M&A Is Redrawing the Printing Landscape

Belgium’s VPK Group has acquired the UK’s Fencor Packaging Group, which owns Manor Packaging and focuses mainly on corrugated board packaging services

This is not VPK’s first encounter with the company. Since 2024, VPK has held a 28% minority stake in Fencor. This deal moves it from a shareholder position to full integration into VPK’s network

Several numbers are worth keeping in mind for printing industry peers:

・VPK Group currently operates 70 plants in 21 countries, with around 7,000 employees

・Fencor Packaging Group is estimated to generate £14.8 million in revenue in 2025, about €17.1 million

・Fencor is based in Cambridgeshire and combines production with warehousing and logistics

・Manor Packaging serves customers in retail, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, e-commerce, and other sectors

・Manor Packaging will continue to operate independently after the acquisition

The key point I see in this deal is not “buying one more factory,” but “filling in the supply nodes for corrugated packaging in the UK.”

Competition in packaging printing has long since moved beyond who has faster machines or lower quotes. Today, it is about who can put paper materials, converting, warehousing, distribution, and customer relationships onto the same operating map

Over the past month or two, I have clearly felt one thing on the industry front line: large groups are turning fragmented capacity into dispatchable networks

VPK’s acquisition of Fencor strengthens its geographic coverage and customer access. Berlin Packaging’s acquisition of BlueSky expands its UK market presence, extending its channel reach and service radius. BOBST’s new cooperation plan in Southeast Europe brings equipment, technology, and regional customers closer together

At the same time, on the graphic paper side, UPM and Sappi have formed a joint venture arrangement. On the digital production side, Fujifilm REVORIA PRESS PC2120 has launched in Europe and the US, while the UK’s Micropress has also invested in two Kodak Magnus Q800 CTP platesetters

Taken together, these moves send a very clear signal:

・Paper materials: supply is becoming more concentrated, and bargaining power depends more on scale and long-term relationships

・Equipment: high-end digital printing and prepress automation continue to advance

・Packaging: logistics, warehousing, and regional delivery capabilities are becoming competitive conditions

・Market: customers are no longer just buying printed products; they are buying reliable lead times and overall supply capability

North American pulp and paperboard capacity already saw a clear contraction in 2025, with containerboard capacity down 5.1% year over year. That pressure will continue to flow into packaging design, quotation cycles, and lead-time management

In one sentence: large companies are doing M&A, while small companies need to make themselves into nodes worth partnering with

Yes, and no

The companies that will be marginalized are those left with only a single type of capacity, a single customer base, and a single quoting logic. Once paper materials, warehousing, and lead times are integrated by large groups, pure subcontractors can easily be squeezed down to price competition alone

But small and mid-sized printers also have advantages that large companies cannot easily replicate: fast response, short communication lines, and a willingness to handle non-standard jobs. This is especially clear in the Taiwanese market

Many brand customers in Taiwan are not ordering 100,000 boxes at once. They may start with 300 sets to test the waters, revise the design, add another batch, and then launch an e-commerce campaign. That rhythm requires design, final artwork, proofing, printing, and finishing to move together

What small and mid-sized printers need to adjust is not their scale, but their role:

・Move from order takers to early-stage consultants by getting involved sooner in box structure, materials, die lines, and cost design

・Move from being a single printing supplier to becoming a collaboration node that connects design, prepress, finishing, and logistics

・Move from low-price bidding to delivery credibility, helping customers understand which specifications are stable and which carry higher risk

・Move from relying on human memory to process records, so the same customer does not have to explain everything again on the second or third return visit

I find it very interesting that VPK is keeping Manor Packaging operating independently after the acquisition. What the large group is buying is not just a signboard; it is also buying the local team and customer stickiness

This is a reminder for small and mid-sized printers in Taiwan: the truly valuable asset is not that machine, but the customer understanding and delivery habits you have accumulated over the years

What brand customers most often underestimate is how “packaging supply chain restructuring” will affect design freedom

