PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2011

NEWS 7 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 07+08/11 www.petpla.net A global player with special focus on health - 80 years of natural food ingredients Wild was founded in 1931 as a family business, when company founder Rudolf Wild was working on the revolu- tionary idea of producing soft drinks without the addition of synthetic ingredients. In 1951, he achieved a break- through with “Libella”, the first ever carbonated soft drink made entirely of natural ingredients. The product portfolio was extended to fruit preparations, fruit flavours, and later also natural colours, herbal, tea and plant extracts. This year Wild is celebrating its 80 th anniversary; the company employs around 530 staff worldwide and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of natural ingredients for the food and beverage industries. Products for a healthy diet The global trend towards natural foods is on the rise. Food constituents that can improve productivity and health will play an important role in future. Around a decade ago, the company was one of the first companies to introduce products offering additional health benefits, like antioxi- dants which, in high doses, are known to boost the immune system. Their health-promoting effects have been scientifi- cally proven in clinical tests. The company’s portfolio also includes other plant extracts and substances which support the different metabolic processes. The gains must be measurable In future it will be essential to convince the consumer about a healthier nutrition. It is not enough for aAny new food or drink merely to promise to be health-promoting. The company is convinced that there has to be a proven, measurable effect. Wild has come up with a new tagline “Measurable Health”, and this will serve as a basis for research and development of verifiably healthy foods. The company is now working with researchers from various col- leges and universities to investigate the effects of prom- ising substances. In China for instance, the company is testing the high potential of “Traditional Chinese Medicine” (TCM) at its own production site. Stevia – the natural sweetener from South America The use of natural sweeteners which can be extracted from Stevia rebaudiana is also currently under investigation at Wild. Commonly known as sweetleaf and sugarleaf, this South American plant provides an extract that is several times sweeter than sugar. Stevia has a long tradition of use as a sweetener in Asia but in the European Union, with minor exceptions, its use is banned. However, the positive rating by the food safety authorities suggests that approval for use in the EU is on the horizon. The product develop- ers at Wild have already created various concepts based on stevia, and the company is ready to serve the market as soon as approval of the natural sweetener has been given. www.wildflavo rs.com DAK Americas acquires Wellman PET business in USA DAK Americas LLC has announced that it will be acquiring the PET business of Wellman, Inc. for approxi- mately US$ 185 million, including a cash payment and the assumption of certain liabilities. The acquisition is expected to complete in the second half of 2011, pending regulatory approval. The acquisition includes Wellman’s production facilities in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, which has a production capacity of approximately 950 million lbs/a (approx 430 million kg/a) of PET resin and a workforce of approximately 165 people. DAK Americas, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is wholly owned by Alfa S.A.B. de C.V. of Monterrey, Mexico. It is one of the largest integrated pro- ducers of PET Resin in the world and the main producer of polyester staple fibre in the Americas. www.dakamericas.com Appe invests £1.5 million in Krones ProShape Appe, the packaging division of LSB, is seeking to increase its output and flexibility, following its investment of around £1.5m in the newly-developed ProShape pro- duction process from Krones. Appe is the first operator to install ProShape. The machine is now in operation at Appe’s site at Gresford, UK, which supplies clients in the household and personal care sectors. The new ProShape module is integrated into Krones’ current Contiform series and combines its established blow-moulding technology with a new module for orientation and selective tempera- ture control of the preforms. ProShape is claimed to offer an optimised production process for oval or asymmetrical containers, as well as the potential for light-weighting of oval packs and the production of unusual designs. Krones says that ProShape’s output is around 40% higher than standard blow moulding machines. The Contiform S8 installed at Appe’s plant has eight cavities with an output of up to 2,000 bottles/hr each, depending on container design and complexity. The system can be switched from the preferential heating and neck orientation process to a standard blowing mode. www.krones.com Repi opens Russian subsidiary Italian company Repi S.p.A., which produces liquid colorants and additives for plastics and polyurethanes, has opened its own company in Moscow, Russia. The company has had a presence in the Russian market for 12 years and its own representative office in the country for the past five years. Repi supplies customers in Russia with colorants and additives for PET preforms, as well as promoting its basic colorant technology for the extrusion of PVC profiles and panels, and other polymer-related activities. The new com- pany will provide the growing market in Russia with local service, technical support and just-in-time deliveries from its Moscow warehouse. www.repi.ru