"LABELLING 19 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net COLOURING /ADDITIVE 19 Tailor-made colour concentrates Holland Colours NV was founded in 1979 and has been listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange since 1989. Together with a worldwide network of agencies Holland Colours is a global player serving more than 2000 customers in 80 countries. Holland Colours’ headquarters are established in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands and has nine owned establishments in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Approximately 400 employees worldwide are working for Holland Colours. All our employees are shareholders in the company. For more than 35 years, Holland Colours is providing colour concentrates for the global packaging market. This started in the early nineties and has been continued ever since. The colours are tailor made for the customers and may range from light blue for colouring of water bottles, green or amber for beer bottles and special effect colours for cosmetics. Besides the continuous improvement of the solid colour concentrates. Holland Colours launched a new series of liquid colourants, HolcoPET. This generation said to provide improved processing regarding slip, retention of mechanical properties and colour distribution. The product has been launched at several key customers and is now available primarily for the European and Asian market. Next to colourants, Holland Colours is also investing in development of additives for PET packaging. One new development is a slip agent for PET, focussing on reducing the coefficient of friction (COF) during preform production. Lowering of the COF results in an easier release of the preforms from the cavities, scratch-free preforms due to less friction and drop marks from falling preforms into the octabin. Ten percent more preforms can be stored into an octabin, reducing storage and transportation costs. The slip additive can also be used at a considerably lower dosing level, up to 50% lower, to reach the same effect as competitive solutions. The launch of this product is scheduled at the Petnology in Nuremberg, Germany later this year. However, this slip additive is already available upon request for testing at customers. Products for UV and oxygen barriers or a combination thereof are continuously being developed to reach customer specific demands. This is supported with in house testing capabilities like oxygen barrier testing on bottles, with analytical equipment like the FT-IR microscope, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and with small scale injection moulding of preforms and blowing of bottles. www.hollandcolours.com The plastic closure company committed to your success BERICAP Technology Research and Development Mould Technology | Global Presence Capping Technology and Know-How Innovation and Flexibility www.bericap.com PETadditives","@ID":21}, "BOTTLING / FILLING 25 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net BOTTLING / FILLING 25 KHS GmbH is one of the leading manufacturers of filling and packaging systems for the beverage, food and non-food industries. Headquartered in Dortmund, Germany, the company has an international production network with over 4,600 employees worldwide. In 2014 KHS was presented with the Innovation through Research seal. With this the Stifterverband, a nationwide German patron of education and science, honors companies’ outstanding commitment to research and development and their particular responsibility to state and society. KHS GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Salzgitter AG. With around 25,000 employees throughout the globe the German steel and technology group achieved a turnover of over €9 billion in the 2014 business year. Within the Salzgitter Group the KHS Group and two other special machine manufacturers make up the Technology Division and are part of the core business of the MDAX-listed corporation. www.khs.com info@hasplastik.com Tel: +90 212 695 50 00 Fax: +90 212 694 97 24 Caps & Closures .com HP040615 beverages are the group’s mainstay, followed by soft drinks which account for just below 30%. The star alcoholic beverage products are beer brands Asahi Super Dry, Japan’s market leader in the beer segment, and Clear Asahi. Wonda coffee, blended tea Juroku-cha, Mitsuya Cider, and Calpis are at the top of Asahi’s soft drinks range. Alcoholic beverages primarily reach the consumer in the glass bottle and can, with the PET bottle the most popular container in the soft drinks segment at 60%. “We need quality containers for our quality products and this is ensured by our use of KHS Corpoplast stretch blow moulding technology. We also appreciate the fact that KHS Corpoplast permanently questions what it has already achieved and continuously strives to improve. AirbackPlus is a perfect current example of this” says Inoue. Even before the introduction of AirbackPlus KHS Corpoplast held an outstanding position regarding the consumption of compressed air in the stretch blow moulding process. Compared to the previous generation the InnoPET Blomax Series IV has cut the amount of compressed air used by a targeted redesign of the valve block, among other factors. Depending on the bottle volume, up to 35% of compressed air is saved as opposed to Series III. AirbackPlus is always used in conjunction with the established AirbackI process. With Airback I the exact quantity of compressed air required to pre-blow a bottle is extracted from a container just produced and fed into a buffer located at the centre of the blowing wheel. From here it passes directly to the next preform. This method achieves compressed air savings of approximately 10%. The pre-blowing process is followed by the high pressure phase where the AirbackPlus process comes into play. Here, more compressed air which is still usable is collected from the freshly produced bottle and fed to the pre-blown container at increased pressure (intermediate pressure stage). This cuts the amount of compressed air used by a further 30%. Each of the ten new blow moulders produces up to 60,000 PET bottles an hour. If Asahi retrofitted all these blow moulders with this new development, and we reckon on a compressed air saving of up to 40%, this means Asahi uses around 600m3 less of compressed air per machine and hour. Assuming that 0,2 kWh of energy are required for one cubic meter of air, 120kWh can be saved per hour. And if we assume that Asahi has an average of 5,000 production hours per annum, the reduction per machine is about 600,000kWh. That’s 6,000,000 kWh for ten machines. At €0,10 per kWh that’s an annual cost saving of €600,000. This is an excellent value which means that Asahi will have a return on investment in just less than 15 months. Inoue explains, “AirbackPlus is a new development which clearly shows how strongly geared KHS Corpoplast is towards its customers. This customer orientation is also reflected in its service. All told, the partnership we’ve enjoyed with KHS Corpoplast over the last 15 years is just as we wish it to be”.","@ID":27}, "EDITOUR REPORT 11 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net In terms of its area, about 505,370km2, Spain is the third largest country in Europe, but fifth largest by population around 46,6 million. The capital city of Madrid is centrally located on the high plateau of Castile, 667m above sea level. Madrid is not only the largest city in Spain but also the largest city in southern Europe, followed by Barcelona in the north-east with a total metropolitan area comprising approximately 3,2 million inhabitants. The port of Barcelona, capital of Catalonia, is the economic hub of Spain and at the same time the region with the highest demographic rate of approximately 700 inhabitants per m2, the average for Spain is something like approximately 92km2. Other towns listed according to size are Valencia, Seville and Bilbao with a metropolitan area of over a million inhabitants. Current economic and financial situation The economy is currently in a state of recession and the country can only look forward to a slow recovery. One of the effects is the high unemployment rate of almost 25%. Especially affected are young people in the 16 – 24 age groups. Here the unemployment rate exceeds 50%. This puts Spain in the unenviable position of leader as far as Europe is concerned. Nevertheless, there is light at the end of the tunnel. According to the Foreign Office (October 2014) the Spanish economy emerged from recession in the third quarter of 2013 with +0,1% growth after nine quarters in decline; since then growth has shown positive development, lying at around 0,6% in the second quarter of 2014. As regards 2013 as a whole, Spain registered a further fall in gross domestic product (GDP) of 1,2%. GDP in 2013 was around €1,049,2bn.The government is anticipating growth of 1,3% in 2014. The unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2014 was 24,47% (5,62 million unemployed). As regards 2014 overall, the government is expecting unemployment to fall to 24,8%. In 2013 Spain registered a current account surplus of 0,69% of GDP (2012: -1,2%) for the first time. In the first six months of 2014, however, the balance on current account has once again deteriorated. The packaging industry in Spain Home and body care - private label bolsters packaging sector Over the review period, the private label sector continued to gain ground in 2013. The growing importance of price as a determinative variable when making the purchasing decision and the strong expansion plans of the leading retailer Mercadona supported the performance of private label in Spain. The penetration of private label hence reached levels unthinkable at the beginning of the review period. As a consequence, the packaging types that leading private label producers choose are shaping the performance of packaging types in fast moving consumer goods. This is, for example, the case of PET, sales of which benefited from the latest decisions taken by Carrefour and Mercadona to package a number of their beauty and personal care ranges in PET. Macro-economic data (source: Germany Trade & Invest, as of May 2014) Area 505.370km² Inhabitants 46.6 million Population density 92.2 inhabitants/km2* (2013) Population growth 0,8%* (2014) Age structure (2014) 0-14 years: 15.4%; 15-24 years: 9.6%; 25-54 years: 45.9%; 55-64 years: 11.4%; 65 years and over: 17.6%* Raw materials Agriculture Grain, vegetables, olives, grapes, sugar beet, citrus fruits, beef, pork, poultry, milk products, fish Mineral Coal, lignite, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, tungsten, mercury, pyrite, magnesite, fluorite, gypsum, kaolin, potassium chloride, arable land Economic Situation Gross Domestic Product (GDP, nom. ) Billion € 2013: 1,049.2 2014: 1,059.0* 2015: 1,088.5* Billion US$ 2013: 1,393.3 2014: 1,426.5* 2015: 1,466.2* GDP per inhabitant (nominal) € 2011: 22,700 2012: 22,300 2013: 22,300 GDP per head Purchasing Power Parities (PPS) € 2011: 24,300 2012: 24,400 2013: 24,500 GDP trend (%) 2013 Industry 159% Services 657% Construction 7.2% Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 2.4% Miscellaneous 8.8% Unemployment rate 2013: 26.1 2014: 24.8* 2015: 23.5* *) Estimate / forecast / (source: Trade & Invest, November 2014)","@ID":13}, "PETbottles 46 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Home + Personal Care Styling spray from Schwarzkopf Under the brand name “got2b“ Schwarzkopf & Henkel are marketing a styling spray for the hair that not only makes rapid blow drying a breeze but also protects the hair from heat damage and makes it more amenable to combing and styling. 200ml of the slightly bluish-tinted liquid are packaged in a transparent PET bottle. An all-round, glossy label and a slightly pink-tinged pump dispenser with a protective cap are aimed at awakening interest on the part of the teenage target group. www.got2b.de Wheel rim cleaner with a plus In plenty of time for the changeover from winter to summer tyres, Sonax has introduced a value pack containing more product as well as an extra. The pack is made up of a PET bottle containing 750 instead of 500ml “Sonax Xtreme Wheel Rim Cleaner Plus” for removing stubborn dirt from the wheel rims and a wheel rim brush for easy cleaning of the spaces in between the wheel rims and the edges. This item is normally only for sale separately. The silver-coloured bottle lends itself to easy grasping and handling and is fitted with a lockable trigger. The brush is linked with the bottle by means of shrink film and a cardboard cover over the trigger provides additional advertising space. www.sonax.com Gentle cleansing oil from L’Oréal L’Oréal is marketing 150ml of its gentle cleansing oil - öl richesse – for face, eyes, lips and for immediate removal of make-up (and, according to the manufacturer, including waterproof make-up) in a rectangular, slightly tinted bottle made from PET. Application involves activating the screw-on pump dispenser and applying 2-3 drops to the skin, massaging in, mixing with a little water to form an emulsion and then rinsing off with plenty of water. The bottle is decorated at the front with a non-label look label, whereas the rear label is designed to feature a shiny metallic reflective surface on the inside. www.loreal.com Golden Glamour from dm The German discount health and beauty retailer dm has supplemented its own Balea brand with a “Luxury“ tag. The Luxury range comprises high quality products which cater for the indulgence factor. One example from this new product range is the indulgence bath “Golden Glamour“ with a sensuous oriental indulgent fragrance and a hint of patchouli and vanilla. The shiny gold product is packed in a stable and transparent PET bottle with a content of 500ml. The label, patterned to give a hint of the orient and partly featuring a shiny printed finish and the black screw closure complete the product’s appearance. www.dm.de/balea","@ID":48}, "BOTTLE MAKING 23 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net From the broker right through to injection moulding Paul Saltz in his warehouse Premium Sponsor Sponsors Salbro trades in all packaging materials that have anything to do with bottling. From bottles made from HDPE, glass, a very wide range of closures and dispenser labels and, of course, PET bottles. However, these are produced by Salbro themselves. The three Saltz brothers came to Canada in 1989 and continued the company founded by their grandfather in South Africa as brokers for packaging in North America. More than ten years ago they decided to produce the PET bottles themselves. With the help of Werner Amsler they rapidly succeeded in building up their