AWA Alexander Watson Associates received an impressive turnout for its latest event, as more than 200 industry members arrived in Denver, CO, USA, for the Global Release Liner Conference & Exhibition. The three-day event, which took place March 20-22, included education and networking.

The market research firm delivered data to illustrate the industry trends while also providing insight into the company’s data collection processes. AWA conducted several real-time surveys with attendees, not only to survey the room but compare attendance data to that of the greater industry.

This year’s Global Release Liner Conference & Exhibition featured strong support from many platinum and gold sponsors, including Avery Dennison, Elkem, Mondi, UPM Specialty Paper, Dow, Sappi, Fedrigoni, Channeled Resources, Beontag and more.

AWA highlighted a multitude of prevalent themes, ranging from the supply chain and paper sourcing to sustainability. According to Corey Reardon, president and CEO, AWA, the five factors that most influenced businesses in 2022 included: Raw material price inflation, the availability of raw materials, recruiting qualified personnel, demand for shorter lead times, and increased environmental regulations.

The changing nature of the markets has impacted AWA’s methods, too, notes Reardon. “What we’re doing at AWA, which is quite timely given the volatility of the markets, is monitoring the markets on a quarterly basis,” he explained. “We’ll continue tracking this into 2023 and beyond. You can see the volatility across all regions, and we expect this to continue.”

According to AWA, there was “a significant slowdown” in the growth rates in the release liner market. In North America, which accounts for 26% of global release liner usage, 3.5% growth in 2021 fell to 1.9% growth in 2022. That trend held true on a global scale, too, as Asia saw its 5.2% growth figure dip to 3.5% in 2022. AWA will also soon be releasing its 2023 market report.

“Disruptions and headwinds are plenty, especially since 2019 with the Covid-19 pandemic,” acknowledged Reardon. “The resilience the industry has shown in the last 2-3 years is quite important and telling, especially in regards to the entire release liner market. We’re still working through some of the residual effects from a global pandemic, and we’ll continue to see the fallout for some time.

“Supply chains have been disrupted significantly over the last couple of years, but we think 2023 will see some of the challenges behind us and we’ll get back to some normalization,” added Reardon. “By the second half of 2023, we’ll get back to a more normalized supply and demand balance, with inventories more in check. We expect to see a continued increase in cost inflation through 2023, for the rest of Q1 with some tapering in Q2 and beyond.

“Aside from erratic current market dynamics, the long-term label market will be strong with a lot of growth in RIFD and functional labeling technologies,” Reardon added. “There will also be growth in linerless labeling.”

The supply chain issues of 2022 have migrated into 2023. With paper availability scarce last year, many companies overbought at inflated prices, leading to lower demand currently. Plus, many converters shifted their liners to filmic materials, which will impact the growth of films going forward.

“Film is growing at a faster rate than paper, and that’s very dependent on applications and segments where films are being used,” commented Reardon. “The growth and development of polyester liner, especially in North American labels, is a key driver. That will have an impact on the growth rate of film.”

The recycling of release liners was also a key issue, as the third day of the event was dedicated to sustainability. Mactac’s Kevin Clunie and Elkem’s Kyle Rhodes addressed their work with CELAB, and presenters from various companies – including Avery Dennison and FLEXcon – discussed how their companies plan to mitigate the growing recycling problem impacting converters, brand owners, and the consumers.

“Sustainability will become more important in our industry,” stated Catalina Steenbakkers, market research consultant, AWA. “There are possibilities with liners in the market with recycled content, and there are many ways to approach sustainability.”

Sean Duffy, VP of sustainability and regulatory compliance, Elkem, and the winner of AWA’s Leadership Award, cited the problems facing society at large. The global economy is now only 7.2% circular, meaning 90% of materials are wasted, lost or unavailable for reuse. Meanwhile, Earth’s Overshoot Day occurred on July 28 of last year.

“This year we’ve fallen back in percentage terms,” said Duffy. “We all have a part to play in this industry.”

Collaboration, establishing company guidelines, and understanding regulatory context will all be key in moving forward. He added that work with associations like TLMI and CELAB will be critical, as well.