Thermoforming Report

Thermoforming Sales Needs: A Signal of Growth

by Keith Brown, President & Owner, Siena Group

As we are several weeks into the 4th quarter, a lot of us are already looking at what 2025 holds. Though there is a level of uncertainty given the election in just a couple of weeks, the market dynamics in the thermoforming world indicate solid growth metrics and align with what industry analysts expect.  The work we are doing at Siena Group supports the growth indicators: searching for talented Sales/Account Managers and Leaders. 

Several articles describing and highlighting the plastics industry confirm this upward trend: 

Plastics Industry Continues to Outperform Manufacturing as a Whole, Plastics Today, 9/20/24 

  • CapEx spending is down in recent years due to higher interest rates, but “over 10 years, CapEx in the plastics industry increased 2.6%, and 1.6% over five years. Despite weakness in the manufacturing sector and high interest rates, CapEx is not decreasing significantly in the plastics industry.” 

Powering Progress: How US Manufacturing Drives Innovation and Growth, Forbes, 10/16/24 

  • This lengthy general article digs into many different areas of manufacturing: supply chain pressures, trade agreements and legislation, challenges, opportunities, and more. 
  • The manufacturing sector contributed $2.8 trillion to the U.S. GDP (gross domestic product) in 2023, representing nearly 11% of total U.S. GDP.” 
  • But for the first time in decades, the manufacturing industry, national policies, and consumer sentiment are working together to advance the state of US manufacturing.” 

Thermoform Packaging Market Analysis, The Brainy Insights, 2023 

  • The global thermoform packaging market is expected to reach USD 87.73 billion by 2033, at a CAGR of 5.85% from 2024 to 2033.” 
  • This brief article – backed by tons of data – highlights market dynamics and their drivers, restraints, opportunities, and segmentation. Though not a new article, it does provide insights into the business of thin gauge thermoformed products, such as the infographic below. 

How do these data points relate to the many needs we are seeing with our thin-gauge thermoforming client companies? 

When a new Sales/Account Manager is hired, there is a realistic expectation about how quickly the person can land new business. Yes, though we focus heavily on supplying and providing top talent that brings significant and direct experience for the need and who can make immediate impacts, there remains a time lag between landing new business and getting it manufactured and shipped. My point is that this hiring points to future demand – an investment in what’s expected. 

In speaking with several thin-gauge clients over the past 12-18 months, though interest rates were prohibitive, investments were still made – most to address capacity, efficiency, and throughputs. In several cases, clients added capital equipment to become more vertically integrated, with some clients adding extrusion to their manufacturing footprint to supplement their supply of raw materials or even fully integrating their upstream needs in-house. Now, they are looking to fill up those new assets with new products. 

Making changes within the sales team at any level is an investment, independent of whether it is a boots-on-the-ground hunter driving top-line sales or a new VP helping to shape a new culture and approach.    

And this is exactly what we are seeing! Interestingly, the need for new Sales talent has been quite varied – ranging from a net new Account Executive focused on the west to a National Accounts Manager, to a Regional Leadership role in the mid-Atlantic, or a Director to manage and aggressively tackle growth initiatives, and all the way through to new executive leadership. 

Based on our current workload, the trend continues! 

My guess is that 2025 will be about delivering those new products – meaning there will be a talent push for Design Engineers and Leaders, manufacturing professionals, and strong supply chain leadership, all in support of the ever-growing industry that is thin-gauge forming.

Now, some of this is also volatility in the market. It’s not all peaches and cream with every company across all industries. Some companies have had to make some shifts in their business model due to external pressures, thereby freeing up some salespeople during this transition. We understand that and work to help support people in transition, placing them with companies that are growing and in need of their skills and experience.

On a side note: No, I’m not intentionally leaving out or ignoring the heavy-gauge manufacturing companies! There is tremendous innovation in this varied sector across so many different industries – and they are working feverishly to generate new products and get them to market. The interesting thing is that we have not worked on one Sales role for our heavy-gauge clients. It seems that, in my conversations with those leaders and business owners, they don’t need more sales – they are regularly turning away new business! At this point in their companies, they tend to be more focused on increasing capacity and throughputs to manage their already overwhelmed manufacturing teams. 

Trends are just that – trends.

Not every company is enjoying a boom. Not every company has the capacity to support additional growth. Some may have spread themselves too thin and are having to adjust. Some haven’t adjusted quickly enough and are having to make organizational changes. Some companies are poised for a sale including a relatively big player in the thin-gauge market.

Even so, with all the usual variety and variability that exists at the micro level, the macro business of thermoforming is doing very well and is poised to continue the upward trend in the long term.

At Siena Group, we are your Thermoforming Talent Partner! We’re here to help in any and every way possible! With more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing, hiring & recruiting talent, we bring a greater understanding of the companies we partner with and the candidates we pursue. Let’s Strengthen Your Search!

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