own production facility. Although Amsler had started as a piecework contractor producing the required number of bottles, it was not long before the first machine appeared on the floor at Salbro. It looked a bit lonely so Paul Saltz purchased two lines. After only six weeks there was no more capacity left on the second line either. A further line followed nearly every year. Now there are seven injection moulding lines in Woodbridge, each producing on two cavities. Altogether they produce 15 million bottles each year. Back-up is provided by two Nissei ASB preform lines which are capable of filling up to 24 cavities. Paul swears by the 2-stage process and particularly for the sometimes small orders amounting to only 10,000 bottles. Standard preforms may be used which means that the customer only needs to pay for the blow moulding mould and not, as in the case of the 1-stage process, the preform moulds too. But, even where large quantities are concerned, for Paul, there is only the 2-stage process. Here he is able to achieve fast production; the cycle time is dependent on the stretch blow moulding process and not on the preform process which is clearly longer. And hence Amsler has now joined forces with an Amsler line. At the end there were operatives packing the bottles in boxes or on trays. For Salbro there is no point in automating this stage. It takes less than half an hour to carry out a mould change without a preform carrier change. Setting up a robot would take a huge amount of time. Paul is thinking about deploying automation in 2016 but only for continuous operation. Salbro’s basic role model is characterised by flexibility and speed. Their own bottle production operation creates samples within 48h that can be guaranteed to impress customers’ customers. Salbro is able to ensure that a warehouse with more than 500 octabins incorporating a wide range of performs can be dealt with so as handle stretch blow moulding orders practically overnight. Testimony to the fact that, with so much flexibility, creativity is not being neglected is Salbro’s success in walking off with first prize in the SPE Blow Moulding Award for its triangular bottle in 2014. www.salbrobottle.com","@ID":25}, "MARKET SURVEY 29 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net e-cap 420 e-cap 280 e-cap 380 e-cap 420 4200 kN 2800 kN 3800 kN 4200 kN 3+/-0.3 s 4.7+/-0.3 s 4.8+/-0.3 s 4.7+/-0.3 s 4.8+/-0.3 s 4.7+/-0.3 s 4.8+/-0.3 s 30/25; 1.7 g; 72 kav; 1440 c/m 26; 1 g; 96 kav; 1920 c/m 29/25; 1.3 g; 96 kav; 1920 c/m 30/25; 1.7 g; 96 kav; 1920 c/m 1881; 2.3 g; 48 kav; 610 c/m 1881; 2.3 g; 64 kav; 816 c/m 1810; 2.6 g; 48 kav; 600 c/m 1810; 2.6 g; 64 kav; 800 c/m 1881; 2.3 g; 72 kav; 918 c/m 1810; 2.6 g; 72 kav; 900 c/m 1881; 2.3 g; 96 kav; 1224 c/m 1810; 2.6 g; 96 kav; 1200 c/m Husky 500 Queen Street South Bolton, ON, L7E 5S5 Canada +1 905 951 5000 www.husky.co Ms Jessica Calleja Markeing Communications Program Manager +1 905 951 5000 ext. 2924 +1 905 951 5332 jcalleja@husky.ca Hylectric 90 to 650T - 16 to 96 cavities HyCAP 225 to 500T - 24 to 96 cavities HyCAP HPP 300T - 48 and 72 cavities injection moulding 2.6-3.5s, PCO 1881 CSD: 4.0-5.0s, 33-38mm hot fill: 4.5-6.0s 2.0-3.0s, PCO 1881 CSD: 3.2-4.5s, 33-38mm hot fill: 3.8-5.5s 1.6-2.2s, PCO 1881 CSD: 2.7-3.9s, 33-38mm hot fill: 3.2-4.2s hydraulic-electric hybrid consumption is highly dependent upon application & system configuration; Assume 72 cavity, 2.4g PCO 1881 CSD HyCAP system including hot runner = 0.6 HyCAP HPP system including hot runner = 0.5 Husky, KTW, Schöttli machine, tooling and fully integrated system offering","@ID":31}, "COLOURING /ADDITIVE 18 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net PET additives increase productivity and functional performance The masterbatch and compound portfolio of Swiss additive expert Sukano has expanded with new products for the optical and functional performance of PET, for improving productivity, allowing converters to further reduce production costs. The new products build on Sukano’s track record in developing PET masterbatches and compounds to meet the specific requirements in the customers’ manufacturing processes and end applications. Sukano is translating new market trends and requirements into products to customer specification. Sukano introduces three additions to the PET portfolio The 2nd generation of Sukano white masterbatch for milk bottles: Sukano white masterbatches for milk bottles have set a standard in the food industry. Now there is a new white masterbatch generation with even higher opacity and further improved reheat performance at even lower dosages. This masterbatch improves production speed and processibility, while at the same time saving cost. In milk bottles it generates a spectacular white, with high quality and purity. Sukano white masterbatches are designed for fresh milk, ESL and UHT milk packaging. Concentrated colours for transparent bottles For the costumers needs for a wider range of solid colour masterbatches for transparent bottles that would allow them to overcome issues encountered with liquid colouring, Sukano has been developing a colour range that comes in a selection of attractive shades and highly loaded, enabling low and accurate dosages down to 0.05%. This Sukano masterbatches colour range uses premium grade raw materials, carefully selected to meet purity and regulatory standards. Impact modifiers for transparent PET packaging with food contact approval A new impact modifier for transparent applications in food packaging expands the Sukano impact modifier portfolio for PET. This impact modifier reduces the brittleness of food packaging films without negatively affecting the transparency, which leads to a better performance in converting processes like stamping, cutting or folding, faster output and reduced down times. ConAll new Sukano PET products follow the Sukano purity statement and are based on virgin polyester carriers, thus eliminating compliance issues caused by high migration levels. Like all Sukano products they come with Sukano technical support and service for the customers. verters can use higher percentages of recycled polyester in their products with more cost efficiency and environmental protection. The Sukano impact modifier is fully food contact approved for use in any transparent food packaging application. www.sukano.com PETadditives","@ID":20}, "PREFORM PRODUCTION 30 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Leading rigid packaging company in the Andean Region, San Miguel Industrias PET (SMI), has made a major investment in XForm preform production technology from Sipa to boost output at plants in its home country of Peru and in Ecuador. In 2013, Sipa installed two of its high-output XForm 500 systems for production of preforms for carbonated soft drinks at SMI’s plant in Lima, Peru. The successful introduction of these systems led SMI to order a third XForm 500, which Sipa installed at the company’s subsidiary in Guayaquil, Ecuador. SMI has been using a number of the Sipa’s equipment and preform tooling for many years. Juan Alberto Franco, CEO of SMI says: “When we decided to expand our capability in preforms in Peru, we knew that we could rely on Sipa as an expert in PET technology. We chose the XForm 500 for its high level of performance and its competitive overall total cost of ownership. Our initial experience was very positive, which is why we had no hesitation in ordering a third system for our Ecuador operation.” The first two units run with moulds with 96 and 128 cavities, while the third is equipped with one of Sipa’s new GEN3 of moulds with 144 cavities. Sipa is among a highly select group of global equipment suppliers offering preform injection moulding systems capable of handling moulds with 144 cavities. SMI is using the three systems to produce various sizes of preforms, weighing 17.7, 51.7 and 54.7g, all with PCO 1881 neck finishes. Latest Sipa XForm 500 “EVO” systems like the one now running in Ecuador are now equipped with second-generation high-speed cooling robots that help ensure that equipment operates with short cycle times while still producing preforms with high dimensional consistency. The new robots also accept legacy end-ofarm tooling (EOAT), increasing even further the flexibility of the machine and eliminating additional costs for the user. Sipa’s own EOAT can be configured with three or four cooling stages and is said to be low on maintenance, thanks in part to the introduction of a new high-speed system for ensuring there are no blockages in the cooling tubes that eliminates the need for photocells. Further features on the 144c tooling include new lateral guides to assure perfect alignment of the tooling moving half, as well as a new hot runner system design that keeps imbalance levels below 20%. Several years ago, the two companies collaborated on the development of a special Sipa injection mould to produce tailor-made preforms for hot-fill PET bottles. The 60-cavity mould has a single hot half that can be matched with three different cold halves. The converter also operates with numerous Sipa blow moulds, running on machines from Sipa as well as other machines, for containers up to 7l in size. It has 12 Sipa blow moulding machines. www.smi.com.pe www.sipa.it Preforms for carbonated soft drinks in Peru Sipa’s XForm 500 at San Miguel Industrias","@ID":32}, "BOTTLES 47 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Argan oil for the hair Vogue International from the USA is marketing, in its “Argan Oil of Morocco” range, “renewing argan oil of morocco penetrating oil” for use as part of a hair care regime. The product is packed in a transparent PET bottle with a content of 100ml. The bottle is sealed by means of a snap-on, gold-coloured, shiny hinged cap with a dome-shaped top surface and an opening for dispensing. Labelling of the bottle at the front is by means of a non-label look label and the label at the rear is designed with a mirror effect on the inside of the bottle so as to ensure visual impact at the PoS. The bottle is housed in a gold-coloured folding box with a window and embossed brand name logo. www.ogxbeauty.com/hair Anti-dandruff shampoo in white PET As part of its Professional Series, L’Oréal is marketing 250ml of anti-dandruff shampoo for dry or coloured hair in white-tinted, stand-alone bottle. A snap-on, permanently nonremovable transparent hinged lid closure is used as a closure. It can be operated using just one hand and can be relied upon to remain the “open” position. An all-round self-adhesive label, which is also in white, transmits product and retail information. www.lorealprofessionnel.de 24th Fakuma International trade fair for plastics processing Injection moulding machines Thermal shaping technology Extrusion plants Tool systems Materials and components 13.–17. OCT. 2015 FRIEDRICHSHAFEN www.fakuma-messe.de","@ID":49}, "EDITOUR REPORT 16 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net PET “The company entered the PET market only about ten years ago,” Justo Antonio Yanez Vega tells us, “and this was a decisive step forward for us. PVC as a material for home and body care packaging is being phased out and HDPE is also in decline. The local market e.g. for body care and cosmetics packaging is saturated, what is happening is that glass and other plastics are being substituted with PET. In addition, the larger companies such as Colgate are increasingly relocating production of the containers abroad. PET has given us the opportunity to pursue the trend towards PET packaging in the home and body care sector and to put more effort into expanding other applications like the foodstuffs sector.” Justo Antonio Yanez Vega continues: “Today, as far as the PET processing side is concerned, 50% is already produced for foodstuffs, followed by 25% body care and 25% home care. In order to do this, we have of course had to align our production environment for foodstuffs packaging in accordance with specifications, such as the installation of special filters for blowing air and separating PET container production from HDPE and PP processing in an air-conditioning environment. In addition, the laboratory equipment and capacity have been adapted to comply with the Quality Assurance standards for foodstuffs packaging.” Justo Antonio Yanez Vega goes on to talk about machinery: “In the PET machinery sector we are opting more and more for two-stage stretch blow moulding machines for all containers with a neck diameter no larger than 36mm (and will continue to do so in the future). By comparison to the single-stage machines, two-stage are faster and more flexible and at the same time more economical as regards a number of applications.” Justo Antonio Yanez Vega offers his view of the Spanish preform market: “A further advantage here is the fact that the Spanish preform market offers the required preforms at a favourable price. Our preform suppliers are Resilux, Appe and Alpla. By contrast, for wide neck containers the use of single-stage machines represents a better option. The reasons for this are the expensive special machines in the two-stage sector, particularly for preform production (large machines with a small capacity). This is why we have opted for a Nissei ASB 650 with eight blow moulding stations and neck ring crystallisation. The machine system produces wide neck containers with a neck finish diameter of 90mm. The neck crystallisation also enables us to offer hot fill applications of up to 98°C over a period of 15 minutes.” According to Justo Antonio Yanez Vega wide neck containers are in demand in the foodstuffs industry. “We envisage future market potential in Spain, in particular for PET jars. These wide neck containers already account for 20% of our production of instant coffee, mayonnaise and ketchup.” Market situation in Spain Spanish consumers are highly conservative and stubborn when it comes to the type of packaging to which they have grown accustomed. Hence it takes some time for the consumer to change from PP/PE or glass to PET and then only in conjunction with cheaper prices and/or enhanced benefits. In the case of mayonnaise and ketchup, for example, the market as regards PET is slowly picking up speed. Beer in PET is not acceptable in Spain. On the other hand, progress is being made as regards wine. Where home and body care are concerned, the change from PE to PET continues apace, for example, the discount chain Mercadona in Spain has swapped all its PE packaging in the body and home care sector for PET. On the other hand, hot fill applications pose more of a problem in Spain because the fill specification for juices and other hot fill applications specifies around 110 to 145°C for up to 20min. Justo Antonio Yanez Vega explains: “This cannot be done with PET. We are able to achieve a stable heat of 98C° over a period of 15min with our equipment and this meets the food industry specifications for (as an example) wide neck jars. Here we envisage major market potential in the future for us.” www.farmaplas.com Supported by:","@ID":18}, "imprint EDITORIAL PUBLISHER Alexander Büchler, Managing Director HEAD OFFICE heidelberg business media GmbH Häusserstr. 