The Future of an Innovative and Creative Tube Industry which is Open for Change will be Bright

After 31 years, Gregor Spengler will be stepping down from his position as etma Secretary General at the General Assembly meeting of the European Tube Manufactures Association in Nice on 21 May 2025. Reason enough for us to look back together in an interview on this exciting and eventful time. The result is a very personal review and an optimistic view of the future of the European tube industry.

Mr Spengler, the General Assembly of the European Tube Manufacturers Association in Nice on 21 May 2025 marks the end of your 31-year term as Secretary General of this organisation. When you think back to when you started in 1994, how would you briefly describe the development of etma from then until today?

The development of etma, which was founded in 1959, has been guided by the principle of continuous expansion. While the organisation was still a purely Western European organisation when I took office in 1994, etma began a targeted expansion to include Turkey and other Eastern European countries in 2001. Today, the organisation has 46 members from 19 European countries, making it a pan-European organisation.

Since 1994, etma members' production of aluminium, plastic and laminate tubes has risen from around 5.9 billion tubes to currently around 11.5 billion tubes. In terms of tube types, there has been a significant shift. While the share of aluminium tubes in the total production of etma members fell from 50 per cent in 1994 to 34 per cent in 2024, the share of laminate tubes increased from 24 per cent to 39% in the same period. The share of plastic tubes remained almost constant at 26 per cent in 1994 and 27 per cent in 2024.

Over the decades, the tube has always proven to be resilient, even in times of crisis. Whether in the financial crisis of 2007/2008, the euro crisis from 2010 or the coronavirus crisis from 2020, the tube has always been an anchor of stability and was hardly subject to cyclical fluctuations.

In your opinion, what guaranteed the success of the organization throughout the years of your term as Secretary General?

The main guarantees of success throughout the last three decades have been the continuous expansion and optimization of the organisation's central services for its members. First and foremost, etma keeps reliable association statistics on aluminium, laminate and plastic tubes. The participation in these statistics is mandatory for all etma members. In addition, a Swiss trust company carries out productivity studies for the three tube types on behalf of etma. Here, the participation is voluntary. These ample statistics serve as important benchmark and strategy-planning tools for our member companies.

Another important element in etma's remit is the balanced communication work for the tube as the packaging of choice. In this context regular press releases and the online Tubes & Trends magazine have been efficient measures to promote the tube and to underline the great performance of the European tube industry. Moreover, etma’s annual “Tube of the Year” contest demonstrates time and again the innovative spirit of our members.

In recent years in particular, support for companies in the increasingly important area of regulatory compliance has taken on an ever-greater role. Since about five years, Dr. Ernst Simon, Director Regulatory Affairs at Flexible Packaging Europe (FPE), has also been acting as consultant for etma. He makes sure that etma members are always abreast of current regulatory affairs developments in Europe and beyond. In addition, joint lobbying activities of FPE and etma in this field make a lot of sense. It is synergy at work.

The standardisation of the tube has also always been an important element of the association's work. etma has developed a total of 23 European tube standards over the decades, which are a worldwide benchmark in the tube industry. Standards provide many advantages in the value chain such as elimination of technical barriers to trade through the harmonisation of specifications and test procedures, reduced trading costs and simplified contractual agreements as well as increased product quality and consumer safety.

Last but not least, the organisation of tailor-made networking events has been an essential part of etma's activities. The fruitful exchange of ideas in etma’s committees and in dedicated meetings of the entire tube supply chain make a lot of sense to master the demanding challenges in the industry through a constructive dialogue. The establishment of resilient personal contacts during these events are of paramount importance for solid business relations.

Apart from these service-related achievements, what do you personally consider to be your greatest success?

When I look back on my 31-year term as etma’s Secretary General, the greatest success was that we have always maintained a good mood and a spirit of commitment in the organisation, even in difficult times. Excellent personal relationships built up over decades with the company representatives have been essential for this achievement. This only works with mutual trust, respect and esteem; both between the Secretariat and its members and among the members themselves. These three pillars are indispensable for successfully running an industry association such as etma.

We also must not forget that etma members are competitors for the best packaging solution. In this context, it has always been a challenge for me to represent the different material interests in a multi-material association in a balanced way and to the benefit of all etma members. All in all, I strongly believe that we have successfully achieved this mission.

What was your favourite project during your etma career?

There have been many exciting and interesting projects during my 31-year term as Secretary General of etma. But if you ask me for my favourite one, I would say that the invention and establishment of the World Tube Congress was one of the highlights in my career. This global event which took place for the first time in 2016 brings together the entire international tube supply chain, from suppliers of machinery, raw materials, coatings, printing inks and closures to tube manufacturers and customers. It follows the overarching motif that the challenges of the future in the tube industry can only be managed through an efficient cooperation of all actors in the value chain.

