Press releases

Great ingenuity to create innovative products, some with the potential to take alufoil into new markets, underlined the entries for the Alufoil Trophy 2013. Practicality was combined with style and creativity across all sectors. So good was the quality of entries that the judges were challenged to pick ‘the best of the best’, but eventually selected 12 winners.

Judging was led by Professor Dr. Markus Prem, principal of the Department of Food Packaging Technology at the University of Applied Sciences Kempten, who commented on the overall standard of entries saying, “The originality and quality of the entries generated much discussion among the judges. In these tough economic times we always look to focus on developments which can add value or reduce cost, as well as meeting sustainable requirements. But it impressed us how some very imaginative and stylish ideas were presented which could open new doors for alufoil, or create better, eye-catching solutions for existing products.”

More information can be found here.

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The moderate increase in demand and deliveries for aluminium foil products from European manufacturers, seen during the first three quarters of 2012, was maintained in Q4. The year ended with total production up 1.5% at 813,800t (2011: 801,600t) according to the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA). The deliveries in the fourth quarter 2012 were 5% up compared with Q4 2011.

Thinner gauges used for flexible packaging and household foil continued to lead the way with an increase of 3% compared with the previous year. The increase in Q4 compared with same period in 2011 was even 8%. Deliveries of thicker gauges which are typically used for semi-rigid containers and technical applications continued to decline, falling in total by 5% in the last twelve months, although the rate of decline is continuing to slow down with only a 1% decrease in the fourth quarter.

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Alufoil Statistics 2012 - high res (8MB)

Across Europe the average recycling rate for aluminium closures is 40 per cent

• Despite their small size, aluminium closures are collected and recycled – either separately with other packaging or together with used glass bottles
• Recycling of aluminium needs up to 95% less energy than its primary production

More information about aluminium closures on www.aluminium-closures.org.

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Infographics Alu Closures Recycling

EAFA announced that the third global aluminium foil roller conference (GLAFCO) will take place from 15th – 17th January 2014 in Dubai.

Delegates from the international aluminium foil roller industry are expected to continue the coordinated actions on foil sustainability and promotion to support market growth globally and highlight innovative developments.

The 3rd GLAFCO is organised by EAFA, the global network leader of foil producers. The conference is open for foil rollers worldwide. Previous conferences were held in Oman and Thailand. Supporters are Achenbach Buschhütten, Kampf, Novelis PAE, Thiel & Hoche and the International Aluminium Institute (IAI). The strategic partner is CRU.

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Campaign to promote the quality and advantages of aluminium closures for wine

• The leading manufacturers of aluminium closures launch the pan-European promotional campaign ’Aluminium Closures – Turn 360° to enhance public awareness about the advantages of a sustainable and state-of-the-art closure form
• New internet portal www.aluminium-closures.org goes online to provide comprehen­sive information on the advantages of aluminium closures

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Recycling rates for alufoil trays and semi-rigid containers across Europe rose above 50 per cent in 2010 (2008: 45 per cent) helped by the industry’s commitment to promote the benefits of resource efficient and sustainable packaging options.

Aluminium is endlessly recyclable, which saves up to 95 per cent of energy use compared with its primary production. This message is increasingly recognised by the packaging supply chain, while consumers are showing greater willingness to play their part across Europe.

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Container Recycling (Pics)

The first nine months of 2012 showed a positive development for the European manufacturers of aluminium foil. According to European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) 618,500 tonnes were delivered in the three quarters (2011: 611,400 tonnes), representing an increase of 1.2%.

Thinner gauges mainly for flexible packaging and household foil were up more than one cent while thicker gauges typically used for semi-rigid containers and technical applications decreased five per cent. Exports outside the EAFA region further improved by twelve per cent, indicating a recovery in demand from emerging markets and others outside Europe.

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Alufoil reaches every part of the world we live in: packaging or helping with the preparation of the food we eat; protecting the medicines which help to fight disease and illness; in transport to make vehicles more efficient and sustainable; and in buildings to keep us warm, cool or safe. The Alufoil Trophy celebrates all these activities and recognises the best of the best as well as highlighting new and exciting applications using aluminium foil and closures.

The Alufoil Trophy is now established as a major prize, which recognises innovation and creativity in the use of foil across a number of applications.

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After a slow start into the year 2012 the European manufacturers of aluminium foil saw clear signs of recovery in the second quarter. According to EAFA 411,500 tonnes were delivered in the first six months (2011: 420 100 tonnes), representing a decrease of two per cent.