36 69115 Heidelberg, Germany phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 info@hbmedia.net EDITORIAL Heike Fischer Gabriele Kosmehl Kay Barton Michael Maruschke Ruari McCallion Waldemar Schmitke Wolfgang von Schroeter Anthony Withers MEDIA CONSULTANTS Martina Hirschmann hirschmann@hbmedia.net Johann Lange-Brock lange-brock@hbmedia.net phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 FRANCE, ITALY, UK Elisabeth Maria Köpke phone: +49 6201-878925 fax: +49 6201-878926 koepke@hbmedia.net LAYOUT AND PREPRESS EXPRIM Werbeagentur Matthias Gaumann | www.exprim.de READER SERVICES Till Kretner reader@hbmedia.net PRINT Chroma Druck & Verlag GmbH Werkstr. 25 67354 Römerberg Germany WWW www.hbmedia.net | petpla.net PETplanet insider ISSN 1438-9459 is published 10 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (1-year subscription 149 EUR, 2-year subscription 289 EUR, Young professionals’ subscription 99 EUR. Magazines will be dispatched to you by airmail). Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Note: The fact that product names may not be identified as trademarks is not an indication that such names are not registered trademarks. 3 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net dear readers, With no major world fairs at present, 2015 is turning out to be the year of the national and trans-regional event. The NPE in Orlando in the spring stood out as the one with the most international visitor structure and the most global range of exhibitors, not only incorporating information stands but also showcasing machinery in operation. Chinaplas this summer also followed the same trajectory. By contrast, the autumn looks like being characterised by the smaller transregional events for the PET industry. Brau in Nuremberg is very likely to be the stand-out event. With a dearth of truly global exhibitions, many companies are maintaining their profile by promoting their own in-company events. A classic case is Engel in Austria, pretty much positioned between the two K-Fairs. This year more than 3000 visitors made the pilgrimage to Engel’s big machines plant in St. Valentin. Similarly GWK’s in-house presentation attracted numerous visitors, although it remains a moot point whether this was due to the company’s recent re-location to Meinerzhagen or simply due to a lack of major exhibitions. Whatever the reason both events proved interesting and informative. Veterans of the plastics sector were particularly interested in GWK’s new premises. The company had finally taken the decision to move to premises formerly belonging to injection machine manufacturer Battenfeld. KHS in Dortmund were keen not to be left out of these initiatives and duly opened their doors to customers and suppliers. Traditionally, these open-door events would take place on the premises of subsidiaries but this year guests and visitors were invited to the company’s headquarter in Dortmund. These in-house fairs offer companies the opportunity to get close to their customers and suppliers, giving a better understanding of trends and requirements. For the supplier, such events help cement the business relationship between them and the manufacturer. There is of course a disadvantage for the supplier. Unlike at a major exhibition, there is no opportunity either to view the market as a whole or to make comparisons between different manufacturers’ offerings. Yours Alexander Büchler","@ID":5}, "EDITOUR REPORT 15 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 f.l.t.r.: Waldemar Schmitke, PETplanet and Justo Antonio Yanez Vega, General Manager As far as HDPE and PP containers are concerned, predominantly cosmetics and body care, for example for sun cream, shampoo, shower gel, soap dispensers, body lotion and also, in small quantities, for containers required within a laboratory environment. A total of 34 machines are installed, 11 of which are to be found in the PET sector. The PET machines are divided up into eight injection blow moulding machines (single-stage) and three stretch blow moulding machines (two-stage). In the single-stage sector Aoki and Nissei manufacture machines with up to eight blow moulding stations; of these, one Nissei is designed for hot fill and wide neck applications (ASB 650 with eight blow moulding stations). In the two-stage sector, production takes place on two Side stretch blow moulding machines and a Nissei, the largest of these is a Side with six blow-moulding stations. The export proportion is relatively high with the focus on South America and Russia. However, the market is serviced via Farmaplas’ Spanish customers rather than direct. Direct export activities to Holland and Portugal tend to be small.","@ID":17}, "ON SITE 41 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08 Sidel helps world’s largest distillery to 18% energy savings A line improvement programme undertaken by Sidel at Japan’s Kirin Distillery has helped the company to achieve a substantial saving in the use of electrical energy. Sidel carried out a modular upgrade of the production line and fitted its ECO lamps to the blow moulder on the water line at the distillery. The Kirin whisky distillery, located in the town of Gotemba at the foot of Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji, is claimed to be currently the largest distillery in the world. It was founded by a multinational corporate collaboration in 1973, involving Seagrams of Canada, Chivas Brothers of Scotland, Four Roses Distillery of America and Japan’s Kirin Brewery Company. It came under the sole ownership of Kirin in 2002. The site was selected because it was felt that the town has a climate very similar to that of Scotland, the birthplace of whisky. With an average annual temperature of only 13°C, it is cooler and more humid than other parts of Japan, especially in summer. The Kirin Distillery, which is one of 10 whisky distilleries in Japan, takes its production water directly from underground streams flowing beneath the mountain. Unusually, the facility undertakes every part of the production process on-site, from mashing to bottling. It extends to 520,000m2 and has an annual production capacity of 12 million litres of four types of whiskies: one malt and three grain. In 1999 it recognised the complementary opportunities that the underground streams offered for marketing bottled water and installed a dedicated Sidel PET bottle blowing line. It is on this line that the latest modular upgrade has been completed. In 2013 total volume sales of bottled water in Japan grew by 4%, to 4.4bn litres. From 2013 to 2018, the total market for bottled water in the country is forecast to grow by a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 0.7% in value terms, with still bottled water increasing by 0.3% CAGR. The increasing environmental consciousness of consumers has led to sustainable packaging and the renewability of water sources becoming recognised as important factors in the bottled water market. ...continues on page 42","@ID":43}, "PET TOP TALK 21 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Coloured PET packaging hinders recycling Three plastics recycling companies, mtm plastics GmbH from Niedergebra and MulitPet GmbH & Multiport GmbH from Bernburg, Germany have joined others in warning the European Plastics Recyclers Europe federation (PRE) that the increasing trend towards more and more colourful PET packaging is proving to be a massive hindrance to plastics recycling. And yet the answer would be so simple: If the packaging producers were to use polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE) instead, the colour would not play any role as to whether the recycling process was a success, say Michael Scriba, Managing Director of mtm, and Herbert Snell, Managing Director of MultiPet and Multiport. PRE estimates that if the switch to coloured PET packaging that is currently being driven by the marketing people continues, an additional 300,000 or so metric tons a year of these coloured plastics could soon come on to the European market. This development is having a severe effect on the recycling process: When the coloured packaging is collected together with the transparent packaging, the coloured content has to be separated in an additional step and subsequently coloured grey or black before it can be sold. The problem is that there will be virtually no demand for such a product made of grey or black recycled PET in the foreseeable future, said Snell, confirming the appraisal of the European federation. “In a recyclate market that is already under pressure anyway, the extra sorting costs would be almost impossible to bear,” he added. PE/PP recyclers are also watching the new development with concern: “We, too, are being saddled with more and more PET packaging that was previously produced from easyto-recycle PE or PP. This not only reduces our valuable input, it also causes additional expense because we have to separate the material and dispose of it at extra cost,” explained Scriba from recyclate producer mtm plastics. The advice of the recycling experts is unequivocal: Bottles intended for e.g. cleaning agents, shampoos or cosmetics should be produced from PP or HDPE. The substitution of PP and PS in the tray segment by PET is, in their opinion, a negative example of the development that is now also expected with bottles. The PET tray and blister packs are currently being almost entirely incinerated instead of being turned into a new raw material for the plastics processing industry. The reason is the colour and the multi-layer structure of the packs. And yet product designers have complete colour design freedom if they use PE or PP polyolefins for the packaging, because these plastics have proved absolutely unproblematic for recycling for many years now, say the recycling companies. www.mtm-plastics.eu www.mp-bbg.eu","@ID":23}, "CAPPING CLOSURES 31 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Different applications, neck finishes for various, part 2 Closure for PET bottles PETplanet Insider is publishing extracts from successive chapters of Ottmar Brandau’s “Bottle, Preforms, Closures”, which was published by hbmedia. A newly revised version is reissued under the Elsevier imprint. Bottle neck finish and closure must be a match, and designers on both sides have come up with a series of standards, mostly voluntary industry standards, to make sure that caps perform their function well. For the end user it is paramount to understand the required functionality of the package, then select the appropriate neck finish, and finally choose between the different closure solutions for this finish. This chapter will list the most common neck finish/ closure solutions under common functional considerations. 4.2.1 Neck finishes for CSD bottles The most important feature of this package is to retain the carbonation level in the drink. Pressure inside the bottle can go as high as 5 bar (70 psi), and closure seals are constructed in such a way that increased pressure improves the seal rather than weakens it. All CSD neck finishes feature two full thread turns assuring Fig. 4.2","@ID":33}, "ON SITE 42 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Starlinger supplies South Africa’s first B2B PET recycling plant Extrupet, the biggest PET bottle recycler in South Africa, has selected Starlinger iV+ technology for the production of PhoenixPET, an rPET brand approved for Coca-Cola products. A new bottle-to-bottle recycling line was officially inaugurated on May 11, 2015 in Extrupet’s Wadeville plant in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It produces recycled resin suitable for food-contact PET packaging and for the carbonated drink sector. The plant is the first in South Africa to use Coca-Cola-approved technology to produce bottles for carbonated soft drinks; the country is the first in the entire Continent to use recycled PET for Coca-Cola products. The PhoenixPET plant is equipped with recycling machinery supplied by Starlinger recycling technology. Extrupet’s Joint Managing Director, Chandru Wadhwani, says that the project was first conceived three years ago, when its existing capacity was approaching its limit. After extensive investigation of the various technology options available, which also involved several site visits in Europe, Extrupet chose Starlinger, which has already established plants that are actively supplying the Coca-Cola system around the world. The PET recycling line, a recoSTAR PET 165 HC iV+, is designed for producing food grade recycled PET pellets according to FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) standards. The plant has a production capacity of 1,800 kg/h and will supply 14,000 tonnes of rPET resin per year to the PET packaging industry in South Africa and neighbouring countries. It will divert an additional 22,000 tonnes of post-consumer PET bottles from landfills each year and create income opportunities in PET bottle collection for an estimated 15,000 people. Extrupet’s PET recycling extruder is equipped with an in-line quality control system including an online colour spectrophotometer that constantly measures colour values in order to ensure the rPET’s uniform visual appearance. Colour variations are detected immediately; Sidel’s upgrade of the bottled water line including the fitting of ECO lamps to the blow-moulder, in support of its customer’s ongoing quest for greater sustainability and cost effectiveness. Kirin asserts that the lamps have generated substantial energy savings, as well as providing improved process stability and optimised production output. Sidel says that there is a growing need within the beverage industry to balance economic performance with environmental concerns; reducing greenhouse gas emissions is an integral part of the process. The heating lamps used to produce preforms accounting for 90-95% of the electricity used by a blow moulder; the ECO lamps have been developed based on a concept that that is intended to address environmental concerns. The lamps are available as a modular upgrade of beverage production lines on both the Sidel SBO Series 1 and Series 2 blowers and are claimed to generally deliver energy savings of around 15%, with a life expectancy of 5000hrs. In some cases, installation requires