What is the top business challenge faced by packaging converters? Two-thirds of those surveyed in the recently-released study, Packaging 2003: Directional Trends Report, say "national economic conditions" are the No. 1 challenge that must be addressed in the next 12 months.

And whether you break down the respondents by job category, packaging-market served, size of company, packaging type made or printing methods used, the result is the same. More than any other aspect of running a business, the state of the national economy is top-of-mind with converters today—as it is with just about everybody else.

But that's not news. What is important are the 19 other business challenges listed by the survey's respondents. Conducted by New York-based TrendWatch Graphic Arts, a market researcher affiliated with Converting, the 200-page study looked at business conditions, sales opportunities, planned investments and the handling of package design and prepress workflows, among several other topics.

So, what is beyond just "the economy, stupid?" Almost half of the converters responding say "keeping up with technological changes" is the No. 2 challenge. "Local economic conditions" and the "need for employee training" tied for No. 3 with 45 percent of converters.

About a third of those surveyed want a better handle on what their "packaging strategy should be in the future"—should they get into converting standup pouches or should they get out of the glue-applied label business, for example.

An almost equal number of converters—34 percent—are challenged to "profitably use the technologies we've already invested in." And ironically, another 17 percent say "equipment that goes out of date too quickly" is a top concern.

According to the TrendWatch report, a good ROI, regardless of technology in prepress or on-press, is getting harder and harder to achieve. Converters are getting price-squeezed from every direction. That's one reason major capital-equipment investments are down.

Some trends based on what converters manufacture were kind of telling. Flex-pack makers were the most likely to cite "keeping up with technology" as a top challenge, probably because flexible packaging is among the most complex to convert. They were also the least likely to cite "finding qualified employees."

Corrugated converters were the most concerned with "local economic conditions"—64 percent gave this answer, one-third more than those in other packaging-type segments. This obviously follows the generally local nature of brown boxmaking.

Only 28 percent of label converters cited "understanding our future strategy" as a challenge compared to almost half of the respondents in other segments. The direction in labels is clear, TrendWatch says, it's growing and fast. There's no mystery here.

Want to clear up other mysteries of what lies ahead for package converters? Check out the report at the TrendWatch Graphic Arts eStore. Go online to: www.trendwatchgraphicarts.com/reports_2003/pack2_cm.html