Searching for a Lemonade Recipe

Published: September 01, 2001, By Yolanda Simonsis, Associate Publisher/Editor

Despite everyone's good intentions to will away the thought of a recession, it's been difficult not to notice some pretty obvious signs of a weakened economy in the US. Whether the slowdown was a predictable ax just waiting to fall after an extended growth period or the result of negative thoughts too many of us talked ourselves into, is an argument best left to politicians and cocktail party guests. The important question isn't how we got here but where do we go from here. What do you do with the lemon you've been served?

Some experienced industry voices offered me their opinions on our present state of affairs:

Robert Korowicki, Vacumet, Wayne, NJ: “Right now, my impression of our economy in the US is that we are in a recession. Raw material suppliers are feeling it more in their industries than we are. We're basically in the industrial and flexible packaging side, which has maintained its volume, but the margins are shrinking. The competition to maintain levels of production is so severe that pricing has been constantly under attack by our users — our customer base. Our suppliers have been driven down and, of course, our competitors have tried to maintain share by continuing to reduce margins. It's so easy to give up margin, but it's harder to regain it. Even with missing key indicators, we're hopeful that the market will resurge and come back to normalcy in early 2002.”

From the label industry, Suzanne Zaccone, president of Graphic Solutions, Burr Ridge, IL, expresses her thoughts: “I firmly agree that we are re-entering an economic cycle similar to the volatile period we experienced in '98. I also see patterns that are similar to '91. There is no real Old Economy or New Economy… just companies that adapt to change and those that don't. Many people who are running companies now have never managed through this type of business cycle. Or if they have, they may have come from another discipline outside our industry. But there are also great opportunities presenting themselves for employers in this cycle, namely in finding available talent.

“You cannot have knee-jerk reactions to changes in economic circumstances. You must decide carefully what your strategy is, understand the risk and rewards, make your decisions, and move forward. Unfortunately, it isn't a ‘one size fits all’ kind of thing. It's similar to a decline in the stock market. Some people lose trillions while others see it as a huge buying opportunity. Choose your strategy carefully, reassess, decide where to make your investments in equipment and people, and get on with it.

“We have a new statement that we use around the office: ‘Enjoy life, treat people well, implement well-thought-out plans, make creative choices, and don't look back — we aren't going that way!’”

As we stumble through to a recovery, it's difficult to remember that maintaining a positive attitude is very different from being in a state of denial and choosing not to deal directly with issues that could threaten your company's welfare. It may be time to resurrect that lemonade recipe.

For more information on the converting industry beyond this issue's contents, be sure to visit www.pffc-online.com.

Once there, be sure to e-mail your feedback to me.