Thinner gauges mainly for flexible packaging and household foil were down two per cent while thicker gauges typically used for semi-rigid containers and technical applications dipped almost eight per cent. A major boost came from exports which leapt by almost ten per cent, indicating a recovery in demand from emerging markets and others outside Europe.

However, these figures mask a better performance in the second quarter of 2012, where deliveries were above the year before, indicating more steady demand from inside Europe.

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The first blister pack was introduced to the market 50 years ago. Today it is hard to imagine a world where unit doses of solid form pharmaceuticals are not available in this user-friendly format. So many advantages for the end-user have emerged and its most obvious benefit is that it is always clear how many tablets have been used.

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Alufoil Blister Pics (zip)

Jan Homan, Chairman Constantia Flexibles, has been newly elected President of EAFA. The association also welcomed 17 new member companies.

Speaking recently at the association’s annual conference Jan Homan said, “The excellent work of EAFA is proven by the high number of new companies joining. Common interests like the promotion of the material and challenges in the world of sustainability as well as food contact issues form an important industry voice.”

He added: “Especially alufoil and flexible packaging applications can contribute to a more sustainable consumption and production as illustrated in our thought leadership papers ‘More is Less’ and ‘The Perfect Fit’. Our association will continue serving its members and their customers and will deal pro-actively with new challenges.”

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The start into 2012 was calm for the European aluminium foil manufactures in line with the European economic markets. The first three months showed an overall shipments decrease of almost five per cent to 204,000t compared to last year’s first quarter according to figures published by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA).

Thinner gauges mostly used for flexible packaging and household foil declined by almost six per cent. The shipments of thicker foil segments typically used for semi-rigid container and technical applications fell by almost ten per cent. However, exports* from Europe rose by almost nine per cent underlining the competiveness of the European foil rollers on a global level.

Commenting the start of the year and the outlook EAFA’s Executive Director Stefan Glimm said: “The slow start reflects the overall European economic situation with quite stable regions and less performing areas. The prevention of food waste through its excellent barrier and preservation properties should provide aluminium foil a healthy future.”

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Full year figures for European output of alufoil in 2011 showed a modest decline in overall production levels, reflecting the cautious outlook throughout the European economic markets. However exports from Europe remained steady according to figures released by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA).

Total production fell back by 5.2% to 801,900 tonnes (2010: 846,300 tonnes), with thinner gauges declining by 7.9%. Thicker gauges fared much better registering only a 2.4% drop from 2010 levels. Exports* held up better, down by just 0.7%.

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EAFA has become a full member of the SAVE FOOD initiative which was launched officially in 2011 at the world’s largest packaging fair, interpack, in Dusseldorf.

The SAVE FOOD initiative is a joint campaign instituted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations and Messe Düsseldorf to provide a platform for activities and the promotion of initiatives to reduce food waste.

A key element in this programme is the development and adoption of appropriate packaging solutions. This aligns completely with the work of EAFA to offer innovative and sustainable packaging formats for the protection, distribution and preservation of all kinds of food products. www.save-food.org

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The European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) announced the launch of its newly designed website, dedicated to providing comprehensive information on the European aluminium foil industry.

Featuring a comprehensive overview of aluminium foil, its history, market information, Alufoil properties and applications, the new website has a completely new look and feel. The design incorporates performance optimised navigation to enable access to the right information quickly and easy. It also offers a search facility to locate EAFA’s member companies and potential suppliers of alufoil products.

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The economic slow down in Europe also affected the deliveries of aluminium foil in the first nine months of 2011. According to data published by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) the total production declined by almost 4% to 609,000t. 

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Aluminium foil impacts on every area of our lives from the kitchen to the retail shelf and on to technical industrial applications, which is why excellence in aluminium foil and flexible packaging within Europe will be recognised and rewarded with an Alufoil Trophy 2012. Organised by EAFA, these sought after awards are presented to manufacturers and users of  aluminium foil across all market sectors and applications, and celebrate the creativity and flexibility of aluminium foil. The Alufoil Trophy encourages the industry to show off innovative new material structures which offer true consumer convenience, technical development and sustainable solutions across packaging applications and industrial solutions. 

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Alufoil sector stabilises on high level 

After bullish growth rates over the past quarters the aluminium foil deliveries stabilised on a high level according to data published by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA). 