no modification to either the existing oven or the blowing process. Moriyasu Uchibori, lead Customer Service Manager of Sidel, Japan, explains: “With electricity costs still rising globally and the growing drive to reduce CO2 emissions, producers around the world are looking to optimise productivity and minimise the total cost of ownership on all their lines. Preform heating lamps are clearly an area with potential for greater energy efficiency. Sidel’s ECO lamps represent one way in which both energy and money can be saved.” Line Improvement is one part of the Sidel Services portfolio, which also includes Training, Maintenance, Spare Parts & Logistics, Line Conversions & Moulds, and Packaging. www.sidel.com","@ID":44}, "ON SITE 43 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net the company says that this keeps off-specification production and rejects to a minimum. The recycling line automatically adjusts operation parameters to reach the desired IV (intrinsic viscosity) level after it has been set on the control panel. The level is permanently monitored during production and parameters are readjusted as necessary. This avoids IV variations after the extruder and seeks to guarantee very constant IV values already during pellet production. Thorough pre-drying of the input material (washed bottle flakes) as well as high-vacuum degassing and melt filtration are designed to ensure high melt quality in the extrusion process. In the downstream inline SSP reactor the IV level of the manufactured pellets is increased to the desired level. Organic and volatile components and acetaldehyde are removed. The FIFO (first-in firstout) treatment of both the flakes in the dryer before the extrusion process and the pellets in the continuous SSP process after extrusion are intended to ensure consistent residence time and thus to achieve high standards of decontamination efficiency. The recycling line is equipped with an online archiving system of process data, for quality control and traceability. Extrupet has been producing food-grade rPET from post-consumer collection since 2000 and supplies to producers of polyester filament and staple fibre; geotextiles; PET strappings; PET sheet; thermoforms; and PET bottles. The PhoenixPET brand for food-grade rPET was launched in 2010 and is used by many of the leading South African retailers. Extrupet is one of the leading recycling partners of PETCO, the industry body for PET recycling in South Africa. Starlinger has installed high-end PET bottle-to-bottle recycling systems across the world, with a total name plate capacity of more than 450,000 t/yr. The recoSTAR PET iV+ technology is claimed to ensure the production of virgin-like rPET suitable for direct food contact. It has been approved by national and international authorities including FDA and EFSA, as well as various brand owners. www.extrupet.com www.recycling.starlinger.com","@ID":45}, "Please order your copy at the PETplanet insider book shop: https://petpla.net/books Bottles, Preforms and Closures A Design Guide for PET Packaging Second Edition by Ottmar Brandau € 115,00 180 pages © Copyright Elsevier 2012 CAPPING CLOSURES 33 CAPPING CLOSURES 33 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08 * This article was published in Bottles, Preforms and Closures, Ottmar Brandau, Chapter 4.2 Copyright Elsevier 2012 ing conditions, and most importantly filling temperatures how strong a neck the bottle must have to withstand all requirements. Fig. 4.5 Necks for hot-fill bottles feature thicker walls and are therefore heavier than necks for other bottles. An interesting solution to some of the problems mentioned above is to thermally crystallise the neck. This is done by heating the neck in a specialised machine to a temperaturerange where PETcrystallises rapidly and then letting it to cool down slowly. Thermally induced crystals,the so-called spherulites, are large enough to refract light and the refore appearwhite to our eyes.These crystals are stronger and especially more heat resistant than amorphous PET, and crystallised necks can be designed thinner and at a lower weight (Fig. 4.6). Fig. 4.6 Crystallization of the neck can save weight. Crystallised necks are far more popular in Asia than they are, for example, in North America. There are several reasons for this, most notably that the initial patent owner Yoshino Kogyosho granted licenses to only a small number of US companies. There are also a number of products that always need the crystallised neck, such as carbonated juice without preservatives, but these are not popular in North America. Companies here have worked around the problem by lowering filling temperatures with increased hygiene to the point where a crystallised neck is of less importance.","@ID":35}, "CAPPING CLOSURES 32 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net a strong connection between the neck and the closure (with the exception of the PCO 1881; see chapter 4.10). A second feature of these necks is to allow a gradual release of pressure when the consumer opens the caps. This is accomplished by vertical grooves in the threaded part of the sure and bottle neck. The pressure escapes as soon as the top seal is broken once the closure is unscrewed less than half a turn. At that time, at least 1.5 thread turns are still engaged, preventing the cap from being blown off (Fig. 4.2). The neck styles available today are Alcoa, BPF, and PCO. Over the years designers have successfully reduced the amount of material needed in the neck without jeopardising functionality. The popularity of PCO necks can be explained by the fact that it is about 0.5g lighter than an Alcoa or a BPF neck (Fig. 4.3). Modern neck finishes are about 2g lighter than the ones used 10 or 15 years ago. For once, the neck support ring (NSR) underneath the threaded part has been reduced in thickness as it became apparent that even a ring that is less than 2mm in thickness can safely guide preform and bottle through conveyors and blow moulding machines. The area between threads and NSR has also been lightweighted over the years, and further weight reduction improvements are under way. 4.2.2 Neck finishes for still water bottles The requirements for still water bottles are considerably less than they are for CSD bottles. As there is no pressure buildup inside the bottle and water does not spoil easily, the cap must only keep the contents safe from the environment and allow its easy opening. The weight reduction initiatives that have resulted in super-lightweight bottles have also cut down the neck finish on these bottles to what seems to be the absolute minimum. There is no need for two thread turns, and most water bottles feature quickclose threads with two or three starts. The short thread engagement translates into a short neck finish with an appropriate short cap, thereby saving material both ways. Thin neck walls and rim make for the lightest configuration possible. These caps close within half a turn and are very popular with consumers as the three neck starts allow easy closing and the short thread length guarantees easy opening (Fig. 4.4). 4.2.3 Neck finishes for hot-filled products Requirements for these necks and caps are quite different from the other two categories we examined so far. For once, most necks are 38mm or more. Historically, juice bottles had a wider neck when compared with water bottles, and brand owners would rather go with what consumers are used to. However, there is another reason that has a lot to do with PET processing. When bottles for hot-filling are blown in the so-called heat-set process, the stretch rod used is larger in diameter. This is because it conveys cooling air into the center of the mould during the cooling cycle of the blow process. The larger neck finish of the bottle allows more room for this function. As the bottle goes through the filling process, the neck undergoes several stages. First, it heats up possibly above the glass transition temperature of around 75°C. Above this temperature PET becomes rubbery and starts to deform. Resins for the heat-set process are formulated to increase the glass transition temperature, and the actual temperature depends on both the filling temperature (82–95°C) and the time between filling and cooling in the cooling tunnel. At the same time the neck finish is exposed to relatively high temperatures, the bottle contents and headspace air expand, causing an overpressure inside the bottle. As the neck finish is not oriented and therefore amorphous in structure, it is ill-prepared for this stress. After cooling, a vacuum develops inside the bottle that could potentially collapse the neck. For all these reasons, neck finishes of hot-fill bottles are heavier than non-hot-fill bottles. A 37mm neck finish may weigh as much as 10g to the underside of the NSR with wall thicknesses exceeding 2.5mm. It will depend on the overall package, fillFig. 4.3 Weights of modern neck finishes. (Table courtesy of Corvaglia Ltd). Fig 4.4","@ID":34}, "BOTTLING / FILLING 24 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net BOTTLING / FILLING 24 Five times AirbackPlus for Japanese Asahi Group Providing the best product quality while acting sustainably is the motto of the Asahi Group from Japan and one that is substantiated by KHS Corpoplast stretch blow moulding equipment and the new AirbackPlus development. Tatsuya Inoue, Corporate Officer and General Manager of the Technology department at Asahi Soft Drinks Co., Ltd., says, “We’ve been relying on KHS Corpoplast in our soft drinks segment since 2000 and have invested in twelve stretch blow moulders to date. Ten of them are in operation and we only recently had five of these retrofitted with the newly developed AirbackPlus system. As predicted by KHS Corpoplast, through this investment we’re profiting from savings in compressed air of up to 40%”. In Japan the Asahi Group currently holds a market share of approximately 40% for beer and around 15% for soft drinks. It is also active on a national and international scale in the food sector and various other areas of business, such as logistics and restaurant management. The group realises an annual total turnover of 1.7 trillion yen (about €14 billion). With a share of approximately 55% of total sales alcoholic","@ID":26}, "MARKET SURVEY 28 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net 07+08/2015 MARKETsurvey Company name ENGEL AUSTRIA GmbH Postal address Telephone number Web site address Contact name Function Direct telephone number Fax E-mail Ludwig-Engel-Straße 1 A-4311 Schwertberg +43 50 620 0 www.engelglobal.com Mr Michael Feltes Manager Business Unit Packaging +43 50 620 3100 +43 50 620 13100 michael.feltes@engel.at Systems for cap/closure production 1 Model e-cap 220 e-cap 280 e-cap 380 2 Procession technology injection moulding 3 Clamp force 2200 kN 2800 kN 3800 kN 4 Cycle time (guaranteed 98% closure system efficiency for): 3+/-0.3 s 3+/-0.3 s 3+/-0.3 s 3+/-0.3 s a_High speed production: closure type/weight/cavities: caps/min 26; 1 g, 48 kav, 960 c/m 29/25; 1.3 g; 48 kav, 960 c/m 30/25; 1.7 g; 48 kav, 960 c/m 26; 1 g; 64 kav, 1280 c/m 29/25; 1.3 g; 64 kav, 1280 c/m 30/25; 1.3 g; 64 kav, 1280 c/m 26; 1 g; 72 kav, 1440 c/m 29/25; 1.3 g; 72 kav; 1440 c/m 5 Drive concept all electric 6 Energy consumption (kwh/kg) 0.3-0.45 kWh/kg (only machine without hot runner, chiller etc) depending on cycle time and material 7 Preferred mould makers 8 Special features Company name Netstal Maschinen AG Milacron c/o Ferromatik Milacron GmbH Postal address Telephone number Web site address Contact name Function Direct telephone number Fax E-mail Tschachenstrasse 8752 Näfels, Switzerland +41 55 618 6111 www.netstal.com Mr Marcel Christen Product Management / Marketing +41 55 618 6111 +41 556 186 605 marketing@netstal.com Riegeler Str. 4, 79364 Malterdingen, Germany +49 7644 78 0 www.milacron.com Mr Stéphane Grossnickel Director International Accounts & Intercompany +49 7644 78 0 +49 7644 6885 europe@milacron.com Systems for cap/closure production 1 Model SynErgy Elion Evos Ferromatik series 2 Procession technology injection moulding injection moulding injection moulding injection molding 3 Clamp force 100 - 500t 175 - 420t 300 - 550t 1.200 - 6.500 kN 4 Cycle time (guaranteed 98% closure system efficiency for): 2.5s (valid for 29/25 1.2g) 2.0s (valid for 29/25 1.2g) 2.3s (valid for 29/25 1.2g) a_High speed production: closure type/weight/ cavities: caps/min \"29/25\"/1.2g/96/2304 \"29/25\"/1.2g/96/2880 \"29/25\"/1.2g/96/2504 1881/1,6 - 1,9 g/3 seconds +/- 10% b_Individual cap solution: closure type/weight/ cavities: caps/min 5 Drive concept hydraulic hybrid / electric hydraulic / hybrid electrical/hybrid 6 Energy consumption (kwh/kg) 0,85 0,48 0,73 400 - 500 kWh/kg 7 Preferred mould makers various 8 Special features dedicated cap systems including mould and all peripheral equipment air condition, conveyors, cap cooler, chute, quality vision, box changer, … special ejector design dedicated for caps, modular machine concept, high level of customisation","@ID":30}, "TRADE SHOW REVIEW 39 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08 Short cycle times, high shot-to-shot quality, low energy consumption and maximum flexibility. The new XFORM 300 with its unique 6-position post-mold cooling system boosts your output performance for the widest range of preforms. Cooling preforms faster and better, the 96-cavity platform is ideal for large runs and quick mold changes. And it lets you run any mold you want, old or new, OEM-built or not, in total freedom. From ultra-thin walled (with proprietary XMould™ technology) to wide mouth. XFORM 300, low transformation cost, high value. SIPA S.p.A. - Via Caduti del Lavoro, 3 - 31029 Vittorio Veneto (TV) - Italy Tel. +39 0438 911511 - Fax +39 0438 912273 - e-mail: sipa@zoppas.com www.sipa-xform.com Designed to adapt. Built to last. The new XFORM 300 IMAGINE THE LOWEST TRANSFORMATION COST. IN TOTAL FREEDOM. F.l.t.r.: Kay Barton and Mr Alan Chen of Shini F.l.t.r.: Jason Lee, Yusheng Mold & Machinery and Kay Barton, PETplanet F.l.t.r.: Kota Aoki of Nissei ASB and Kay Barton","@ID":41}, "PETproducts 40 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Aproz Source Minérale selects Bericap PCO 1881 flip-top closure for syrup market Swiss company Aproz Source Minérale has converted its bottles for mineral water and carbonated soft drinks to the PCO 1881 neck. It has also moved to use it for its syrup product and now operates with a single neck finish across its range of products. It was able to make the move after Bericap’s development of its HC EV 28/27 closure. The Bericap system can be pressed onto the PCO 1881 neck and retains essential functional