PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2011

NEWS 8 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 09/11 www.petpla.net Sacmi delivers its 1000 th CCM machine The 1000 th Sacmi-built CCM (Continuous Compres- sion Moulding) machine for plastic beverage cap produc- tion of has been delivered to Taiwan’s beverage packaging giant, Taiwan Hon Chuan (THC). CCM number 1000 was officially handed over to the President of THC, Keith H. C. Dai, and the General Manager of the South-East Asia area, Jerry W.P. Pai in a special ceremony held at Sac- mi’s facility in Imola, Italy. The machine, which has been specially renamed ‘1000 CCM’, will be installed at one of THC’s plants. The company operates in a number of Far Eastern countries and already has over 60 Sacmi-built production lines, totalling some 200 machines plus auxil- iary equipment. THC has annual revenues in the region of €500 million. www.sacmi.com San Benedetto, Scorzè plant, selects Sacmi-RFST technology San Benedetto, the Italian mineral water, isotonic, aseptic and soft drinks company has installed a Sacmi RFST (roll-fed sleeve technology) automatic rotary labelling machine at its Italian plant in Scorzè, Venice. The machine features a laser welding system, which Sacmi says allows strong sealing and high shrink applications of wrap-around labels directly from roll-fed film and eliminates solvents, glues and other agents from sealing. Labels are created and applied directly onto the bottles in a single process that is claimed to increase effi- ciency and save on materials and energy. San Benedetto’s Opera 500 45T RFST machine at Scorzè applies steam-heat shrunk wrap-around plastic film labels on 250ml PET bottles for water and tea, at rates of up to 45,000bph. www.sacmi.it Final testing and commissioning for Artlant PTA plant The €500 million Artlant PTA plant in Sines, Portugal is entering its final testing and commissioning phase. The plant is one of the largest industrial projects in Portugal. It will have a production capacity of 700,000t of PTA (purified terephthalic acid), which is used as feedstock in the produc- tion of PET and in the manufacture of polyester fibres for the textile market. The commissioning process will take three months and will involve testing of 200 systems, 105 of which are for the industrial processes and the balance are infrastructural. Production is expected to commence in Q4 2011, with annual value estimated to be €400 million at current prices. The Sines plant will provide around 400 jobs, direct and indirect. Output will be 95% for export, primar- ily to European markets and with some production being shipped to Africa, the CIS, Baltic States, the Middle East, India and Brazil. www.artlantpta.com Colormatrix opens new global technology centre Liquid colorants and additives producer, ColorMatrix, has opened its new global technology centre at its Euro- pean headquarters in Merseyside, NW England. The million GBPound investment will house a new suite of instruments for material analysis and product testing, including major expansion to the spectroscopy and microscopy analysis laboratory. An FT-IR spectrometer, X-ray fluorescence spec- trometer and a colour spectrophotometer will enable the highest levels of quality control and materials characterisa- tion. It accommodates dedicated laboratories for product development, plastic processing and testing, gas barrier evaluation, spectroscopy, microscopy and separation science and technology. The Global Technology Centre operates in tandem with a network of regional facilities to support local manufacturers in product commercialisation. This expansion follows a $250,000 upgrade of laboratory facilities with new gas barrier testing and UV spectrophotometry at the Suzhou site in China. The capacity of the Itupeva plant in Brazil has also been increased, fourfold. www.colormatrix.com Kreyenborg Group opens ASEAN office The Kreyenborg Group, of Munster, Germany, has opened a new office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The new office, which is company-owned, will focus on sales and after sales service in the ASEAN region. Focus will be directed primarily to customers in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Kreyenborg provides components and machinery for extrusion and polymerisa- tion. Its products include screen changers, gear pumps, pelletising systems and bulk material handling compo- nents, as well as automation technology. www.kreyenborg-group.com Amcor Rigid Plastics president retires Bill Long, President of Amcor Rigid Plastics, has retired from Amcor. Mike Schmitt has been appointed the new President of Amcor Rigid Plastics, effective July 1,2011. Mike Schmitt joined Amcor through the Alcan Packaging acqui- sition, where he was president of the Food Americas and Global Pharmaceutical business. For the past 18 months, he has been the Senior Vice President and General Manager, North America for Amcor Rigid Plastics. www.amcor.com