PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2011

NEWS 11 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 03/11 www.petpla.net Coca-Cola China award for Husky Husky Injection Molding Systems was presented with the Best Innovation Award at Coca-Cola China’s Supplier Sustain- ability Summit, which took place in Shanghai, China, November 23-24, 2010. The award was for the development of Husky’s EcoBase preform, which helped Coca-Cola China in its devel- opment of lightweighting initiatives. Coca-Cola China used the summit, attended by nearly 150 representatives, to present its 2020 Vision to suppliers, which focuses on addressing sustain- ability, environmental and social issues. www.husky.ca www.thecoca-colacompany.com Gabriel-Chemie Group expands in Russia Gabriel-Chemie Group’s Russian subsidiary, Gabriel- Chemie-Rus-2, which has production facilities approximately 80km SW of Moscow in Dorokhovo, has completed a number of projects that have increased production capacity from 1,000t to 2,500t. During 2011, capacity will again be increased, to 5,000t. The company has also invested in lab equipment and has increased its Russian-manufactured product range of white masterbatches and additives. Gabriel-Chemie-Rus-2 has appointed anew sales director, Dmitry Grigoriev, a new plant manager, Yury Gribanov, and continues to invest in developing its Russian personnel, with training at Group production sites in Austria, Germany and at other plants. www.gabriel-chemie.com Long-term trends re-emerge in new beverage packaging report Beverage industry information specialist Canadean’s latest special interest report, ‘Innovation in Beverage Packaging 2010’, indicates that the global economic down- turn, financial squeeze, volatile raw material prices and declining consumer spending has resulted in a slowdown or complete reversal of longer term beverage packag- ing design trends. The focus shifted strongly towards cost and cost-related factors, such as materials reduction and improvements in line efficiency, filling techniques and cost-effectiveness. As some countries began to emerge from recession during 2010, longer-term trends towards increased use of added-value and convenience features, more sophisticated packaging materials, smaller ‘on- the-go’ packs and more elaborate shapes, designs and prints, reflecting economic, demographic and consumer- led changes, have re-emerged. The last two years have seen discount retailers gain market share from supermar- kets, who have responded by extending their own ranges towards the ‘value’ end of the market. Key global trends include continued PET growth in most beverage catego- ries, including refillable PET gaining share in carbonates and packaged water; increased use of hot-fill PET for nectars and juices; a general shift to lighter, more flexible packages and pouches; and greater emphasis on environ- mental issues. China is now the biggest single source of packaging demand and consumption, with other emerging markets beginning to take off strongly. www.canadean.com