PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2011

REGIONAL MARKET REPORTS 9 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 01+02/11 www.petpla.net Despite an intimate knowledge of the monthly figures her contribution to the company indeed does not seem to be tight control, but rather giving direction and formulating the strategy of Retal France. And the strategy is: “Differen- tiation. We are different in comparison to the large preform producers. Our prime focus is on multi-layer. Our markets are growing, especially for juices and vegetable drinks. We are working at full capacity. In fact our capacity is over- booked. We are able to be selective. We can afford to turn down unreasonable orders.” It is a clear, well-defined strat- egy with a future orientation. History There are good reasons why Retal France is today located in St. Alban, and in particular next to the producer and bottler of Eaux Minérales St. Alban. The founder of the company, the Belgian Gust Gysen, placed the first blow- ing machine, and later an injection moulding machine, in-house at Eaux Minérales St. Alban in the 1996s. With addition of new injection equipment, he decided in 2001- 2002 to build his own factory, also in St Alban. In 2003 multi-layer was started, when the first Husky/ Kortec system was purchased and put into operation. In 2007, the company was sold to the Russian-Ukrainian Retal, which at that time was expanding into the European Union. In same year Philip Blonda was installed as manag- ing director. In 2008 Philip Blonda left and Valerie Mure took the managing director’s chair. Product and Production In 2009  Preform production in total 380 million preforms  Multi-layer preforms 230 million preforms  Mono-layer preforms 150 million performs In 2010, with added capacity:  Preform production in total 500 million preforms  Multi-layer preforms 320 million preforms  Mono-layer preforms 180 million preforms As Retal’s market is rapidly growing, one more co-injec- tion system is in the budget for next year Resin used: 15,000t of virgin PET annually. Supplied mainly by NeoPET (from the Retal group), and also by NovaPET (Spain). Retal sales: 80% into France, 6% to Germany, minor percentages to Spain, Turkey, and others. Customers for mono-layer preforms include Coca-Cola and Danone. Customers for multi-layer include Badoit (red) and Perrier, Joker. Annual sales € 23 million of which 90% is in preforms, 10% in caps. Preforms are the core busi- ness. The closure business was acquired with the company. Employment: 35 people of which 28 are in production. Equipment For closures:  4 Husky machines (24 to 48 cavities)  Capacity in 2009: 450,000,000 caps/a  Sales in 2009: 350,000,000 caps/a For preforms:  4 Husky/Kortec systems (48 to 72 cavities)  1 Husky system (96 cavities)  Capacities see above. Valerie Mure considered the years between 2003 and 2008 to have been difficult years in the business, since the machines and the factory were leased. Ever since then the situation has eased and, with the pay-back and amortisa- tion almost complete, Retal France strives to have a bright future. Bericap in Dijon “Our biggest market is that for car- bonated beverages with 28mm neck finish” Dominique-Paul Vallée, CEO and Managing Director Bericap France We met: Dominique-Paul Vallée, CEO and Managing Director Bericap France Overall, there would appear to have been only a limited increase in the quantity of packaged beverages in France over the past few years. As a result, the bottlers are con- sistently being forced to promote their own brand at the Point of Sale by constantly introducing new products. In the final analysis this also affects manufacturers of sealing caps who need to supply what is, for the French market, an unusually high number of different neck finishes and different closure styles. We visited Bericap in France and spoke with Mr. Dominique-Paul Vallée, CEO and Managing Director PETplanet: Mr Vallée, around 3/4 of your turnover here in France is accounted for by caps for the beverages indus- try. What are the key sectors? Mr Vallée: Our biggest market is that of carbonated beverages (waters and soft drinks) with 28mm neck finish, with almost half of this segment converted now to the lightweight DoubleSeal SuperShorty PCO 1881. The next most important sector is the water sector; this, for exam-