PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2010

REGIONAL MARKET REPORTS 24 PET planet insider Vol. 11 No. 10/10 www.petpla.net France do not only compete, but also cooperate with each other - when it makes sense technically, financially and for the customer’s interest. Latest developments at PDG have been on: Ultra-light preforms (2.4g, 6,0g,8.0g),  short 29/25 neck, light barrier and recycled PET  An outstanding PET application at PDG is “Prelactia”, which is an innovative technology for over moulding of pre- forms to produce bottles with an effective light barrier.. For this application Netstal developed in cooperation with PDG a 24 cavity preform production system for milk bottles. PETplanet has reported on Prelactia in PETplanet Insider issue No 5, 2008. Prelactia preforms for milk bottles Due to the material properties PDG claim the following advantages for “Prelactia”: Pure white bottles … 100% light barrier.  The two layers mean that the use of additives can be  reduced to 50% and even more compared with mono- layer solutions. Weight reduction up to 30% (monolayer needs an ade-  quate bottle wall thickness for light barrier). Novapet Dairy 2C (additives used in the polymerization  process) Cooperation and development with additives suppliers for the use of different kinds of resin everywhere in the world: ColorMatrix (liquid) light and oxygen barrier (same  oxygen barrier performance as a 6 layer HDPE bottle) Holland Colours - master batch supplier.  10% faster cycle time thanks to sequential injection  compared with the monolayer solution. Despite all advantages the question referring to recycla- bles must still be addressed. Valorplast as well as APPE in Beaune had reservations, since the white post-consumer milk bottles could - so far - not be used for bottle-to-bottle applications due to the white and black colouring. The 5-year perspective Asked about PDG in 5 years time we received a cau- tious answer. Francois Desfretier: “We consider ourselves to be one of the most ambitious and demanding players in the market. Strong in terms of innovation rather than in overall size. Fair economic size is important, because economy supports people. A stable team to stand together, a stable, democratic, multifunctional unit with a strong feel- ing of unity.” With those ethics PDG are well prepared to support their customers. March 24, 2010 Sidel in Le Havre Sidel – changing from a French to a multi- national company. Bertrand Guillet, Communication Group Vice President, Sidel Sidel was there at the beginning and since that time has always had a major influence on the direction taken by PET. We met : Bertrand Guillet – Communication Group Vice President. In Le Havre they call it “the campus” – a green and grassy area over rolling hills on the outskirts of the town. In amongst the idyllic scenery the architects have erected structures of steel and glass, which house Sidel’s design and development, sales and customer services, laboratories, administration and finance depart- ments. Moulds are manufactured and blowers assem- bled. The campus concept dates back to the end of the 1990s and was constructed at that time. It was inau- gurated in 1998 and today still looks futuristic. And although now more than 10 years old it symbolises the changes at Sidel. The emphasis is not only on functional machine manufacturing but is also on professional serv- ice, on consultation of - and advice to - the PET markets. An atmosphere of environmental well-being, which is created by the campus, is a welcome by-product, but is also considered as a precondition for top performance and achievement. With Bertrand Guillet we toured the campus, spoke with the divisional managers in person and in conference calls, so creating and confirming the overall impression of this globally active company.