PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2010

REGIONAL MARKET REPORTS 11 PET planet insider Vol. 11 No. 01+02/10 www.petpla.net to medium sized businesses, but does not shy away from the giants in the beverage sector. Whilst Lidl, the big dis- counters, produce their own preforms, and BUQ who fill for the discounters also make preforms, Alpla is producing prEforms and bottles for several German companies filling for major discount retailers. Clients who have their pre- forms or bottles produced in-house by Alpla appear satis- fied with price and quality. Certainly no customers have as yet cancelled a contract in order to produce themselves or to buy on the open preform market. Which at last brings us to the specific subject of the German market - according to Alpla, German consum- ers are highly conscious of quality and price. For Alpla as a supplier that means, for instance, that water bottles not only have to contain an AA blocker but also that the client is prepared to pay the extra cost. Alpla also see the high quality demands by German consumers in their reaction to articles published in con- sumer test magazines, such as the “Stiftung Warentest”. If a mineral water or some other packaged beverage achieves a low score in a product comparison test then it will be almost unsaleable in Germany. Such a strong reac- tion is not seen in other countries. So with regard to quality the filling companies are very nervous, but they are normally reassured by suitable attes- tations and certificates. However, if anything were to go wrong the responsibility would rest with the supplier at the beginning of the chain - i.e. to Alpla. Despite stringent safety requirements set down by the filling companies the German market uses the light- est weight bottles. This may be in part due to the unusu- ally high carbonation levels of up to 7 or 8 grams of CO 2 common in Germany, which produces a high internal pres- sure and in turn gives the package a high degree of inher- ent stability. Despite the low bottle weights Alpla have still not added the 1881 to their standard range. Apart from a few “in- house” situations, where the 1881 is already being used, the market for small and medium sized bottlers has not yet developed that far. The investment required in converting the whole filling line is still too high relative to the achiev- able cost savings. In addition to water and CSD the other food and beverage sectors are also of course important at Alpla. In the beverage market they supply mul- tilayer aseptic bottles for juices, which are supplied to the premium sector. The dairy business is also very promising. Because the distribu- tion chain - once again in particular the discount retailers - is constantly pushing down the sales price of fresh and long-life milk, PET packaging for milk in Germany is not economically realistic. However the situation is different with higher priced yoghurts and mixed dairy drinks where, with the support of Alpla, there is a large amount of PET pack- aging in the 0.1 litre to 0.75 litre market. Smoothies, with a 38mm neck finish are making significant advances. Overall Alpla expects no real change in consumer tastes in Germany which would have an impact on other PET packaging. The main changes are expected to be seen as a result of legal requirements - principally changes to the Packaging Ordinance. The environmental studies currently being carried out should in fact present the single trip PET bottle in a more ecologically favourable light. For the same reason Alpla sees a negative impact on the use of PLA. If the whole production chain, including crop culti- vation, is considered the consumption of primary energy is very high. PET-Verpackungen GmbH Deutschland The first documentary evidence mentioning Wiegand as a glass processor dates back to 1540. Since then the family was involved in the German glass industry. Today Wiegand-Glas supplies glass containers and other glass specialities for the food industry. In 1997 the Wiegands decided to invest in PET despite the fact that they were still one of the leading glass suppliers to the filling indus- try. They had recognised by that time that PET would ultimately drive out the glass bottle for CSD and water in Germany. Today, at Wiegand-Glas only a very few mineral water glass bottles are still produced and the company has grown to the market leader in the produc- tion of wine bottles. The new company set up to produce PET preforms and bottles was given a new name: PET- Verpackungen GmbH Deutschland. Initially the new business grew at a rapid pace. Each year they doubled the number of machines that they oper- ated. PET-Verpackungen concentrated on the produc- The Alpla Board of Executives: F.l.t.r. Nicolas Lehner, CCO, Günther Lehner, CEO, and Georg Früh, CFO In addition to water and CSD the other food and beverage sectors are also important at Alpla