ACTEGA deploys a dual corporate and technical offensive to accelerate flexible packaging growth in North America

Selling coatings, inks, and adhesives in the highly competitive flexible packaging market of 2026 requires more than just a good product catalog. It demands a synchronized approach: winning the contract in the corporate boardroom and making the chemistry work flawlessly on the factory floor. This is the exact strategy ACTEGA has set in motion with its latest strategic appointments in North America.

The specialty chemicals manufacturer, part of the ALTANA Group, has simultaneously reinforced the commercial and technical flanks of its North American business. Edgar Contreras returns to the company as Strategic Account Manager for New Business Development in Flexible Packaging, while Shawn Hendrix joins as Technical Account Manager. Rather than a routine personnel update, this move reflects a calculated structural shift in how ACTEGA plans to penetrate multi-location accounts.

The corporate front: Cross-border strategic penetration

Edgar Contreras steps into a newly created role with a highly specific mandate: to capture and develop large, multi-location accounts across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, while coordinating opportunities with partners in Central and South America. Contreras, who previously served as ACTEGA's West Coast Regional Manager, is tasked with navigating complex organizational structures to secure high-volume contracts.

In the current flexible packaging landscape, major converters operate across borders. A unified customer experience is no longer a luxury but a strict requirement for suppliers. Contreras's objective is to align ACTEGA's cross-border resources, ensuring that a packaging giant receives the same strategic attention and product consistency whether they are printing in Chicago or Monterrey.

The factory floor: Technical troubleshooting and operational partnership

While Contreras opens the doors, Shawn Hendrix is deployed to ensure the products run efficiently on the press. Covering Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and western Tennessee, Hendrix brings a profile that is pure production. With over 25 years of experience in the printing and packaging industry and more than 18 years in plant and operations leadership, he speaks the language of the machine operators.

Hendrix's background is a significant asset for ACTEGA. As the former Operations Manager at Genflex Labeling Solutions and a veteran with nearly nine years at WS Packaging Group / Multi-Color Corporation (MCC), as well as experience at RR Donnelley, he understands the daily friction of flexographic, digital, and offset printing. When a high-speed press faces curing issues or adhesion failures, having a supplier representative who has actually managed a plant changes the dynamic from a vendor-client relationship to a true operational partnership.

Scaling investment in a growing market

Mell C. Bishop III, Vice President of Flexible Packaging at ACTEGA North America, framed these appointments as a direct reflection of the scale of investment the company is making in the region. With the global flexible packaging market projected to continue its robust growth trajectory toward $511 billion by 2035, suppliers must elevate their service models to capture market share.

ACTEGA's strategy is clear: combine aggressive key-account penetration with granular, hands-on technical support close to production. It is a recognition that in the specialty chemicals sector, the sale is only finalized when the ink dries perfectly on the substrate at 400 feet per minute.

This dual approach is exactly what the flexible packaging sector demands in 2026: you cannot win a multi-location contract without boardroom strategy, but you cannot keep it without solving the inevitable friction on the flexo press. Will other chemical and coating suppliers follow this hybrid model of pairing high-level account executives with veteran plant managers to secure long-term loyalty? Follow The Paper for daily news, market signals and key updates from the global paper, corrugated and packaging industry. — Sigue toda la actualidad del sector en www.thepaper.ai