, boasts a turnover of £65m and serves the uk and export markets with aluminium drinks cans and easy open ends. volumes for 2015 are likely to be in the region of 1.6 billion cans. managing director philip fisher explains more.how has business been for your company in the past yearbusiness has been good in the last year we installed new capacity to bump up our capability from one billion to 1.6 billion cans.what challenges are you facingunstable trade legislature such as the french government deciding to ban bpa in coatings &ndash against all the scientific advice &ndash has been a particular challenge in the last year.what markets are you strongest inwe provide a strong and competitive offering in all the markets in which we operate.how much goodwill do consumers have towards metal packagingthe consumer is a big fan of the aluminium drinks can &ndash it is infinitely recyclable, portable, light and convenient. it is everything good packaging should be.how big a selling point is recyclability of metalcustomers are always interested in recyclability but naturally price, quality and service are also very important to customers.is is difficult to innovate in this sector, and if not, what examples do you haveinnovation is important and is something we invest in over the past few years this has resulted in lighter and lighter weight cans but who knows what the future will holdhow is 2015 shaping upthis year is shaping up to be a busy year.william say & cowilliam say & co makes a group turnover of £8m and the central london business, which is based and manufactures in bermondsey, rolls out volumes ranging volumes 2,000 to 2 million for clients across sectors including retail. sales manager stu wilkinson spoke to packaging news about the business.how has business been for your company in the past yearwe have accelerated all our work into new markets, especially in the retail environment. out solar farm had a fantastic first summer and helped us produce solarmade tins and put us up for a uk packaging award.what challenges are you facingwe invested in a lot in new services and people over the last year and it has been a challenge to juggle so many new things while targeting growth without diluting focus. we face continued price pressures from both emerging markets and struggling competition.what markets are you strongest inwe have always been strong in the industrial markets, which was started by my grandfather and carried on by my father. we got into can making in central london back in 1930 after william say invented a small metal bung that could reseal the wooden tea chests that docked in london.how much goodwill do consumers have towards metal packagingthere&rsquos lots of goodwill for metal packaging from consumers and clients who recognise the strong connection between quality, strength and recyclability.how big a selling point is the recyclability of metalenvironmentalism is growing, hence our solar farm powering the site now. consumers are becoming smart to retailers&rsquo old smokeandmirrors tricks of pure weight reduction regardless of substrate. smaller companies do their own research and are picking metal as a result.is it difficult to innovate in this sector, and if not, what examples of innovations do you havefor us it&rsquos hard, we want to remain flexible so we can move quickly, but much of this work can not justify investment. when tooling is required you need to be a risk taker or be investing on behalf of a bigger, more established user.how is 2015 shaping upwe&rsquove had a strong start to date, are up on last year, are benefiting from our expanded sales team, and are getting more referrals from customers.photo of supp gettyimages 470651487 tincans3akno nobelakzonobel, based in amsterdam, has about 47,000 staff in around 80 countries and its portfolio includes dulux, sikkens, international, interpon and eka. sales last year were &euro1.43bn. commercial marketing manager for packaging coatings martin hilgenstock spoke to packaging news.how has business been for your company in the past year2014 was challenging, evidenced by negative currency effects, a continued lack of growth in europe and a slowdown in some of the asian and latin american economies. but we remain on track to deliver on our 2015 targets.what challenges are you facingwe anticipate significant developments in raw material prices combined with exchange rate movements and lower growth rates in highgrowth economies.what markets are you strongest inwe are the world&rsquos largest paints and coatings firm and have leading positions in most of our markets.how much goodwill do consumers have towards metal packagingpacking food or beverages in metal is very sustainable. metal is the only material that is infinitely recyclable and is outstanding in protecting the quality of food. consumers increasingly accept metal as a sustainable packaging material.how big a selling point is the recyclability of metalrecycling rates are increasing for aluminium and tinplate cans, at the same time as metal collection schemes are covering more regions. recycling has become a strong argument at the point of sales.is it difficult to innovate in this sector and if not, then what examples of innovations do you haveto develop new coatings which will be in contact with food and drinks, we must follow strict qualification protocols. product safety is paramount, hence new development can take tow to three years before commercialisation. an example for an innovation is a tactile varnish that creates a 3d effect on metal cans. the alternative process &ndash embossing &ndash is expensive and reduces the output as it is slow.how is 2015 shaping uppreparations made during 2013 and 2014 will form a sound basis for further improvements in 2015 last year we launched of our human cities initiative and our partnership with 100 resilient cities and we introduced the first carboncredit methodology for the international shipping industry, where ships generate income by reducing co2 emissions. 
