• Industry update with Aleks Lajovic, Impact International
    Industry update with Aleks Lajovic, Impact International
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Australia’s manufacturing sector is facing a new wave of disruption, with supply chain instability, rising costs and shrinking local capability creating what Impact International managing director Aleks Lajovic describes as a “COVID 2.0” moment.

Speaking with PKN in a one-on-one video interview, Lajovic said the pressures currently impacting the plastics and packaging sector mirror the uncertainty experienced during the pandemic, but with a more fragile industrial base.

The conversation follows Lajovic's comments in an article on the resin crisis published in PKN last week, and his forthright opinion piece this week.

Food & Drink Business

Leading wholesaler and distributor, Metcash, has awarded its top-performing supply partners of the past year at its 2026 Food Supplier of the Year Awards, with Asahi Beverages taking home the top award.

George Weston Foods (GWF) has acquired New Zealand bagel company, Abe's Bagels, as per capita bread consumption continues to fall across Australia, but demand for premium breads and bakery products grows.

Suntory Oceania has unveiled a new $13 million warehouse at its Auckland manufacturing site in Wiri, the latest step in the $3 billion multi-beverage partnership across the company’s Australian and New Zealand premium spirits and non-alcohol segments.