features of the closure, including product integrity ensured by a tear-off membrane and non-drip pouring lip. The one-piece hinge closure is supplied with a non-slit interbead band, which means that the closure cannot be removed from the bottles without being destroyed. The new hinge cap is in addition to Bericap’s EV 28/26 press-on closure, which, in contrast to the new HC EV 28/27, has a screw opening. Bericap says that Aproz’ conversion to the PCO 1881 short neck and the related press-on closure also delivered some resin savings. www.bericap.com Quiet, compact Herbold Mecksheim granulator supplied to French mineral water producer Herbold Mecksheim GmbH, of Mecksheim, Germany, has recently delivered a Herbold C-Series granulator to a French mineral water producer. The unit, which features a compact design and has been customised with integrated sound insulation, handles waste and scrap from PET bottles and preforms. The scrap components are collected in containers that are emptied onto a sorting table upstream of a conveyor belt. The table is equipped with sorting cavities for the evacuation of foreign bodies such as small screws, wooden pieces and other other extraneous materials. The bottles and preforms are forwarded to the conveyor belt by the operator. The belt has been specially designed with a short and steep profile because of constricted space on the site and enables dosed feeding of the granulator, which features stainless-steel producttouching components. An integrated metal detector immediately stops the feeding belt if it detects any metal items, including stainless steel and non-magnetic metals, in the feeding material. The Herbold SML 45/70 granulator utilises double cross cutting geometry. The rotor and stator knife are mounted at inclined angles opposed to each other; the company claims that the arrangement minimises dust and noise. The 37kW drive can process 1500 – 2000 kg/h of PET preforms. The outboard rotor bearings are completely separate from the grinding chamber in order to prevent grease coming into contact with the product and to ensure that no fines from the grinding material can destroy the bearings. Regrind is evacuated by the suction unit, freed from dust and can be reused for the production of new bottles. The screen and the upper part of the housing are designed to be easily opened for access, while the knives can be externally adjusted in a jig supplied with the machine. www.herbold.com","@ID":42}, "f.l.t.r.: Mr Doug Brewster and Mr Gene Flockerzi CONVEYING 34 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Next level conveying by Kay Barton Auxiliaries’ manufacturer Conair is showcasing some of their innovations at the NPE, including their new conveying system R-Pro (Resin Protect Conveying System), for which a patent application has now been filed. With the new system Conair are promising an improved and cost-effective option for materials handling. We discuss this with inventor Mr Doug Brewster, Conveying Product Manager, Mr Gene Flockerzi, Packaging Vice President and Ms Dori Raybuck, Director of Global Marketing. R-Pro is reportedly virtually wearresistant in operation, both in regard to the material and the conveying equipment. The system uses a vacuum method which, by contrast to the usual transport procedure, slows down throughput and transports the material from A to B in smooth waves. The intention with this is to solve problems like dust and ‘angel hair’, which occurs when materials make also features hidden flexibility when it comes to user requirements”. If production quantities are low at certain times, the material-handling system can be adjusted accordingly. Speeds and throughputs can, of course, also be increased at times of peak demand. Energy usage is a fraction of that of conventional high-speed conveying systems. The system’s control constantly monitors the flow of material so that it is possible to keep conveying speed and energy use as low as possible while maintaining the desirable throughput. “Basically, our system is no more price-intensive than those of our competitors. We are talking about certain components that are 10-12% more expensive, however, the very much smaller degree of wear balances out the extra investment and quickly pays for itself”. www.conairgroup.com high-speed contact with the inner wall of conveying tubing. In a worst case scenario, this could lead to a blockage in the conveyor system. Similarly, static charges are reduced, limiting dust accumulation. R-Pro’s normal operating speed is between 70 m/min and 366 m/min, throughput of up to 13.5 t/hr is comparable with high-speed systems and conveying distances can be even longer. “Materials protection is one thing”, says Doug Brewster, “but the system","@ID":36}, "TRADE SHOW REVIEW 38 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net The Chinaplas 2015 exhibition was successful beyond our expectations. There were two principal reasons. Firstly, we saw an overwhelming number of showcasing companies relevant to us in PET bottle production. Secondly, we had innumerable high quality conversations with new and existing long-term customers, which drew a very positive picture of the developing situation in the Chinese packaging market and enabled our role as market observers.Creativity, technical know-how and precision in relation to machine builders as well as suppliers are all factors that promote competition and self-awareness, especially and, indeed, increasingly as far as Europe is concerned. The PETplanet team look forward to long-term business relationships and interesting developments within this exciting environment. Here you find our impressions of Chinaplas! Yours, Kay Barton Editor PETplanet Insider & Project Manager China Road Show 2016 F.l.t.r.: Johann Lange-Brock, PETplanet, Wendell He, Huiyuan and Kay Barton, PETplanet F.l.t.r.: Kay Barton, PETplanet, Vincent Lim, GDXL and Johann Lange-Brock, PETplanet F.l.t.r.: Peter Pan and Grace Lee of Chumpower, Johann Lange-Brock and Kay Barton of PETplanet F.l.t.r.: Harald Nilson of Tria with PETplanet Editor Kay Barton F.l.t.r.: Sergey Kozhin, Otto Hofstetter and Kay Barton, PETplanet More impressions at chinaplas2015.petpla.net","@ID":40}, "EDITOUR REPORT 12 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Packaging development Spain Beverage* Designation 2012 2013 2014 Metal beverage cans 7,203.9 7,345.7 7,435.4 PET bottles 6,921.3 6,951.4 6,976.2 PET jars 90.5 91.8 93.2 Glass bottles 5407.4 5,290.0 5233.4 Glass jars 39.5 40.1 40.8 Bricks 587.9 567.3 556.0 HDPE bottles 127.2 86.5 58.0 Beauty and Personal Care* HDPE bottles 530.3 524.0 520.4 PET bottles 122.8 126.8 130.7 PET jars 10.4 10.3 10.3 Glass bottles 84.1 81.9 79.9 Glass jars 15.4 15.5 15.6 Home Care* HDPE bottles 565.0 559.7 548.9 PET bottles 371.7 377.8 395.6 Glass bottles 38.7 38.2 37.7 Glass jars 1.1 1.0 0.9 *in millions of units, (source: Euromonitor) Bottled mineral water The mineral water market has been in decline for the past seven years, in 2013 consumption per capita fell, according to ALIMarkt, to 50,8l of mineral water. It is not only the domestic market that is suffering, but exports are also seriously affected. This now seems to have bottomed out in 2013, and in 2014 there were once again signs that the downward spiral was abating. The 5 largest mineral water bottling companies on the market, Aguas Font Vella Y LanjarAguas, Mineral San Benedetto, Nestle Waters Espana, Calidad Pascual and Grupo Vinchy Catalan, which represent 45% of the mineral water market, saw sales and volumes fall up to 2013 but San Benedetto and Calidad Pascual were able to achieve renewed growth from 2012 to 2013. Things are looking much the same on a regional basis. Although, in the five largest regions of Catalonia, Andalucia, Valenciana, the Canaries and the Balearics, the negative trend is persisting, in Catalonia, Valenciana and on the Balearics consumption per head is once again increasing. One of the consequences of the falling volumes was also a fall in price which could not be absorbed solely by the decline in raw materials prices for PET. Following increases in energy and transport charges on the other hand, a number of smaller companies were compelled to cease production over the winter period or even to shut down completely. But, as already mentioned, the signs of recovery are there. In the case of the 5l PET containers and the smaller bottle sizes 50 and 33cl, the sales figures are on the up. Soft drinks The soft drinks market has also suffered a decline in terms of volumes and sales in the last few years, but, at approximately 4%, considerably more moderate than in the mineral waters sector. Of the 4,400 million litres of soft drinks consumed in 2013, 83% were carbonated. When it comes to trends, the non-carbonated drinks are in decline. However, the sector has been shaken by the announcement from market leader Coca Cola, which has more than 50% of the market, to close 4 of its 11 plants, affecting approximately 1,200 employees. Any restructuring of this nature inevitably brings unrest into a marketplace which is only just beginning to experience a tentative recovery. PET applications In all sectors of the Spanish market, drinks, home and body care, we are seeing welcome growth. We visited four companies on our Mediterranean round trip. In the PET Converter sector, with the focus on Personal and Home Care applications: PFP Termopolimeros in EL Figaro-Montmany, Barcelona, Spain Farmaplas in Fuenlabrada (Madrid), Spain Loripet in Arahal (Seville), Spain and the PET stretch blow moulding machine manufacturer Side in L’ Ametlla del Vallès Barcelona, Spain Step by step Side S.A. | May 9, 2014 We met: Mr Josep Jimenez, Export Manager & Mr Oriol Vives, Sales Manager Following a turbulent trip fraught with numerous holdups, we arrive at the location of our first meeting in Catalonia, Side, (Servicio Industrial de Electrónica - Industrial Electronics Service), manufacturers of linear stretch blow moulding machines for processing PET. Here we meet Josep Jimenenz, Export Manager and Oriol Vives, Sales Manager, in L’Ametlla del Vallès, Barcelona. The company has been in family ownership for more than 40 years. Today it has 80 employees and a turnover of €14m. f.r.t.l: Ms. Judit Birosta, General Manager of Side and Mr. Josep Jimenez, Export Manager","@ID":14}, "MARKET SURVEY 27 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Caps and closures Bottle-to-bottle recycling plants Preform and single stage machinery Preforms Preform / stretch blow moulds Closure systems Two stage SBM machinery Compressors Resins / additives Filling equipment Suppliers of systems and moulds for the production of caps and closures for PET bottles For the first time this year we interviewed the market participants in the system for the production of closures sector. These include both the machine manufacturers and the mould suppliers. We received feedback from the following companies (in alphabetical order): Corvaglia Holding AG, Engel Austria GmbH, Fostag Formenbau AG, Husky, Milacron, Netstal and z-Moulds /z-Werkzeugbau GmbH Although the publishers have made every effort to ensure that the information in this survey is up to date, no claims are made regarding completeness or accuracy. 07+08/2015 MARKETsurvey Company name z-moulds / z-Werkzeugbau Corvaglia Mould AG Husky Fostag Formenbau AG Postal address Telephone number Web site address Contact name Function Direct telephone number Fax E-mail Hoechster Strasse 8 6850 Dornbirn, Austria +43 5572 7272 720 www.z-moulds.com Mr Michael Fink Business Development +43 5572 7272 721 +43 5572 7272 8621 michael.fink@z-moulds.com Hörnlistr. 14, 8360 Eschlikon, Switzerland +41 71 973 77 77 www.corvaglia.ch Mr Albert Brunner Sales Director +41 71 973 77 52 +41 71 973 77 51 a.brunner@corvaglia.ch 500 Queen Street South Bolton, ON, L7E 5S5 Canada +1 905 951 5000 www.husky.co Ms Jessica Calleja Markeing Communications Program Manager +1 905 951 5000 ext. 2924 +1 905 951 5332 jcalleja@husky.ca Kaltenbacherstrasse 28 8260 Stein am Rhein, Switzerland +41 52 742 25 55 www.fostag.com Mr Thomas Eberhard Director Marketing & Sales +41 52 742 25 20 +41 52 742 25 00 mail@fostag.com Moulds for caps/closure production Filling good beverages carbonated and non-carbonated drinks, water, juices, etc. carbonated soft drinks & non-carbonated pressurised and non-pressurised beverages including water, juices, teas, milk/dairy, coffee, beer, isotonics, energy drinks, etc. yes other edible oil, dairy, beer edible oil, detergents, other filling goods possible upon request dairy products, edible oils, condiments, foods, personal care, household, and other specialty applications individial cap solutions personal care and home care products possible, upon request Closure type all single-piece standard closure dimensions for all neck finishes, sports closures, flip-tops, push-pulls flat top & sports closures for 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 37, 38, 48 mm neck finishes, e.g. Alaska, 1810, 1881, 29/25, 30/25, 33 HF, 33 ACF, 38 HF, 38 ACF Husky is capable of producing a wide range of closure types to suit a wide range of applications HDPE, PP material HDPE, LDPE, PP, TPE, … HDPE (PP for transparent parts) PE, PP, bio resins, additives drinking caps, sport caps, 2C caps, flip tops weight lowest from 0,8g starting from 0.8g Husky is capable of producing a wide range of closure weights to suit a wide range of applications Moulds a Clamping dimensions/ Cavities 16 to 128 cavities 24 - 96 cavities 16 to 96 cavities up to 256 cavities up to 8600 kN b Preferred hot runner suppliers Mold Masters Corvaglia and others Husky Fostag hotrunner Special features patented z-slides technology for most efficient closure production Closure design approvals from all major beverage brand owners Husky molds are available stand-alone or part of a complete system; Industry leading performance, high precision tooling co-injection PLA / PVOH, PP / EVOH","@ID":29}, "EDITOUR REPORT 13 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net The company started life 40 years ago with the manufacture of electrical switch cabinets. Then, in 1992, the transition was made to the manufacture of stretch blow moulding machines. The company saw sufficient potential for future growth in stretch blow moulding machines for the manufacture of PET bottles and containers. Basic knowledge from the electrical side was brought in at the same time and so it is not surprising that all the machines are fully kitted out electrically and the switch cabinets continue to be wired and assembled by the company itself. The machine sizes range from 1 to 6 blow moulding stations with capacities of up to 10,000 containers/bph. Of the 40 