According to the latest data from the British Aerosol Manufacturers’ Association (BAMA), the UK aerosol industry filled 1240.7 million aerosol cans in 2008, which represented a fall of just 1.5% on 2007 despite difficult trading conditions.
Sue Rogers, director of BAMA, said: “When manufacturing is really struggling, these robust filling figures are a notable achievement for the UK aerosol industry.
“Personal care items such as shaving products as well as the automotive, medical and gardening sectors have all bucked the trend and have had a particularly good year. Over-the-counter pharmaceuticals, too, were buoyant.”
The biggest sector downturn was in the filling of aerosol perfumes and colognes, which suffered a marked drop of more than 60% year-on-year as the filling moved out of the UK.
Sue Rogers points out that this reflects that the aerosol market is international and that product filling can move around Europe – and indeed outside – relatively frequently. However, BAMA suggests that early signs indicate some business might now be returning to the UK from Eastern Europe and Far East due to the favourable sterling exchange rates and the UK’s reputation for quality and service.
