The packaging industry in South Africa includes plastics, metal, glass and board packaging. The industry is dominated by a few large organisationsthe largest being Nampak. Nampak deals with most areas of packaging including the production of plastic magnetic strip swipe cards. They export to over 50 countries world wide. Nampak is widely involved in environmental issues and introduced a collect-a-can project along with Iscor and Crown Cork in 1993.
The packaging industry is facing a number of issues, such as increasing cost of raw materials and environmental pressures. Many companies experienced low levels of demand in the late 1990s, thus putting pressure on margins.