machines that are delivered every year, the focus is on machines with 1 and 2 blow moulding stations, for high quality PET bottles. The spectrum of application ranges from 100ml to 30l containers in the sectors of detergents, edible oils, cosmetics, food packaging and, in smaller quantities, drinks, mineral water and beer (kegs, 5 gallon water dispensers). It is predominantly PET that is processed but PE, PP and bio-resins are also used. The focus of application is on containers for detergents which account for 30% of machine turnover. Oriol Vives explains: “We have always been exportorientated and even today boast an export share of 95%. It is an advantage for us that we are not reliant on the Spanish market. The PET market in Spain is just taking off and therefore we hardly envisage a substantial number of investments in the near future. Fortunately for Side, 50% of our markets are in Europe and the other 50% in America.” Oriol Vives went on: “One of our specialities is PET containers with a handle for edible oils and juices, detergents and milk, specially our T-handle development, to save money and improve the product image. Out of a total of 40 stretch blow moulding machines that we deliver every year, 12 are lines for containers with T-handles. The range of machinery is made up of all-electric linear stretch blow moulding machines whose particular feature is that each blow mould has its own heating furnace and this means that each preform has the same temperature history as would be the case with a rotary machine.” Side’s range of machinery includes the following: Bottle/Container Bph Type TMS No. blow moulding stations Up to 2l 3,000 1002e 2 6,000 2004e 4 10,000 2006e 6 Up to 10l 1,400 Maxiblow 1 2,800 2002e-G 2 3,600 2003e 3 Up to 30l 700 5001e-G 1 Josep Jimenez takes up the story: “We are a family company and therefore we need to proceed with great caution, adopting a step-by-step strategy. Before we open up new markets we ensure that we are going to be able to offer a locally based service. We see ourselves as an engineering company, even though we do manufacture the switch cabinets and machine frames ourselves. Otherwise we only assemble and test the machine systems prior to shipment. The majority of the stretch blow moulding machines are individual machine projects. However, our aim is to offer more complete solutions to problems. The containers and bottles with T-handle represent an important approach to this. Here it is predominately complete solutions that are in demand, for instance from advice on bottle design right through to systems delivered complete with moulds, peripherals and handling equipment and to have it all commissioned at the customer’s premises. Our team is geared to this. We are already registering growth in established markets such as Latin America and Mexico. In addition, we are conscious of a developing trend whereby some applications, such as, for example, in cosmetics, are moving away from the single-stage machines to 2-stage machines. The reasons for this lie in more flexibility. Good to hear, as our competitors are the single-stage machines and this gives us the potential to acquire additional market share.” www.side.es 100% domestic market won’t do any more PFP Termopolimeros | May 9, 2014 We met: Mr Fernando Sirera, Commercial Director After visiting Side we meet a customer of theirs on the same day, Messrs. PFP Termopolimeros. Here in El Figaro-Montmany, Barcelona we make the acquaintance of Fernando Sirera, Commercial Director. The company has been under family control with a facility here in Spain for 30 years. PFP is a manufacturer of PET, HDPE, LDPE, PP, ABS, EVA, etc. containers with a focus on the pharmaceuticals industry. 85% of the products are for pharmaceutical use and the remaining 15% are broken down into detergents, foodstuffs, cosmetics and medicine (such as clinical containers for cotton swabs). The production portfolio ranges from individual containers right through to complete packaging solutions with closures and all the necessary certificates and document. The premises cover a total of 8,000m2 (500m² clean room Iso 8). The business turns over €8m, entirely for the domestic market, and has 37 employees.","@ID":15}, "PREFORM PRODUCTION 22 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Injection system for gallon water bottle preforms by Kay Barton Huayan Precision Machinery Co. Ltd, which is located in Guangzhou city, capital of Canton province, is specialised in manufacturing PET preform injection machines and moulds. With over 20 years’ experience in the PET industry, the company has become a significant force in the segment of PET preform solutions in China, and is gradually expanding its market share worldwide. The company product supplies complete turnkey-solution systems for preform manufacturing, and mould manufacturing including take-out robotics on demand for third-party suppliers, as well as mould conversion kits and bottle blow moulds for world-branded rotary blowing machines. The F250 preform injection system, as showcased at Chinaplas 2015, is said to combines energy-efficient injection moulding with flexible applications in preform manufacture. This is Huayan’s response to the increasing demand for PET preforms for high-volume bottles. “The F250”, explains Regional Manager for Sales, Mr Sydney Liao, “has been specially developed for manufacturing 5 gallon water bottle preforms. Within this range the machine can be run with six to twelve cavities for PET bottles from 2 to 5 gallons with neck diameters in the region of 110mm to 63mm”. Synchronisation between plasticising and packing means that not only shorter cycle times can be achieved but even problems of stress inside the mould and any potential preform damage can be kept to a minimum. The clamping force on the F250 is 250t; the clamping pressure and speed are controlled by means of a Rexroth servo-valve. The hydraulic unit is of independent construction. The company promises high-efficiency plasticising together with a high level of capacity thanks to a specially designed screw. For the screw drive, Huayan uses technology from Messrs. Staffa, UK. The company also obtains hot runner components from Europe as well as from North America. The maximum injection volume is 4,747cm³ or up to 5,969g per shot. The injection pressure is capable of reaching up to 1,098,34 bar and up to 20g per cavity/sec. The triple axis unloading robot technology cools the finished preforms further during removal from the mould and gently transports the blanks to the conveyor so as to avoid instances of damage typical of a standard ejection mechanism. “Although the plant is designed to cope with large bottles, we also offer moulds of up to 32 cavities for necks up to 43mm”. www.gzhuayan.com F.r.t.l.: Sydney Liao and Kay Barton in front of the F250 preform injection system","@ID":24}, "NEWS 8 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net V Amut and University of Pisa work together on research projects The University of Pisa, Engineering Department, has chosen Amut as a partner to cooperate on four research projects sponsored by the European Community. Aim of the collaboration is to develop and test new polymers with particular eco-friendly characteristics, produced by renewable sources, recycled materials, biodegradable and compostable materials. Amut will share its experience in the manufacturing of extrusion equipment, its own laboratory and some prototyped equipment which the company has designed for this purpose. Amut technicians will support the students in the development of the projects and teach them how to run the machines. The projects are: Dibbiopack: activity of research on nanocomposites based on lactic acid and nanoparticles, especially nanoclay, for the production of packaging with high barrier properties to gas and humidity. Oli-Pha: activity of research on poli-hydroxyl alkanoates of micro seaweed raised in vegetation water for the production of olive oil. N-Chitopack: activity of research on the production of film based on polilactic acid and nanofibres chitin to be used for packaging. Bioboard: activity of research on the production of film based on proteins derivative from milk whey and from the production of potatoes. www.amutgroup.com SPI announces agenda for new RE|FOCUS Recycling Summit & Expo The Plastics Industry Trade Association has announced the agenda for its new Re|focus Recycling Summit & Expo and launched the event web site as well. In collaboration with its Recycling Committee, SPI has designed the event to assist brand owners and processors in taking their environmental goals from aspirational to operational. The Re|focus Recycling Summit & Expo, will take place April 25-27, 2016 at the Rosen Shingle Creek conference center and hotel in Orlando, Florida. Events on the two days will include sessions within seven concurrent tracks. Conference track topics will include cutting edge recycling technologies, product engineering & design, supply chain management and manufacturing with recycled content, regulatory & compliance issues, industry-specific topics on recycling to recovery and use of recycled content, sustainability challenges and solutions, and global manufacturing trends in recycled content. There will also be two plenary sessions with keynote addresses. An off-site plant tour is also in development. Companies that take place in the event include, among others, ADG Solutions and Davis-Standard, Bunting Magnetics, Fukutomi Green Products, Kice Industries, Plastics Technologies, Phoenix Technologies, Rapid Granulator, Ravago, United Recycling, and Weima America. www.refocussummit.org","@ID":10}, "BOTTLES 45 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net 1,5l Sangria in PET Right on time for the start of summer. Products typical of the season are beginning to emerge in the impulse zones of retail outlets. For example, Rewe is selling 1.5l of Sangria of various types under the brand name “Maria Ole“ – Sangria Rose and Blanche in the illustration – in transparent bottles which, thanks to the recessing in the area of the neck, are easy to grasp and hold. The drink, which contains wine with added aromas and an alcohol content of 7%, should be served well chilled. The bottles are decorated with a brightly coloured sleeve label and closed by means of a tamper-proof screw cap made from metal. Red spritzer from Rewe Under its own brand label “Rewe Beste Wahl“ (“Rewe best choice“) Rewe is selling various drinks and fruit spritzers with a fruit content of up to 60% in a shapely design bottle containing a litre of product. The slightly waisted bottle features an extended bottle neck and embossed brand name logos in the area of the bottom section. A colour-matched screw closure complete with guarantee strip and a wraparound foil label round off the appearance of the packaging at the PoS. www.rewe.de 8 m² footpr int . Cav i t y number reading. Up to 72,000 per hour. PreWatcher I I I – l ike no other. W W W . I N T R A V I S . C O M / P R E W A T C H E R","@ID":47}, "NEWS 9 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08 Vietfood & Beverage 2015 and ProPack Vietnam 2015 From September 9-12, 2015, the 19th International Exhibition on Food & Beverage ‘Vietfood & Beverage 2015’ will be concurrently held with the 19th International Exhibition on Food Processing, Packaging Technology & Equipment ‘ProPack Vietnam 2015’ in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Exhibitors will present the latest developments in the field of food and drink products, raw materials, food additives and machinery. www.vinexad.com.vn www.foodexvietnam.com ICIF China 2015 The 14th China International Chemical Industry Fair (ICIF) will take place in Shanghai, China, on September 16-18, 2015. The fair covers process technology, control, testing equipment, raw materials, ready made products and new developments and applications for related industries. This year the ICIF will be concurrently held with the CPCIC (China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Conference) and P-Tech, the International Petroleum and Chemical Equipment & Processing Technology Exhibition. In 2014 the ICIF featured an exhibition area of 20,000m2, 412 exhibitors and 11,205 trade visitors. www.icif.cn 25 years of Arburg in the USA On June 16-17, 2015 Arburg’s US subsidiary, together with 245 customers and guests, celebrated the 25th anniversary of Arburg Inc. and also officially inaugurated the new premises for the US headquarters in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. The new Arburg building covers a total floorspace of 2,500m2 (27,000ft2). The centrepiece of the new building is a showroom, which has sufficient space for seven Allrounder injection moulding machines that can be used for testing and training purposes. There is also space for setting up and dismantling complete turnkey systems, which are experiencing rapid growth in demand in the US. The building also features a comprehensive spare parts store, a machine store as well as a special area for the Freeformer. North America is Arburg’s largest foreign market, in which the company has installed more than 12,000 machines. Arburg Inc. is one of the German machine manufacturer’s first subsidiaries and was established in 1990 as part of the effort to expand international sales activities. Today, a total of around 75 Arburg employees provide support in the USA. www.arburg.com Wet or dry? With PET-Asept it’s your choice – and either way the germs are doomed. www.krones.com","@ID":11}, "PETbottles 44 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Beverage + Liquid Food BigBoxx for wasabi-peanuts Samba Nuts Deutschland GmbH is selling a range of nut products in transparent packaging incorporating a resealing facility. The shelllike, bevelled lower section made from PET is closed by means of a split lid, the end of which is tapered to a point. Its hinge action means that it can be flipped up. The dish is sealed under the lid with a freshness membrane which, after flipping up the hinged lid, can be partially removed by means of a tab to free up an opening to dispense the goods. To reclose, the hinged lid is once again pressed down on to the edge of the dish where an audible click indicates that it is in place. An all-round paper label ensures that the surface of the snap lid is securely located on the container and also carries the retail data. www.samba-nuts.de Stevia as liquid sweetener 125ml of liquid sweetener on a stevia base is being bottled in a transparent PET bottle by borchers fine food GmbH / Germany. According to information from the manufacturer, the product is ideal for cooking and baking. Ten drops of the product are equal in