Finat European Label Forum | 53Finat ELF 2023 addresses industry challengesThis year’s European Label Forum hosted by Finat in Vienna showed that the label industry still has challenges ahead. Chelsea McDougall reportsJules Lejune was recognized for his years of service to the European label industrytanding in front of the Finat European “The good thing about our industry is we’ve Label Forum, AWA president Corey Reardon presented market statistics Salways done well in bad times”that showed such a sharp decline in Q4 of 2022 and Q1 of 2023, it appears as if the spending as much on premium products. in digital presses seem to be postponed global self-adhesive label industry drove off In a bit of good news, demand for food, slightly, with 74 percent of respondents a cliff. beverage, health and personal care appears saying that they will purchase digital His presentation on the state of the to be crawling upward in Q1 and Q2 of presses after 2023.European label market showed all signs 2023 but still below late 2021 and 2022 Meanwhile, conventional press pointing downward. levels, according to the AWA report for investments are being planned for the more What’s happening, Reardon explains, is a Finat. AWA expects this to turn around immediate or distant future: 57 percent lingering hangover from the Finnish paper later this year, and there are already some of converter respondents have plans to workers’ strike and a major correction promising signs pointing that way. purchase conventional equipment in 2023 to the paper supply chain and signifcant or 2024, while 30 percent are delaying it destocking in key label end-use segments. By the numbers until after 2025. A similar outlook is ahead A similar story can be told for label European self-adhesive label volumes fell for fnishing equipment.buyers across end uses, where there by 21.4 percent in percent in Q4 2022, The Finat ELF was hosted in Vienna from is signifcant destocking occurring as and 15.6 percent in the beginning of 2023. 31 May to 2 June, was attended by 300 companies are depleting their current Other label formats also declined, albeit members, and featured a host of in-depth inventories and postponing procuring new much slower than self-adhesive labels. educational sessions and panels. Amid labels and packaging. The overall lesson of this year’s Finat ELF concerns that growth forecasts are sliding, ‘The current state of the industry is not is that the label and packaging industry other key topics included regulations, ß very optimistic,’ says Finat president Jules market volatility will likely continue. risks, technology infrastructure, further Lejeune. And yet, the industry is poised to make supply chain disruption and strained labor Philippe Voet, Finat president adds: ‘Our investments where necessary, even in a markets.industry demonstrated its essential role time of high infation. Sustainability undoubtedly took center in keeping the critical infrastructure alive AWA was recently contracted to conduct stage. Finat attendees took lessons from during the lockdowns of 2020 and helping Finat’s Radar Report and presented the the keynote speaker Thomas Rau, who the economy back on its feet a year later. results at the association’s annual event discussed a storied architecture career However, that year also revealed the frst in May. Finat increased the frequency of in which he’s been at the forefront of signs of the vulnerability of our globally the market reports from half yearly to designing environmentally conscious consolidated supply chains, and economic quarterly. buildings. He continues to promote the use recovery was held back by the lack of raw According to the survey, there is some of renewable energy.materials, consumables, components and hesitation among converters when it comes Next year’s Finat ELF will be in Athens, labor.’ to capital equipment investments, but Greece, from 22-24 May.This industry-wide destocking is that could be a refection of a time of high manifesting in declines in key market infation. The true test will be Labelexpo segments like food, beverage, health and Europe when it returns to Brussels. After Top 5 European personal care and automotive. All this is years of pent-up demand, all signs point to label-producing countriesamid fears of a looming global recession. Labelexpo being a buying show.• Germany‘What seems like short-term declines ‘The good thing about our industry • Italymay mean regression in the context is we’ve always done well in bad times,’ • UKof long-term growth,’ Reardon says. says Nilpeter’s Jakob Landberg in a • France‘Production data is showing that market panel discussion on investing in times of • Spaindemand has gone through the foor, disruption. ‘In bad times the industry tends but consumers are still buying food and to replace old equipment and in good beverage and personal care items. People times, they invest in increasing capacity.’still need to eat, drink and brush their Finat asked converters what and Finat members can read more of the teeth. Even in a recession, they don’t stop when they are likely to invest in capital Radar report at www.fnat.comdoing that.’ Though consumers may not be equipment and found that investments Jul - Sep 2023