Caraustar Announces a Minimum 9.0% Price Increase on all Protective Packaging Products

Berry Global Group, Inc. announced its second investment for 2021 in the wipes segment to support the long-term consumer behavior shift towards infection prevention, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. The investment, located in Europe, will increase Berry’s production footprint in support of its global customers, with total investments reaching over $110 million in nonwoven materials for products such as hard surface disinfectant wipes. Prior to the demand surge of 2020, the European impregnated wet wipes segment, for home cleaning and disinfecting, was growing at the rate of five percent in the 2014 to 2019 time frame. COVID-19 has increased heightened focus on sanitation and personal hygiene for infection prevention, suggesting permanent consumer trends away from the chore of cleaning to a health and safety priority. “We strategically partner with many of the world’s leading brands with wipe materials, ensuring our investments align with demand for today and for the future. The reliability of our capacity and scale are paramount to our customer support and the trusted relationships we desire to maintain,” said Curt Begle, President of Berry’s Health, Hygiene, and Specialties Division.

Established in 2016, and just 6 years old, ePac Flexible Packaging is doubling down on the aggressive growth strategy it has deployed since the company’s creation. ePac will continue to focus on helping small and medium brands achieve big brand presence, recognizing the importance of this sector in driving economic growth in all corners of the globe. 2021 was a strong year for the company, again seeing sales growth in excess of 50% YoY, and an increase in production capacity of over 30%. In North America new plants were successfully opened in Portland, Toronto, and Kansas City, and internationally in the UK, France, Poland, and Australia. ePac now operates 17 plants in North America and 6 more in Europe and Asia Pacific. Looking forward into 2022-2023, ePac will continue expansion in North America, adding plants in the Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, and a second location in the Mountain region. Additionally, print and pouch making capacity will be increased in existing ePac operations.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2020, reported sales increased 12% to $749 million compared to $671 million in the prior year. Core sales, excluding the impacts from changes in currency exchange rates and acquisitions, increased 5%. For the year ended December 31, 2020, reported sales increased 2% to $2.93 billion compared to $2.86 billion reported a year ago while core sales remained flat. The effects of currency translation rates were more than offset by the positive contribution from acquisitions. Cash generated from operations for the year reached $570 million, an increase of 11% over $514 million in the prior year primarily due to better working capital management and the positive impact of recent acquisitions.