terms of sweetening power to one teaspoonful of sugar. The handy bottle is sealed with a dispensing closure and topped with a metering cap. Prior to initial opening, the topmost segment of the dispenser tip will need to be removed so as to open up a discharge channel. A wrap around paper label completes the packaging. www.bff-feinkost.de/bff-steviafluessigsuesse-125-ml.html The green smoothie Innocent – the company name stands for smoothies and juices – recently launched a green smoothie under the name of “Unser Grüner“ (“Our green one”) on the market. The so-called “fruit for drinking” consists of a pressed apple, a few grapes, half a kiwi fruit, a slice of pineapple, a dash of lime juice, spinach and stinging nettle extract. This time they have dispensed with the frequently used banana as an ingredient. The product, with a content of 250ml, is bottled in the transparent PET bottle typical of the brand and featuring a coloured screw-on lid complete with tamper guarantee strip and a wraparound paper label. www.innocentdrinks.de Gerolsteiner with chai tea & pomegranate In April 2015 Gerolsteiner’s “moment“ product line underwent a relaunch. In addition to a change in product manufacturing technique and careful processing of the tea, the shape of the bottle and the size were simultaneously modified. The bottling process now includes the PET disposable bottle already in use at Gerolsteiner and containing750ml. The waisted bottle incorporates a plastic label and a coloured screw cap complete with brand name logo and tamper guarantee strip. www.gerolsteiner.de/de/mineralwasser-plus/moment","@ID":46}, "EDITOUR REPORT 10 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Nuremberg Milan Rome Naples Palermo Tunis Algiers Rabat Casablanca Marrakech Seville Madrid Lisbon Bologna Monastir Agadir Tangier Valencia Cordoba Bilbao Oporto Andorra La Vella Venice Turin Florence Messina Barcelona Zaragoza Spain Part 1 by Waldemar Schmitke The next stage of our Go to BrauBeviale Western Mediterranean round trip 2014 takes us to Spain. On our way from Barcelona to Seville we visit a PET stretch blow moulding machine manufacturer and PET converter whose main business is in Personal and Home Care applications. Spain, a constitutional monarchy under head of state King Felipe VI, since June 19, 2014, occupies a geographical location on the Iberian Peninsula in the South-West of Europe. Spain takes up 80% of the peninsula; the remaining 20% is accounted for by Portugal. In the north, Spain borders on France and Andorra. The Pyrenees form the natural border. The Balearic Islands of Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Morocco, along with the towns of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa, all form part of Spanish territory. Crisscrossing Spain are five big mountain chains; some 50% of the country is situated on a high plateau. The landscapes are extremely diverse, parts of these being dry and almost desert-like, whilst others are verdant and productive. In addition, there are the long coastal sections, the Mediterranean in the east reaching from the Pyrenees as far as Gibraltar, in the west the Atlantic the majority of the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula is, however, taken up by Portugal, as well as the Cantabrian Sea.","@ID":12}, "PETnews 6 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Dr. Frank Stieler appointed CEO of KraussMaffei Group The Supervisory Board of KraussMaffei Group GmbH appointed Dr. Frank Stieler as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Effective July 27, 2015, Dr. Stieler will succeed Jan Siebert, who has led the KraussMaffei Group since January 2012, and who is leaving at his own request. Dr. Stieler has more than twenty years of international experience in German industrial companies with a global presence, especially in machinery and systems engineering. He held top management positions, including at Lurgi (now known as Air Liquide Group), Siemens and Hochtief. At Siemens, Dr. Stieler shaped the Oil & Gas business unit, which under his leadership developed from a loss-making entity to a fast-growing and highly profitable division. Before Dr. Stieler was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board (CEO) of Hochtief AG, he consolidated various business units as a member of the company’s board of directors. www.kraussmaffeigroup.com Gebo Engineering Solutions combines all flows within and around packaging lines The packaging industry is complicated and getting more complex by the day, and manufacturers have to deal with the challenge of constantly developing both productivity and flexibility. In this fast-moving environment, the company Gebo Engineering Solutions takes a new approach in project management and plant design by combining and managing all flows within and around packaging lines including facility infrastructure, utilities, process, intralogistics, data management and industrial automation. The company provides project management (structured & standardised methods), plant design (preliminary & detailed studies) for both greenfield or brownfield projects. Gebo Engineering Solutions is an autonomous business unit of Gebo Cermex, a familiar name in the packaging industry with more than 50 years of experience in all aspects of packaging line design. Gebo Cermex has an extensive engineering expertise in terms of both design and project management. Gebo Engineering Solutions has four main centres based in France, Canada, Brazil and the Philippines and is supported by the international sales network of Gebo Cermex. www.gebo-engineering.com World Plastics Council supporting G-7 leaders marine litter action plan The World Plastics Council (WPC) welcomes that the leaders of the G-7, at their recent summit in Germany, have defined an action plan to reduce marine litter. The plastics industry is contributing several programmes to address this global challenge. One of these programmes is the Operation Clean Sweep which is currently being rolled out globally and along the value chain. WPC also welcomed that the G-7 leaders underlined the importance of improving countries’ systems for waste management, reducing waste generation, and encouraging reuse and recycling. Every kind of waste, regardless of the material it is consisting of, should be treated as a resource. Proper waste collection and management systems are indispensable. The newly formed World Plastics Council is a forum for industry leaders to accelerate cooperation and to deliver improved outcomes for the benefit of society and the global plastics industry. It contributes to solutions to the global marine litter challenge. For example, it is supporting action implementation initiatives like the global Marine Litter Solutions Coalition. Founded in 2011, this coalition is representing 60 associations in 34 countries and supporting more than 180 projects. www.plasticseurope.org www.plasticsconverters.eu www.euromap.org 3rd Injection, Blow-Moulding & PET International Conference 2015 in Mumbai The 3rd Injection, Blow-Moulding & PET International Conference 2015 will take place in Mumbai, India, on August 20 - 21, 2015. On the first day the conference will focus on injection moulding and cover material and product trends, and also the latest developments in injection moulding technology. The second day is dedicated to PET. Topics include innovations in PET packaging, opportunities in PET machinery for packaging and the latest developments in blow-moulding technology. www.eliteplus.co.in","@ID":8}, "PETpatents www.verpackungspatente.de 48 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Optimised bottom shape International Patent No. WO 2014 / 162088 A1 Applicant: Sidel Participations, Octeville-Sur-Mer (FR) Date of Application: 31.3.2014 In order to make a plastic bottle in PET lighter, a particular approach to shaping the bottom is essential. The bottom is “thicker” and fitted with reinforcing ribs at precisely those points where increased stiffness and/or stability are required. Double sealing membrane International Patent No. WO 2014 / 170215 A1 Applicant: S.A. des Eaux Minerales d’Evian SAEME, Evian-les-Bains (FR) Date of Application: 10.4.2014 The application proposes sealing a bottle made from PET with a foil and a reinforcement ring instead of a cap or screw closure. This enables savings in materials to be made as a result of omitting thread and screw closures. Bottom shape for hot filling International Patent No. WO 2014 / 170115 A1 Applicant: Krones AG, Neutraubling (DE) Date of Application: 28.3.2014 Plastic bottle that is designed and shaped for hot filling but at the same time takes into account the requirements of the marketing department for “not too high” shaped bottom so as to be pleasing to the eye and enabling attractive labelling to be attached. Rapid action closure Disclosure No. DE 102013007664 A1 Applicant: Helmut Obieglo, Düsseldorf (DE) Application date: 6.5.2013 The threads on the bottle and on the closure incorporate recesses to ensure rapid, problem-free fitting of the closure and sealing of the bottle. The closure is fitted and a minimum angle of rotation deployed to seal the bottle tightly. Handles for PET containers International Patent No. WO 2014 / 207614 A1 Applicant: René Wilhelm, Lütisburg (CH) Application date: 18.6.2014 Thin-walled and high volume PET bottles are inclined to become unstable or collapse as the fill quantity decreases. In the interests of improved handling, the use of a separately fabricated plastic strip attached to the container by sticking or welding or by means of a sleeve is proposed. This indirectly serves as a handle for grasping and holding the bottle. Lightweight container European Award of Patent No.EP 2582584 B1 Applicant: Sidel Participations, Octeville sur Mer (FR) Application date: 15.6.2011 A reduced weight plastic bottle made from PET with a reinforced bottom section is being awarded a European patent. The base section incorporates grooves aimed at maintaining adequate stability despite reduced wall thickness.","@ID":50}, "EVENT 37 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Faster growth than the sector average On the right-hand side Mr Klaus Siegmund, new CFO of Engel since April 1, 2015. Next to him f.l.t.r.: Mr Peter Neumann (CEO), Mr Christoph Steger (CSO) and Mr Stefan Engleder (CTO). MHT MOLD & HOTRUNNER TECHNOLOGY AG Your Machine - Our Solution German Technology On the occasion of the Engel Symposium, taking place every three years in Austria, the company presents its last years turnover figures. They achieved a new record turnover of 1,07 billion euros in the 2014/15 financial year that closed with the end of March. In comparison to the previous year, the injection moulding machine manufacturer and system provider based in Schwertberg, Austria, achieved an increase of 14%. For the new fiscal year, it is planned to make further investments in the company sites worldwide, in the distribution and service structures and also in the apprentice workshop. “Almost all regions have made a contribution to this success,” emphasises Dr Peter Neumann, CEO of the Engel Group. “The particularly dynamic regions also include North America and China. The spring events there – the NPE in March in Orlando, Florida, and the Chinaplas compared to local suppliers and benefit from this development.” This year, the company headquarters in Schwertberg, Austria is one area of focus for investments. To the south of the factory site, a new building is being constructed with a new apprentice workshop and more space for customer support. www.engelglobal.com in May in Guangzhou – have already confirmed the positive investment climate.” A growth rate of about 7% still makes China one of the most dynamic national economies, even if the growth is slowing. “We view this ‘new normal’ positively,” says Dr Christoph Steger, CSO at Engel. “The markets have reached a certain maturity. Quality is increasingly coming into focus. As an injection moulding machine manufacturer with particularly extensive expertise in technology, automation and system solutions, we have a competitive advantage","@ID":39}, "PETcontents 07+08/15 4 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net INSIDE TRACK 3 Editorial 4 Contents 6 News 40 Products 41 On site 44 PET bottles for Beverage + Liquid Food 46 PET bottles for Home + Personal Care 48 Patents BOTTLING / FILLING 24 Five times AirbackPlus for Japanese Asahi Group MARKET SURVEY 27 Suppliers of systems and moulds for the production of caps and closures for PET bottles CAPPING / CLOSURES 31 Bottles, preform, closures Different application, neck finishes for various, part 2 CONVEYING 34 Next level conveying PACKING / PALLETISING 35 Neat and tidy EVENTS 36 GWK moves into former Battenfeld building 37 Faster growth than the sector average TRADE SHOW REVIEW 38 Chinaplas 2015 impression BUYER’S GUIDE 49 Get listed! Page 30 EDITOUR REPORT 10 Spain, part 1 SPECIAL COLOURING / ADDITIVE 18 PET additives increase productivity and functional performance 19 Tailor-made colour concentrates MATERIAL / RECYCLING 20 Transparent container moulded of 100% PCR PET PET TO TALK 21 Coloured PET packaging hinders recycling PREFORM PRODUCTION 22 Injection system for gallon water bottle preforms 30 Preforms for carbonated soft drinks in Peru BOTTLE MAKING 23 From the broker right through to injection moulding Page 20 Page 37 PETadditives","@ID":6}, "PACKING / PALLETISING 35 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Neat and tidy Basic Packaging has been producing and supplying body cleansing as well as household, automotive and industry cleaning products in the lower price segment for many years. The bottling operation takes place using the company’s own stretch blowmoulded bottles. It all started in 1970 with cleaning products for swimming pools. This is how the company got into the cleaning products business. Their portfolio has now been extended to what today approximately 25 different products are packed into 12 different PET bottles. The majority of these are made up of the transparent PET bottles complete with a sprayer or a dispenser. The plant incorporates a proprietary bottling plant capable of bottling at up to 120 bottles a minute. The problem, however, is not the actual filling process but the automatic feeding and closure of the spray head. Here the tiniest, nonvisible deviations from the specification will mean that the machine will become blocked. Since 1997 the company has been producing the PET bottles itself on MAG stretch blow moulders. These include some of the few electrical MAG systems on the market. Although the machines have been out of production for five years now, they continue to run in-plant. In