Hello everyone!

In a blink of an eye, we will soon usher in 2023. At this juncture, I would like to take the chance to extend my New Year greetings to all – wishing you good health and luck for the year ahead!

While many say 2020 was the most memorable year since we entered the 21st century, 2022 has been just as unforgettable for our Bostik Advanced Packaging & Converting team. 

As a team, we journeyed through some unprecedented stress and challenges – rising costs of raw materials that continue to impact our manufacturing costs, repeated delays that have brought Bostik’s supply chain to the brink of collapse, market demand becoming much weaker than expected, and many of our business opportunities were forced to stagnate – causing the business world to enter a new period of turmoil and change. Fortunately, the Advanced Packaging & Converting  team persevered and embraced change amidst these difficulties. 

This year, the Bostik Advanced Packaging & Converting team remained tenacious and responded well to the constant market changes. In the business front, our plans to monitor and control raw materials and cost have enabled us to meet our annual budget. In June 2022, we were conferred Coca-Cola Company’s 2021 ‘Best Supply Award of the Year’ award. Additionally, we successfully integrated Ashland’s Performance Adhesive business, which contributed positively to Arkema’s ambition of becoming a pure speciality materials player. We also launched the “Tom Yong” project to better serve customers in the Southeast Asian market with more competitive prices. 

In terms of products, here are a few of significant milestones we had achieved in 2022:

• Developed a new generation of solvent-free compounds for the outer layer of aluminum foil, which addressed the pain points of the soft packaging industry

• Launched solvent-free products of general performance to strengthen customer’s ability to manage fluctuations in raw material prices

• Launched a new generation of laminating machines (Supercombi); accelerated our Research & Development (R&D) progress and business support

• Developed Bostik Themogrip® HM2060 and Bostik Themogrip® HM2070, two new tape and label products with patented technology for Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and e-commerce applications

• Launched new generation GPP to help gain more market share in Tape & Label market

• Launched Bostik FlexApp, Asia’s first mobile application for flexible packaging

All these were done to respond quickly to the needs of manufacturers in the Asia Pacific and were only made possible thanks to Bostik’s cohesive, capable, and devoted Advanced Packaging & Converting team!

2023 will bring more uncertainty and complexity, but we believe that risks and opportunities co-exist. The Bostik Advanced Packaging & Converting team will continue to deepen product innovation, enhance business resilience and market competitiveness, adhere to improving product quality for market demand, and improve production capacity by leveraging the advantages of the local supply chain. 

In this new year, let us journey together through thick and thin, work hard, and continue to stand the test of difficulties for greater victories! 

Here’s wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

Jane Sun 

Director of Advanced Packaging & Converting BU,

Asia Pacific, Bostik