The production of the European aluminium foil industry slightly declined by 0.9 % to 419,000 t in the first six months of 2011.

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The World Grill and Barbecue Champion 2011 is Christoph Gollenz. Together with his team Goli & Chef Partie from Austria, he convinced the expert judges at the 2011 World BBQ Championship which was sponsored by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) and held last weekend in Gronau in Germany. 

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Signs of buoyancy continue for the European aluminium foil sector with a rise in production of 1.3 % to 214,400 t for the first quarter of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010. Thicker alufoil gauges, used mainly for the manufacture of semi-rigid foil trays and technical applications rose by 6 %, while thinner gauges used mainly in flexible packaging and household foil fell slightly by -0.7 %. Exports outside the EAFA region* remained stable.

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Variety was the key to a fantastic array of product developments entered for the Alufoil Trophy 2011, organised by the European Aluminium Foil Association. “Covering almost every market, entrants offered something for each category and gave the judges plenty to assess making it very difficult to pick the eventual winners,” said head judge Alan Moffat, Packaging Development Manager, H. J. Heinz R&D.

More information can be found here.

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Sustainable Development is a global challenge that transcends geographical boundaries and national borders. The way environmental considerations are addressed and tackled to promote resource efficiency around the globe also have a local impact and will shape the future of the way we all live.

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This May is going to be hot, hot, hot, with everything revolving around barbecue and grilling! The European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) invites all to celebrate the beginning of summer at two major international BBQ events that will demonstrate just how many different features of aluminium foil can be put to good use for barbecues and grills.

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BBB pictures (ZIP)

Sustainability was at the top of the Agenda at the 2nd Global Aluminium Foil Roller Conference held in Bangkok, Thailand, 12-14 January 2011, at the initiative of the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA). The importance of aluminium foil usage to the global market was underlined by 90 participants from China, Europe, India, Japan, Middle East, North America, Russia, South Korea, Thailand and Turkey representing almost 80% of global aluminium foil production. The conference programme covered the development in global aluminium foil demand (over 4% for the last 10 years, to 3.2 million tons in 2010), the environmental performance of the smelters and its impact on the eco-performance of end-products, technical development in the rolling sector and foundries, the position of aluminium foil in the sustainability debate. The first common project “A Global Moment with Alufoil” as a result of the first conference was launched. It covers a brochure and a website www.global-alufoil.org. 

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Soaring growth to bring alufoil production within Europe to the record levels experienced in 2006 before the 2008 economic crisis took hold, is shown by the year-end figures for 2010. Published by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA), these show overall shipment growth of 10.6 per cent to 850,300 t (2009: 768,600 t), creating in confidence in the outlook for aluminium foil products. EAFA President François Coëffic said, “The figures represent a return close to the record pre-crisis levels of 2006 and, even though we live in more unpredictable economic times, confidence is returning and we as EAFA arecautiously optimistic for 2011.”]

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Policy makers, industry stakeholders, NGOs and media representatives were invited to attend an event jointly organised by the European Aluminium Association (EAA) and the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of aluminium foil. The invitees assisted to a live cooking show and could taste quality dishes using aluminium foil.

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An upward trend is emerging in European recycling rates for alufoil trays and semi-rigid containers which rose to 45 per cent in 2008 (2007: 40 per cent), thanks to an increasing understanding of its benefits in providing more sustainable packaging options.  Aluminium is endlessly recyclable. Recycling of aluminium saves up to 95% of energy use compared with its primary production. This message is being increasingly understood by the packaging supply chain. It is also heartening that consumers are showing an increasing willingness to play their part. 

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François Coëffic, Novelis, has been re-elected President of the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA) and chairman of the Roller Group for a second term. Speaking in at the association’s annual conference François Coëffic, said, “Sustainability is a key challenge and will continue to be at the top of the agenda of our members and their customers, particularly for packaging applications. Our association has a very pro-active stance on raising the debate and implementing actions for sustainable consumption and production. Ongoing globalisation is another challenge we are dealing with and for key issues like sustainability we are managing and addressing questions while also proposing solutions at the global level.” 

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EAFA announced that the second global foil roller conference will take place from 12th – 14th January 2011 in Bangkok, Thailand. François Coëffic, EAFA President:”The first conference in 2008 represented more than 75 per cent of the global foil industry and far exceeded our expectations identifying a range of challenges and opportunities in terms of growing global markets but also in terms of sustainable development.” 

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François Coëffic / Stefan Glimm (ZIP)