Over the past few years, thin wall packaging (TWP) has carved out a distinct role for itself within the rigid plastics market, accounting for 2.5m t of thermoplastics in Europe. A new multiclient report by British market research firm Applied Market Information (AMI, Bristol / UK; www.amiplastics.com) has found that at 23%, dairy products make up the largest share of the TWP market, followed by disposables at 15%. The fastest growing applications are chilled ready meals and ambient food – both growing at 6% a year.

AMI’s report, titled “Thin Wall Packaging Markets in Europe”, found that the TWP market is highly dynamic and rapidly evolving, due in part to the replacement of glass jars and tin cans with ambient food packaging. Developments in polymer properties, pricing and sources also play a role here. As such, the growth in retortable and microwaveable PP and the popularity of rPET have opened up completely new horizons for prepared food packaging.

The European market for thin wall packaging is driven primarily by the largest producers, who accounted for about one-quarter of European TWP production in 2008, AMI says. They include Huhtamaki, Klöckner Pentaplast, Linpac, Veriplast and the RPC Group.

Typical TWP applications are containers for yogurt, butter or margarine as well as meat and fruit trays and other types of containers.