As the pandemic seems to be easing,Europe's label converters have been saying quietly to themselves"Well,that wasn't too bad."But now another threat looms,and this time it's indisputably man-made.The strike at UPM's Finnish mills,even if settled soon(which at present looks unlikely),will have long-term consequences for the label busineB.Although the use of synthetic face materials is growing,paper-based facestock is still the bread-and-butter of the label sector,and all pressure sensitive labels need release liners.Six UPM mills are strikebound,including Tampere(label papers)andTervasaari(papers for release liners).Two pulp mills are also idle,and just recently the Finnish transport workers'and electrical workers'unions have both blacklisted the pulp and paper group.A UK printer has already been warned that some deliveries scheduled for March may not arrive until May.European label aBociation FINAT,along with the 15 national aBociations,has launched a"red warning,"pointing to the widespread disruption to many industrial and commercial sectors if the strike,which started on January 1,continues into mid-March:"We(FINAT)urge all stakeholders(employers,unions and authorities alike)to take the European macro-economic implications of this dispute into consideration,and to aBeB their social responsibility to the wider European community in resolving this dispute."With fuel and other transport prices rocketing,the whole European label supply chain,from pulp to supermarket shelves,will soon be in crisis.
展开▼
