PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2010

REGIONAL MARKET REPORTS 11 PET planet insider Vol. 11 No. 04/10 www.petpla.net As early as 1974 the company founder, Salah Al Aquah, was selling, for his own account, single-stage Nissei ASB machines. In 1982 they were used to produce the first PET jars and thus Salah Al Aquah produced the first PET containers in Egypt. Even today he still supplies jars and bottles from 0.125l up to 20l for a very wide range of applications. In 1992 he established his El Aquah Group of Companies, where a key element of the business was the supply of preforms and bottles for the edible oil market. Today his empire includes eight companies making pre- forms, bottles resins and other plastic products. He pro- duces preforms and bottles for non-beverage applications and 450 million preforms for the beverage sector, of which 50% is for the CSD market. His business with the CSD market is growing by an above-average 30% per annum. Every year he has bought a preform system - each with 72 cavities. In 2007 it was an Engel, in 2008 and 2009 it was Husky, and for 2010 another Husky is on the way in order to be able to respond to the growing demand. For the relatively near future he sees the adoption of the light- weight PCO 1881, especially for 1l and 2l bottles. For three years his son Karim Al Aquah has worked with him in the business. As a trained electronics and tele- communications engineer his main task was to ensure that all aspects of the steadily growing business were operating in line with the latest technological standards. If he meets his old college friends they tend to talk about telecommuni- cation. He, on the other hand, is now more concerned with things like PCO and IV. His father now devotes more time to customer contacts. Hence father and son make a really well-rounded team. Coca-Cola North and West Africa Ehab Afifi, Technical Operations Manager Alexander Büchler (left) and Ehab Afifi, Technical Operations Manager Coca-Cola North and West Africa, talking about the new 0.4l Coca-Cola bottle. The meeting was organised by Sherif El Bakary, Manager of Sidel S.A.S. Coca-Cola in Egypt The Coca-Cola bottler in Egypt has recently introduced the 0.4l PET bottle. We spoke with Ehab Afifi, Technical Operations Manager Coca-Cola North and West Africa, about the background to this project. PETplanet: Mr Ehab Afifi, you are the person responsi- ble for the technical aspects of bottling Coca-Cola in North and West Africa where the introduction of the PET bottle is concerned, are you not? Mr Ehab Afifi: That’s not exactly true. I have to look after all of the technical aspects, including glass and can filling. PETplanet: So what is the main focus of your work? Mr Ehab Afifi: We support the bottlers mainly in envi- ronmental matters - how they can save water and reduce energy consumption, not only in the filling operation but also in the management offices or down the beverage dis- tribution chain. PETplanet: Were environmental concerns the reasons that Coca-Cola introduced the 0.4l bottle? Mr Ehab Afifi: The reason has more to do with changes in consumer demand. There have been lifestyle changes and single-trip is the main driver now. And by single-trip I mean PET and cans. PETplanet: You offer CSDs in 0.4, 1.0, 1.5 and 2l PET containers. Which size is the most popular? Mr Ehab Afifi: Good question! PETplanet: With the newly-introduced 0.4l bottle the product has a shelf-life of 3 months. Which barrier technol- ogy do you use to achieve this shelf life? Mr Ehab Afifi: We are using our technology that has been tried and tested in South Africa. The monolayer PET package comes at a solid 28.7g with a properly stretched side wall providing an acceptable level of barrier for such a size container – quality control and consistent processes being the basis. At the moment we are importing preforms from there. PETplanet: And what about the introduction of the light- weight PCO 1881 at Coca-Cola? Mr Ehab Afifi: That is ultimately a decision for the bot- tlers. We, for our part, do back the new cap. It saves mate- rial and energy. PETplanet: Does that mean that you also provide financial backing to support the necessary investment in new tooling? Mr Ehab Afifi: No, not that. Each company has to make its own investment. The converter in new tooling, and the bottler in the required changes to his filling line. At the end of the day they will all win. We want to be Number 1 in terms of environmental factors and energy savings. PETplanet: What is the situation with regard to bottle- to-bottle recycling? From an environmental point of view this is a major factor. Mr Ehab Afifi: Certainly. Our parent company in Atlanta has made great strides in this area, but we mustn’t forget the Egyptian viewpoint. I don’t believe that Egyptians would accept beverage packaging made from “trash”. We can argue as long as we want from a theoretical point of view, but ultimately the people won’t accept it. PETplanet: Many thanks for your time Mr. Afifi.