SIC 2672 Coated and Laminated Paper, Not Elsewhere Classified
SIC 2672
This industry covers establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing coated, laminated, or processed paper and film from purchased paper, except for packaging. Also included are establishments primarily manufacturing gummed paper products and pressure sensitive tape with backing of any material other than rubber, for any application. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing coated and laminated paper for packaging are classified in SIC 2671: Packaging Paper and Plastics Film, Coated and Laminated; those manufacturing carbon paper are classified in SIC 3955: Carbon Paper and Inked Ribbons; and those manufacturing photographic and blueprint paper are classified in SIC 3861: Photographic Equipment and Supplies.
322222
Coated and Laminated Paper Manufacturing
This classification incorporates a wide variety of products and companies. In 2001, the value of shipments for the laminated and coated paper industry declined to $10.61 billion, down from nearly $11.19 billion in 1997, but still higher than the $8.87 billion worth of goods shipped in 1994. Industry establishments employed approximately 38,824 workers in 2001, down from 41,541 workers in 1997. The industry's 26,867 production workers earned an average hourly wage of $16.28. This industry had grown rapidly from the late 1970s to the late 1990s as more specialty applications for its products were developed. For example, in the late 1990s, the U.S. Postal Service rapidly expanded its use of self-stick postage stamps, representing an enormous market for this industry. However, rising paper costs in the late 1990s, coupled with recessionary economic conditions in the United States during the early 2000s, hindered demand for coated and laminated paper.
Most companies in this industry limited their activities to the coating of paper or other materials, but produced diverse products from this process. Of the many products in the industry, the vast majority of shipments came from one of two sectors: pressure-sensitive products and "other" coated and laminated paper not produced at paper mills. The pressure-sensitive products group included cellophane tape, almost all labels, and a variety of other pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs), but did not include gummed tape. Other coated and laminated paper products included paper that was treated or coated to enhance the paper's utility. PSAs were by far the largest product class produced by this industry, accounting for $6.8 billion, or about 60 percent, of all shipments in 2001, according to the U.S. Economic Census. The next largest category was printing paper, coated at establishments other than where paper was produced, which held 4.4 percent of all shipments in 2001, followed by gift wrap (3.5 percent); wall coverings, (3.2 percent); and gummed paper products (1.6 percent). All other products accounted for roughly 23 percent of the total.
Even within this subsegment of the industry, there was a great deal of diversity. Pressure-sensitive products ranged from cellophane tape to shrinkable labels to sealing tapes. Advances in adhesive technology and continuing development work by manufacturers of PSAs led to increases in applicability and quality. Lighter weight products offering greater flexibility and lower cost than traditional materials allowed some types of adhesives to be used in place of rivets, bolts, and chemical compounds in assembly processes. Even heavy industrial processes such as engine manufacturing and truck frame assembly found applications for PSAs.
To produce PSAs, manufacturers used paper, plastic films, nonwoven cloth, or polyethylene as a base. A chemical solvent or waterborne acrylic, which provides the adhesive necessary for the PSA to stick, is applied to the base, usually to one side. PSAs can be measured using three different criteria: tack, PSA's bonding quality with a given surface; peel, difficulty of removing the tape from the surface; and shear resistance, PSA's response to "creep" over time. The type of adhesive that coats the film depends on the PSA's desired application. Labels...
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