Flexographic Technical Association (FTA) printer members continue to assess pending tax reforms and their potential impact on capital expenditure plans. Some are resolving to make strategic buys now; others are adopting a more cautionary, wait-and-see approach.
What Pieces of Equipment Have Been Identified as Priorities?
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Attracted by changes in tax law as they pertain to investment and depreciation rules, as well as pass-through options, some 54 percent of respondents to a recent FLEXO Magazine Flash Poll report they are planning to expand their capital equipment expenditure budgets. Forty-six percent do not share that intention.
The vast majority of those intending to act, 51 percent, indicate purchases will be made sometime in the next six to 12 months. Complex, multifaceted programs will take two years and 29 percent of the sample audience expects to execute such a plan. Fourteen percent cite a one-year timeframe for action and another 14 percent pinpoint 18 months.
Will Your CapEx Impact Your Budget for Any of These Consumables?
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Those and other findings stem from an early February survey of FTA printer membership. Response rate over the two-week period approximated 12 percent. Results speak to wish lists, benefits to the plant and trickle-down spending.
Flexo Printer Purchasing Priorities
Priorities list out with emphasis on high-ticket items. Traditional flexo presses are the target of some 66 percent of those planning capital equipment expenditures. Second position, at 56 percent, goes to digital presses. Third place, at 34 percent, laminators.
Next is print inspection systems at 30 percent. Hybrid presses are the preference of 22 percent of those completing the query. Sharing a 20 percent demand are: UV LED systems and automated workflow/enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
Interestingly, 16 percent of printers with definite purchasing plans are looking to establish in-house plate making programs, while converting options beyond slitter/rewinders are winning favor with 20 percent. Fourteen percent say they are specifically looking to laminators; 4 percent point to folder/gluers.