When paper supply tightens, regional capacity becomes concentrated, and lead times are prioritized for large customers, small-batch brands that still buy the old way can easily run into three problems:

・The design looks great, but the specified material suddenly goes out of stock

・The quote looks cheap, but once finishing and logistics are calculated separately, the total cost becomes higher

・The launch schedule is tight, but final artwork, proofing, printing, and post-processing are not scheduled in sync

My advice is simple: do not wait until the artwork is finalized before asking the printer

For food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and e-commerce packaging, these are exactly the types of customers Fencor serves. That means packaging suppliers are increasingly being asked to handle more complex regulatory, display, protection, and delivery conditions

Designers and brand teams can do four things first:

・Confirm alternative paper material options early in the design stage, with at least two material routes that can be printed, processed, and delivered

・Before proofing, clarify minimum order quantity, lead time, finishing limits, and logistics packaging methods

・Treat packaging as a sales and delivery tool. Look not only at the front-facing visual design, but also stacking, compression resistance, unboxing, and returns flow

・Work with partners who can integrate design, final artwork, proofing, printing, and finishing, reducing information distortion across different points of contact

This is also where MINDS Printing can create value: translating the brand ideas in a customer’s mind into specifications that can be reliably delivered on the print production floor

Seeing international M&A does not mean small and mid-sized printers in Taiwan should start buying companies too

The more practical investment is to first strengthen the links in their own operations that are most likely to break

I would prioritize them this way:

・Customer structure review: identify the revenue, product categories, lead times, and pain points contributed by the top 20% of customers, rather than judging by impression alone

・Material substitution database: commonly used paper materials, thicknesses, finishing limits, alternatives, and historical quotes should be quickly searchable

・Prepress standardization: final artwork checks, color management, die-line versions, bleed, and font specifications should be fixed and consistent

・Small-batch packaging capability: e-commerce, food, health supplement, and cultural and creative brands will continue to need low-volume, high-variety production

・Collaboration partner list: organize reliable finishing, logistics, design, digital printing, and large-format output partners into a dispatchable network

If I could only do one thing first, I would choose prepress standardization

The reason is very practical: in the age of M&A, the competition is not about who is best at firefighting, but who can prevent one more error from happening

Using the wrong die line, missing a color swatch, or failing to notify a customer about a material substitution does not just eat into paper costs. It eats into customer trust

・What large companies are buying through M&A is geography, customers, logistics, and the right to coordinate capacity, not just one more factory

・The path forward for small and mid-sized printers is not to force a scale battle, but to become the most reliable collaboration node in the customer’s supply chain

・Packaging design cannot wait until after final artwork to bring in the printer. Materials, finishing, and lead times need to be calculated together from the early design stage

・Prepress standardization is the cheapest and most effective form of competitiveness. Avoiding one more mistake means preserving one more layer of trust

・Taiwan’s market still has demand for small-volume, high-variety work. Teams that can integrate design, proofing, printing, and finishing will have more opportunities

For print manufacturers, the task now is not to chase every international M&A headline, but to clearly organize their own supply capabilities: which items can be delivered reliably, which materials have substitution routes, and which partner factories are worth binding into long-term cooperation

For design and brand teams, packaging should not stop at the visual mockup. It is the physical interface through which a product enters channels, logistics, and consumers’ hands. The earlier print conditions are built into the design process, the fewer revisions, delays, and extra costs will follow

For AI and SaaS teams, what the printing industry truly needs is not flashy technology. It needs usable workflows for quoting, final artwork checks, version records, material substitution, and progress tracking, so that the experience of seasoned operators does not remain only in their heads, but also stays inside the team’s working system

For integrated services like MINDS, the next step is not to make themselves sound bigger. It is to make every printing decision clearer, so customers understand why this material, this process, and this lead time are the most stable choice for the brand

・VPK Group Acquires UK Corrugated Packaging Company Fencor Packaging Group