The European tube manufacturers association (etma) presented the production figures for last year. Total production by etma members in 2015 was 10.5 billion tubes, exactly the same as the previous year’s mark, and thus remained stable at a high level.
The overall market shares of the individual tube types have shown little change for a number of years. Aluminium tubes account for the largest share with about 40 per cent of the market. Laminate tubes were a little stronger in 2015 and are now just over 30 per cent while plastic tubes declined slightly and fell below the 30 per cent mark for the first time.
As in previous years, most of the tubes produced were used in the cosmetics market, whose share was almost 44 per cent of the total. The pharmaceutical sector and toothpaste are similarly ranked, accounting respectively for almost 22 per cent and about 20 per cent of all tubes. The food sector accounts for some 9 per cent while almost 5 per cent of tube production goes into industrial applications and the household sector.
Because of its numerous positive attributes, no one in the European tube industry seriously doubts that the tube will continue to perform successfully. The reasons for this are primarily the tube’s excellent product protection, high standards of hygiene and outstanding consumer convenience. In addition, the tube offers an almost unbeatable price/performance ratio compared with many other alternative forms of packaging and exemplary resource efficiency.
“I think that with this result the European tube industry has once again demonstrated its capabilities in an impressive manner,” was the satisfactory conclusion drawn by etma’s secretary general Gregor Spengler.