Unauthorized reproduction in whole or in part prohibited without permission of publisher April 28, 2017 www.packagingstrategies.com 3 Deborah Douglas is the Managing Director of the Douglas Group, one of the leaders today in advisory services related to middle market company mergers and acquisitions. The firm represents closely held business owners in the sale of their businesses. Douglas Group has been active for 26 years, and has closed over 95% of the transactions undertaken by the firm. Douglas is a published author of two books (including Ripe, pictured) and also a popular speaker for programs oriented toward business owners in the U.S. She has keynoted events for Plastics News, the National Robotics Association, Fabricator Magazine, Injection Molding Magazine and others. Her talks are lively, story-filled and energetic, and her topics are near and dear to the hearts of business owners and C-level executives. There is tremendous opportunity to create POWER in the flexible packaging world, using the merger and acquisition heat of today. Companies with “pouch” capabilities, along with dozens of other creative and evolving packaging and dispensing evolutions, are among the most desirable companies in today’s market. Business owners from all over the world work hard to build profitability and solidity in the companies they manage. As owners work to build and to thrive, they often focus on relatively short-term pressures—like fighting to win a bid for a new customer, or making sure they’re set to finance new capital equipment as it’s needed. That’s all a very real and natural part of the game, but an occasional longer term view is so very worth the planning effort, to maximize ultimate payoff. It can make the difference between a company that slowly falls behind and becomes weak, and a company that sells for a fortune and continues gloriously for its employees for many years to come. For executive management, there is no mechanism more powerful than the merging of companies, for creating access to new markets and stronger potential. For owners, the superb transaction may provide the one-time “cashing in” wealth, which can truly be the crowning achievement of a lifetime! In the world of flexible packaging, innovations are plentiful and exciting in 2017. Many of the truly mega-sized and mega- priced M&A deals have recently come from the very “space” that the Pouch Forum is all about. West Rock acquired SP Fiber for $290 million and Mead Westvaco for $11.6 billion in the same year. Wind Point acquired Novalex back in 2012, and has since done another five major add-ons. Novalex last year had grown to over 6,000 employees. In addition to the huge transactions that are so visible today, there are dozens upon dozens for smaller-sized deals, especially for those companies that are doing something innovative and new, and/or something with just a dash of technical difficulty, to insulate them from competition. Volume 35, No. 8 | April 28, 2017 Packaging Strategies News (ISSN 8755- 6189) is published 22 times a year (including an annual industry review). For more information, contact: Packaging Strategies 600 Willowbrook Lane, Suite 610 West Chester, PA 19382-4550, U.S.A. Tel: 1-610-436-4220 1-800-524-PACK (7225) Email: Subscription Information: Toll-free number: 855-228-8923 Phone: 818-487-2078 Email: [email protected] Group Publisher.............. Randy Green Chief Editor.............. Barbara Nessinger Subscription Manager.... Kourtney Generaux Sales Director ................. Emily Patten Conference & Study Support Manager ............ Janet Martinelli Art Director ................Stephanie Smith Japanese Representative.... Yasumasa Mori Subscription Rates: 1 year $497 | 2 years $894 | 3 years $1291 Multi-copy Subscription Rates: Kourtney Generaux at [email protected] WARNING: Unauthorized reproduction in whole or in part is a violation of Federal Law. Violators are liable for statutory damages up to $50,000. Copyright © 2016 by BNP Media Company II, L.L.C. All rights reserved. Corporate Directors: Publishing, John R. Schrei; Corporate Strategy, Rita M. Foumia; Information Technology, Scott Krywko; Production, Vincent M. Miconi; Finance, Lisa L. Paulus; Creative, Michael T. Powell; Events, Scott Wolters; Human Resources, Marlene J. Witthoft; Clear Seas Research, Beth A. Surowiec BNP Media Helps People Succeed in Business with Superior Information [email protected] Pouch Power through M&A Deborah Douglas Managing Director of the Douglas Group 2 ND OPINION