the bottling section the 15 million bottles per year are routed along the floor and they therefore have a relatively high level of pressure to withstand during filling from above. The top load therefore represents an intensive variable at Basic Packaging. However, weight optimisation of bottle design has still been possible here. Previously the bottle may have weighed 53g, but now the weight has now come down to 36g. An important step, because when it comes to cleaning products, the packaging costs can account for up to 90% of the finished product. www.basicpackaging.com F.l.t.r.: Mr Joe Ursino, Vice President Operations, Mr Michael Viggiani, Puchasing and Packaging Manager and Ms Loretta Romano, Owner family Premium Sponsor Sponsors","@ID":37}, "EVENT 36 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net GWK moves into former Battenfeld building Following 40 years of organic growth characterised by the need to undertake repeated extensions to buildings, GWK has now moved into the former Battenfeld Building in Meinerzhagen, Germany situated some 10km away. During the move they also succeeded in reorganising the production operation into a logical sequence corresponding to the various production stages. Adapting to the hillside location of the building, the plant features two production levels differing in height by 6m. Backing on to the Administrative Building level is the Service Department, with an annual capacity of 1,600 items of equipment. Behind this is where the manufacture of the individual components takes place. One important division is the welding shop where GWK has built up expertise in pressure vessel welding over many decades. When it comes to welds, the company’s production operation is capable of satisfying any certification criteria imaginable. The pressure vessels go into equipment with water-based temperature control systems in excess of 100°, oil-based temperature control systems and cooling systems. Adjuncts include further production stages including painting. Then comes the central interface between pre-production and assembly. This is in the form of a 6m high differential in the level of the assembly hall. All parts are transported into the lower level by means of a pallet conveyor system and a large hole in the floor. It is at this interface that all components and assembly units are brought together and prepared for the assembly points. It is only once everything is complete that the final unit is allowed to go down. In the old plant some of the fitters would already have made a start on the assembly work even if all the parts were not yet in stock, with the result that a number of items of equipment that were not finishmounted ended up occupying the few assembly areas available. Sometimes the fitters would “take it upon themselves” to get hold of parts they needed, something that invariably resulted in major chaos in the stores. Currently there are 65 2.5 metre wide assembly areas available in the assembly hall. These areas may also be grouped together depending on the size of the machinery. All machines are assembled inside the hall and not in different halls inside the plant as was formerly the case. This means more flexible utilisation of the assembly teams. Overall the new plant has already led to a speeding up of processing times. Employee efficiency is significantly higher than in the old plant and production planning is now considerably more efficient. But GWK have not been working solely on the production process. Things have been happening on the design front too. GWK has come a long way from the classic welded racks to metal sheets turned on their edges that only need riveting. This has helped to reduce the weight of the framework to one third of the original weight. www.gwk.com Dr. Michael Zaun, Director Technology, explains the simple analogue yet highly efficient info system at the assembly areas. The machine frames are now riveted instead of being welded, which means that GWK is able to save several tonnes of steel.","@ID":38}, "MATERIAL / RECYCLING 20 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net Transparent container moulded of 100% PCR PET About Method Founded in 2000, Method is the pioneer of premium planet-friendly and design-driven home, fabric and personal care products. Formulated with naturally derived, biodegradable ingredients, Method cleaners put the hurt on dirt without doing harm to people, creatures or the planet. Today, Method can be found in more than 40,000 retail locations throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Major national retailers include Target, Lowe’s Home Improvement Centers and Kroger. On August 1, 2013, Method reincorporated as a public benefit corporation, codifying that its corporate governance meets the highest standard of social and environmental ethics. Method is a privately held company, headquartered in San Francisco, California, USA. Method Products, renowned for eco-friendly household, fabric and personal care products, has expanded its liquid laundry offering, introducing its new 4x Concentrated Detergent product in a 1,5kg polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle containing 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) PET resin from Amcor Rigid Plastics. The sleek, transparent custom container, which is said to be deliver strong shelf appeal, is the industry’s first liquid laundry bottle made of 100% PCR PET. Well-known for its brightly coloured hand wash and all-purpose cleaning formulations showcased in clear PET bottles, Method has broken new ground in the liquid laundry detergent aisle, according to Joe Hunter, Director of packaging for Method. “This new PET offering in the liquid laundry segment resonates with the rest of our brand portfolio in hand wash and all-purpose cleaners,” said Hunter. “This is an important achievement in a market that has previously been predominately limited to opaque high-density polyethylene (HDPE) containers.” The new 4x concentrated liquid detergent complements Method’s existing portfolio of 8x concentrate liquid detergent which is packaged in 0,3-, 0,6-, and 0,8kg HDPE containers. Up until now, PET has struggled to enter the liquid laundry detergent market due to compatibility and colour stability issues. Amcor provided product compatibility testing with Method’s liquid formula product to ensure package stability on the store shelf. Amcor did initial testing on preforms, and further stability testing revealed no issues, according to Matt Lewis, Senior Development Engineer for Amcor Rigid Plastics. “Through our strong partnership with Method we have developed a long line of unique PET packages,” said Lewis. “We were able to again push the envelope and deliver an important advancement in bottle design, this time for the liquid laundry detergent market.” Amcor’s design engineering team worked closely with Method’s industrial design team to create a bottle with Method’s unique look which could be mental platform, to gain major sustainability benefits. “Among our primary business priorities is reducing the environmental impact of all our products,” explained Hunter. Analysis using Amcor’s ASSETTM life cycle assessment tool showed that by using 100% PCR resin, the package’s life cycle energy consumption is reduced by 78% and its carbon footprint is lowered by 35% versus a virgin PET alternative. Amcor claims to be a leader in advancing the use of PCR in a range of PET and HDPE packaging. The company incorporates varying percentages of PCR for other customers and is developing and securing reliable sources of the highest quality PCR plastics. www.methodhome.com www.amcor.com stretch blow moulded without a handle. The mould design created challenges due to the cross corner parting line split and functional ergonomic hand grips moulded on the back side of the bottle. This was overcome by a variable radius parting line that allowed the part to release from the blow mould with no plastic entrapment. The neck design also presented challenges due to the two-piece polypropylene (PP) pour spout and cup closure. The pour spout required orientation to the front of the bottle and once in that location could not be rotated by the removal of the pour cup. This was complicated because the PP closure was designed for an HDPE bottle. The lug design on the neck went through a series of design trials to find the best option. In addition, a small adjustment was made to the bottle’s shoulder height to accommodate the filling process. The 1,5kg container with 100% PCR PET enabled Method, which was founded in 2000 on a strong environ-","@ID":22}, "Toronto Québec New York Atlanta Orlando Chicago Denver Las Vegas Seattle Calgary Montréal Los Angeles San Francisco Vancouver Dallas New Orleans Phoenix Washington, D.C. Boston Detroit Halifax Kansas City Oklahoma City Albuquerque www.npe.petpla.net , / 0 Premium Sponsor Sponsors NPE 2015 - The North American Road Show Flushed with success (and a few surprises), we have now reached the end of the second part of our North American Road Show which has taken us from Texas northwards via Kansas and Utah as far as the sweltering south west. Having briefly weighed anchor just outside Phoenix, where the PETplanet crew have been able to take the opportunity of analysing their achievements and getting them all down on paper, as of the end of September the cry of “Ahoy there! Full steam ahead in search of more discoveries!” will once again go up. Captain Alexander Büchler himself will be personally setting the sails to windward for the final section of the tour and we are looking forward to exploring the world of PET and researching its special features on the west coast of the USA and Canada. Why not join us on the final section of this tour of North America in collaboration with the NPE Show when we expect to cover an overall distance of around 17,000 km! As always you will be able to accompany the crew interactively. Follow the complete tour on our weekly travel blog at npe.petpla.net and contact us if you would like us to arrange for our editors to make a detour and visit you at your own bottling plant, PET processing plant, closure cap production centre, material manufacture or recycling plant. YOU are our story. All aboard! Part 3 The worldwide round trip with","@ID":28}, "EDITOUR REPORT 14 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 07+08/15 petpla.net The facility has a fleet of 40 machines. 2 x Side stretch blow moulding machines (2-stage) 7 x injection moulding machines 25 x extrusion blow moulding machines with up to 4 blow moulding stations made in Spain 2 x injection blow moulding machines with 12 cavities Assembly lines for complete containers (for instance with closures) Mr Fernando Sirera, Commercial Director On the two Side 2-stage linear stretch blow moulding machines, PET containers from 100ml to 1l are produced for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, detergents and foodstuffs. One product typical of these machines is 250ml pregnancy testing kits. The installation includes machines in two sizes, one with a blow moulding station and a capacity of 1,400 containers an hour whilst the second machine has two blow moulding stations which can handle up to 2,500 containers an hour. Fernando Sirera discussed some of the challenges facing the company: “With 100% domestic sales, we are facing an increasing challenge due to a declining market and dwindling buying power. We would not have thought that there would be any need for us to think about direct exports. Traditionally we are geared to the domestic market and now need to explore other avenues and put some effort into direct export. That we are growing despite this is due to the fact that the majority of our customers export. We are a small firm and can only adopt a step-by-step approach. This is why we have started to focus on export markets, in particular France and Italy. In spite of the situation in Spain it remains for us an important market where we are well established. Currently, there are signs of a revival of demand here in Spain, although everything is very short term and very cautious, sometimes even unrealistic. Before the financial crisis hit, for example, 20,000 containers would be ordered, although only 10,000 were actually needed. Today our customers are ordering precisely 10,000 containers and the order is only increased at the last minute if demand is there. This plays havoc with forward planning”. Fernando Sirera explained the implications for their business. “For us, this means we have to be flexible enough to react to short-term requirements. The markets are simply not thinking long-term. Helping us to do this are, increasingly, 2-stage PET stretch blow machines that can be more flexibly deployed than single-stage equipment and which are sometimes also able to manufacture more cheaply. We also have to search the market for the correct preforms, and at the moment that means Poland, Germany, France and Spain”. And what about the future? “We shall be increasing our efforts to identify more export opportunities. But we will also be looking at increasing flexibility, for instance through the extended use of 2-stage stretch blow moulding machines. A further point is the expansion of project business incorporating complete packaging solutions since, when it comes to spatial considerations, we are well provided for here”, Fernando Sirera concluded. Following a tour of the works we thank our hosts for the interview and resume our journey in the direction of Madrid. www.pfptermopolimeros.com Wide neck containers in PET for foodstuffs Farmaplas s.l. | May 14, 2014 We met: Mr. Justo Antonio Yanez Vega, General Manager En route from Barcelona to Seville we stop off at Fuenlabrada (Madrid). Here we visit Messrs. Farmaplas, a manufacturer of plastic containers destined predominantly for the foodstuffs and cosmetics industries. The General Manager, Mr. Justo Antonio Yanez Vega, has agreed to make himself available for interview. Farmaplas, a family concern set up in 1982, today employs 100 people and has a turnover of approximately €20m. According to Justo Antonio Yanez Vega, the total plant capacity is 365mil containers a day at 90% efficiency. The factory premises extend to a total of 9,000m2, 4,000m2 of which are taken up by the production area. Of this, 1,300m2 are assigned to PET applications. PET, HDPE, PP and, in small quantities, PVC too are processed. The lion’s share in terms of quantity goes to PET with 65%. The area of application for PET containers lies predominantly in the foodstuffs sector, home and body care applications such as, for example, mayonnaise, instant coffee, water, soap dispenser, washing up liquid and wine.","@ID":16},
