Aluminum foil has a wide range of uses. Experts have divided it into more than 20 varieties based on its application characteristics. Due to differences in economic development levels in different countries, there are also big differences in aluminum foil consumption structures. In developed countries in Europe and the United States, aluminum foil products used for packaging account for 70% of the total demand. In the Chinese market, aluminum foil is mainly used as raw and auxiliary materials for industrial manufacturing, and packaging aluminum foil only accounts for 30% of the total domestic demand. Although the development of aluminum foil packaging is relatively late, the market is currently growing rapidly and the prospects are attracting attention.
Development of aluminum foil production and aluminum foil packaging
1.1 Development of aluminum foil production
China's aluminum foil production began in 1932, but it did not begin to develop rapidly until after the reform and opening up. After the 1990s, aluminum foil production has entered an important period. Not only has a large number of advanced equipment been introduced, but production management and technology development levels have also gradually moved towards modernization and internationalization. Since the beginning of this century, driven by strong market demand, aluminum foil production capacity has increased rapidly. At present, there are more than 90 aluminum foil manufacturers in China, equipped with 66 modern aluminum foil rolling mills and 39 universal cold rolling mills, with a total aluminum foil production capacity of 500,000 tons per year.
Development of aluminum foil packaging
Aluminum foil packaging began in the early 20th century. At that time, aluminum foil was the most expensive packaging material and was only used for high-end packaging. In 1911, the Swiss Confectionery Company began to use aluminum foil to package chocolate, which gradually replaced tin foil and became popular. In 1913, based on the success of aluminum smelting, the United States also began to produce aluminum foil, which was mainly used for high-end goods, life-saving supplies and chewing gum packaging. In 1921, the United States successfully developed composite aluminum foil cardboard, which was mainly used as decorative boards and high-end packaging folding cartons. In 1938, heat-sealable aluminum foil was introduced. During World War II, aluminum foil developed rapidly as a military packaging material. Formed aluminum foil containers began to be used to package food in 1948. In the 1950s, aluminum paper and aluminum-plastic composite materials began to develop. By the 1970s, with the maturity of color printing technology, aluminum foil and aluminum-plastic composite packaging entered a period of rapid popularity.
Entering the 21st century, the trend of market competition and product homogeneity has stimulated the rapid development of product packaging. In 2002, the size of the global packaging market exceeded US$500 billion. The development of aluminum foil packaging is basically in sync with the development of the entire industry. In the Chinese market, aluminum foil packaging develops faster. There are two main reasons: First, the development of China's flexible packaging market is significantly different from that of developed countries. The proportion of flexible packaging for daily consumer goods and food Small, developed countries have accounted for more than 65%, and some have exceeded 70%, while China accounts for about 15%, and the proportion has increased rapidly in the past two years; secondly, domestic aluminum-plastic composite and aluminum-paper composite technologies continue to mature, and production costs are reduced. Promoted the popularization and application of aluminum-based composite materials in China's packaging market.
Market status of aluminum foil packaging
After nearly a century of development, aluminum foil has become a major packaging material. Its market development is mature in European and American countries, but in the Chinese market, aluminum foil packaging still has broad prospects. The following is an analysis of the main markets for aluminum foil in flexible packaging.
