for the global plastics packaging industry, 2014 marked another year of transformation. mergers and acquisitions continued apace, competition &ndash between european rigid packaging producers in particular &ndash heated up, and the market&rsquos players increasingly focused on issues such as sustainability and recycling. local players accustomed to sovereignty in their home markets found themselves under pressure from international competitors.at the end of the third quarter, the german industry association representing packaging manufacturers, industrievereinigung kunststoffverpackungen ik, bad homburg www.kunststoffverpackungen.de, warned that its members&rsquo business had not kept pace with international economic trends. along with the rising pressure from global competitors that has become acute in several product sectors &ndash russia is an upandcomer, according to a recent study by germany trade and invest gtai, berlin www.gtai.de &ndash ik blamed high energy costs. in neighbouring france, the mood for 2014 was much more upbeat, as players started the year with stable operating margins and rising export values.as regards global competition, the 2014 market study of the european plastics packaging industry by applied market information ami, bristol uk www.amiplastics.com revealed that the industry&rsquos landscape has changed &ldquodramatically&rdquo in the three years since the last report, with mergers, divestments and acquisitions shaking up the branches. the new report found that europe&rsquos top five producers now cover almost the entire range of packaging products and that the companies themselves have undergone major corporate changes. thenandnow market leader amcor hawthorn, victoria australia www.amcor.com was among the most active again this year, with purchases such as bella prima packaging jakarta indonesia www.bellacompanies.com.
