Packaging & Paper
For packaging converters, paper and board producers and brand packaging teams. We connect quoting, production and material data behind job margin and EPR.
Our perspective
A packaging converter usually quotes from a costing sheet built when board, resin and energy cost something else. Each job then absorbs changeovers, make-ready waste and short runs that the quote did not price. At the same time, customers who are obligated producers under UK EPR now pay more for packaging rated red for recyclability, and they ask their suppliers for weights, materials and ratings by item. We connect quoting, production and material records so a converter knows the margin on each job and can answer those data requests from records instead of estimates.
Market signals
01
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation has applied since 12 August 2026, replacing the previous directive, with further requirements phased in up to 2040.
02
PackUK's illustrative fees for 2026-27 are £210 a tonne for amber-rated paper and board and £455 for amber-rated plastic. Red-rated packaging pays 1.2 times the amber fee in 2026-27, rising to 1.6 times in 2027-28 and twice the amber fee in 2028-29.
03
The EU generated 79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste in 2023, 177.8 kg per inhabitant. Paper and cardboard made up 40.4% of it, the largest share of any material.
How we help clients
Job costing and quote margin
TF-08FinanceWe rebuild the costing model from actual board, ink, adhesive, energy and machine time, then compare each finished job with its quote. Sales sees which products, run lengths and customers lose money at current input prices.
Index-linked prices and surcharges
TF-04GrowthPrice clauses tied to published board, resin or energy indices, with a calculation the customer can check, let a converter pass on input costs within a contract instead of renegotiating each quarter.
Item-level packaging data for EPR and PPWR
TF-10RiskOne record per item holding material, component weights, recyclability rating, recycled content and conformity documents lets a converter answer customer EPR requests and EU declaration requirements from the same source.
Make-ready, waste and changeover reporting
TF-07OperationsProduction data from the MES or machine counters, joined to the job record, shows waste and changeover time by press, product and crew, and which jobs to schedule together.
Redesign decisions priced against fees
TF-11SustainabilityWhen a customer asks for a mono-material or lighter design, we model the change in material cost, production speed and the customer's EPR fee, so both sides see who gains from the redesign.
B2B ordering and artwork approval
TF-06Technology & DataA customer portal for repeat orders, call-offs against stock and artwork sign-off removes the email chains in which reorders and proof approvals get lost.
What changes next
Red-rated packaging costs more each year
The red-fee multiplier under UK EPR rises from 1.2 to 1.6 in 2027-28 and to 2.0 in 2028-29, and PackUK published RAM 2027 on 1 July 2026 for packaging placed on the market in 2027. Customers will compare suppliers on the rating of each item as well as on price.
Documentation as a condition of sale in the EU
Since 12 August 2026, packaging placed on the EU market must meet PPWR substance limits, including restrictions on PFAS in food-contact packaging, with supporting documentation kept for five years for single-use packaging and ten years for reusable packaging. Converters supplying EU customers need those files by item.
Shorter runs from redesign programs
As brand owners redesign to reduce fees, converters can expect more trial runs, more specification changes and smaller first orders. Quotes that assume long runs will understate the cost of that work.
Business challenges
01
Quotes built on old input prices
Board, resin and energy prices move monthly, while costing sheets are updated once a year. Jobs are won on prices that no longer cover their materials.
02
Waste and changeovers left out of the job cost
Make-ready waste and changeover time are booked to overheads. The products that cause most of them look profitable in the margin report.
03
EPR data assembled from spreadsheets
Customer requests for weights, materials and recyclability ratings are answered by whoever has time, from drawings and old specifications. Different answers for the same item reach different customers.
04
Specifications held in email
Approved artwork, board grade and tolerances for a repeat order are found by searching old emails. A wrong version reaches the press and the run is scrapped.
Where the opportunity sits
Margin by job, customer and press
Joining quotes, production data and purchase prices shows which work to reprice, which to schedule together and which to decline.
Compliance data as a sales asset
A converter that can send weights, ratings and conformity documents for every item on request is easier to buy from than one that needs a fortnight to collect them.
Redesign work priced properly
Costing trial runs and specification changes as separate work lines turns redesign requests into paid projects instead of absorbed cost.
How we approach it
We start read-only with the quoting tool or costing sheets, the ERP or MIS, production and waste records, purchase prices for board and other inputs, and whatever currently holds item specifications. We follow one product from quote to delivered order and compare the costs assumed with the costs recorded. Findings become a prioritised task list, each item with an owner and an acceptance check. If the client wants us to build, the same team delivers the costing model, data connections, item specification records, customer portal and reports, and leaves them in the client's own systems. Recyclability assessments that require a third-party rating, food-contact testing, EPR registration and submissions, and legal sign-off on compliance stay with the client, its compliance scheme and accredited laboratories.
How our experience is evidenced
No anonymised engagement in packaging or paper is published. This page describes our approach and the capabilities we would apply: job costing, management reporting, data integration and item-level compliance records, as we use them in other sectors. FINMETRA, our financial-data product, is in design and has no deployments.
How an engagement with THEFOCUS starts
A first conversation is about your situation. If there is a fit, we propose a scoped diagnostic with a fixed deliverable before any larger commitment.
Discuss this with us01
A working conversation
Forty-five minutes with the person who would lead the work. We ask about the decision, the systems behind it and the deadline.
02
A scoped diagnostic
Read-only access, a fixed timeframe and a written finding: what the records show, what it costs and what to change first.
03
A plan you can act on
Changes, owners, measures and exclusions in writing. The same team then builds and measures, or hands over cleanly.
- One accountable team
- The people who diagnose also build the systems and measure the result.
- Partners chosen per problem
- Independent specialists join for the parts that need them, under one contract.
- Records before dashboards
- Orders, ledgers and logs are reconciled before any recommendation depends on them.
Questions executives ask
Have you worked with packaging manufacturers?
We have no published engagement in packaging or paper. This page sets out how we would approach the work and which capabilities we would use, and a proposal would state which parts of the scope we have delivered in other sectors.
Can you submit our EPR data or rate our packaging?
No. Producers submit their own data, and recyclability ratings follow the published methodology or a third-party assessment. We build the item records the data comes from, so the figures you submit and the ones you send customers match.
How would you show that quoting has improved?
We measure the gap between quoted and actual cost per job for a set of products before any change, then report the same gap for the same products afterwards. If a change in input prices distorts the comparison, we say so.
Discuss this with us
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