What else would you like to have realised during your term and what would you particularly recommend to your successor?

The invention of the World Tube Congress in 2016 can be seen as a precursor to the medium-term and gradual internationalisation of etma. The globalisation of etma to an itma (international tube manufacturers association) was not granted to me during my term of office. But I am certain that it will come. Further consolidation and concentration of the European and international tube markets and on the supplier and customer side, which is to be expected in the medium term, will contribute to this development.

However, the internationalisation of etma should take place carefully and step-by-step so as not to diminish or dilute etma's existing achievements and the services which are highly valued by its members.

I was able to gain experience of successful internationalisation during my 30-year term as Secretary General of the originally European and then International Organisation of Aluminium Aerosol Container Manufacturers (AEROBAL). In 2006, the European organisation was successfully transformed into a global organisation and gradually expanded in the following years. Proof that a well-thought out and careful internationalisation can succeed.

How do you see the future of the tube industry?

I am confident that the future of an innovative and creative tube industry which is open for change will be bright. Customers and consumers alike value the tube as a consumer-friendly, safe and ecologically convincing packaging that has become an integral part of everybody’s life. Nevertheless, tube manufacturers must find answers to relevant megatrends such as sustainability, demographic change, new work and AI.

The new EU packaging regulation poses a number of challenges in terms of sustainability. Further material reductions without compromising on the tube’s functionality, improving recyclability through an improved design for recycling and the use of recycled material for the production of tubes are certainly at the top of the to-do list for achieving an optimised carbon footprint.

Other important points are people and company culture. Baby boomers are leaving the labour market and triggering a lack of unskilled and skilled workers. It will therefore be of key importance to maintain a well-trained workforce and recruit new talents in the companies. They must see a real purpose in what they are doing and be resilient in a quickly changing world with disruptive technologies such as AI. The company management in particular is called upon to establish a proper company culture and communication providing the workforce with clear perspectives and guidance. In this context, an increased diversity in management could be helpful to enrich an industry which is still dominated by men.

The fact that the tube industry has always proven to be an anchor of stability and the perspective that it offers secure and meaningful jobs certainly help to allure a qualified labour force in turbulent times like these. Finally, it is people that matter! If the tube industry tackles the upcoming challenges with continuous improvement and a fresh mindset, which is open for new technologies and modern concepts for innovative working environments, the tube’s success story that has been ongoing since its invention in 1841 will continue.

In addition to the very impressive development that etma has undergone during your time as Secretary General, what is your personal balance sheet when you look back?

etma has always been a matter close to my heart, and I am pretty sure that the members have also realized this. It has been an honour for me to serve the European tube industry over all these years, to defend its interests and to promote the reputation of tubes worldwide.

I have always enjoyed the extremely pleasant and sometimes even “family-like” atmosphere at etma. It was a great pleasure for me to bring people together, to meet the most diverse cultural groups and to act as a bonding link between them. I have had the privilege of getting to know numerous personalities from the industry and many beautiful cities in Europe over the 31 years I have worked for etma.

All this has been extremely valuable, enlightening and encouraging for me, and it has sustainably expanded my knowledge of the industry and deeply inspired and enriched my business and private life. I am very grateful to etma members for this.

I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the team at the German Aluminium Association, under whose umbrella etma has been managed since its foundation. Etma’s success would not have been possible without the outstanding and energetic support of my colleagues in the areas of accounting, meeting organisation and statistics. Etma was and is not a one-man show, but the achievement of an entire team.

When you hand over the baton to your successor in Nice, he will find a well-positioned organisation. How have you ensured that your expertise will not be lost and that continuity in the organisation is guaranteed?

Over the past two years, an orderly handover of the organisation to my designated successor, Seifeldin Raslan Mohamed, who will be officially elected by the etma General Assembly in Nice on 21 May 2025, has been initiated. During that period, I have transferred my expertise to him in the best possible way. It is extremely important to me that the organisation and my legacy are continued successfully.

Exciting tasks await my successor, such as the internationalisation of etma, the further development of the World Tube Congress and the further expansion of services in the core areas of statistics, public relations, regulatory affairs and standardisation. I am very confident that etma will be in good hands and that the organisation will continue to prosper in the future.

I would like to thank the etma members for the great time and wish my successor all the best for the tasks ahead and a happy hand in his work at all times. At the same time, I would like to ask etma members to place the same trust in him that I have enjoyed over the past 31 years.