Times of Contrast at Winpak and All Around

As we close the chapter on 2025, we reflect on the 50th anniversary of Winpak’s establishment. This is a great milestone for a great company and one I hope Winpakers past and present are proud of. This proud moment in our history was almost overshadowed by the unprecedented volatility of U.S. tariffs and counter-tariffs around the world. These real and threatened actions ultimately drove consumer confidence and consumption down. Despite the difficult economic landscape and declining consumer confidence, Winpak remained resilient, with our flexibles modified atmosphere packaging business showing significant growth. The dedication to delivering unique product performances, sustainable solutions, and superior customer experience continues to set Winpak apart in the market. The same can be said for our lidding and machinery business, whereas the balance of our businesses led to a slight volume contraction of 1.5 percent year over year. Input costs stayed reasonably flat in the context of overall weak demand, while customer pressure to reduce prices intensified. Our healthcare, dairy, and Latin American businesses grew double digits, resp. high single digit in 2025, whereas food and protein markets were flat and marginally declining.

OneWinpak Safety Tenets

From a human resources perspective, our unwavering commitment to safety remains our top priority, with the introduction of the OneWinpak Safety Tenets reinforcing our promise to protect the well-being of all Winpakers. Through collective efforts, we have seen improvements in our Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and Lost Time Incident Rate (LTIR), signaling a safer work environment for all. I am extremely thankful to all for the intense effort dedicated to keeping our employees safe. Other aspects of our tenets continue to reinforce the respectful, equitable, and integrative work environment we need to succeed. This includes resources from our Wellness program that support a healthy, supportive workplace.

Advancing Sustainable Packaging Through Innovation and Compliance

Looking ahead, Winpak’s sustainability efforts will focus on meeting Science-Based Targets (SBTi), enhancing post-consumer recycled material sources, and improving our carbon disclosure (CDP) and EcoVadis scores. As more U.S. states introduce extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation and have begun indicating fee ranges per unit of package weight, Winpak’s decade long innovation effort to develop low carbon, recyclable and recycle-ready solutions is increasingly paying off. The introduction of Winpak’s EPR-readiness packaging solutions align with the evolving legislative landscape, ensuring that our packaging solutions are environmentally responsible and financially sustainable. In the context of increasingly complex and financially burdensome end-of-life considerations, our “designed for recyclability” iconic FlexPod™ and SqueezePod™ solutions are continuing to make headways with our customers, and we have qualified our first industrial equipment to manufacture these products and will soon introduce our pilot filling line.

Strengthening Winpak’s Foundation with Operational Excellence

As we pursue OneWinpak’s operational excellence transformation and the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, we position ourselves as leaders in quality, cost efficiency, and innovation. We continue to learn from one another, share best practices, and forge a path with a customer-centric approach. It is this focus that has led to the upcoming inauguration of our MultiBarrier (MB) extrusion line in early 2026 signifying our commitment to providing high barrier, recycle-ready packaging solutions to meet the evolving needs of our clients.

Amidst uncertainties, including the renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement, we remain steadfast in our mission to develop and provide the highest performance, sustainable solutions to our clients. With a team prepared to tackle new challenges, I am confident that 2026 will be a year of growth and opportunity for Winpak.

Wishing you all a safe and joyous holiday season, filled with optimism and positivity as we embark on the journey ahead.

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