PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2011

PET news 6 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 11/11 www.petpla.net Bericap in Argentina Bericap founded Bericap Argentina SA in Buenos Aires. The new plant will cooperate with Bericap Brazil Ltda and will increase the companie’s presence in South America where Bericap produces since 1998. Production start for manufacturing the DoubleSeal Supershorty suitable to PCO 1881 is planned for January 2012. www.bericap.com More PET with fewer Watts As part of of an industrial research project the SKZ (South German Plastics Centre, Würzburg, Germany) is compar- ing the energy consumed by a range of recycling processes in preparing ground stock for PET bottles. The individually measured consumption figures are handled on a confidential basis, whilst the spectrum of results provides the participat- ing companies with a sector-based comparison and promotes the closer consideration of strengths and pinpoints the poten- tial for optimisation. Interested companies are still able to join in the recently launched project.During PET processing, man- ufacturing costs as well as profit are significantly influenced by the cost of raw materials. Reducing material usage where PET bottles are concerned is largely irrelevant toda ; there are only a few available options concerning cost reduction. One of the most promising of these is energy efficiency. The manufacturers of PET recycling systems have already achieved energy savings using case-specific tech- nological approaches. The resulting savings potential is comprehensively portrayed in product information literature and trade articles. An independent energy-based comparison of the procedures used to achieve an objective and repro- ducible measuring scheme has as yet, however, not been forthcoming. The primary aim of the project now initiated by SKZ is the energy-based analysis of different PET recycling processes. With this the system manufacturers will, for the first time, have access to an independent, objective data and assessment principle. It will enable each participating com- pany to classify its own process within the branch spectrum on the basis of energy usage. The detailed measuring results may also be used as a basis for further optimisation in terms of energy efficiency. In the first phase of the project, agreement is reached with all participants on the control room and the specifications for ground stock and/or PET qualities for the processes to be examined. The subsequent measurements consist of the incorporation of electrical, thermal and pneumatic energy in the industrial production cycle. One method of guaranteeing process comparability is by analysing the material samples in accordance with the agreed specifications. The assessment is individually prepared and presented for each company. The SKZ is inviting interested companies to join the recently launched project. www.skz.de Petainer’s prize-winning keg The Petainer Keg, a family of lightweight beverage containers manufactured in recyclable PET and designed for one-way use, has received ‘Obal Roku 2011’, the packaging award in a competition organised by Syba, the Czech Packaging Institute. The keg has also been shortlisted for a special prize to be awarded by Ing. Jana Lukešová, the head of the competition judging panel. The winner will be announced on November 23, 2011 at Packaging Gala evening in Prague. The Obal Roku award was given to the Petainer Keg in the ‘transport and packaging technology’ category. The keg is designed to be an environmentally-friendly and cost-effective alterna- tive to metal kegs for draught beverages. Once empty and de-pressurised, it can be easily crushed and put into the recycling bin with other recyclable plastics containers. It is available in 15l, 20l, 30l and 40l sizes. www.petainer.com Krones targets record in 2011 and increased turnover in 2012 Krones AG, the global beverage filling and packag- ing technology manufacturer, has reported that its sales rose by 14.6% in the first three quarters of 2011 compared to the same period in 2010, to €1,814.2million. Demand rose in all major sales regions, with the highest rates of increase in Asia, South America and Russia. Order bookings rose by 17.0%, from 2010’s €1,617.7million to €1,892.7million and order backlog at the end of Septem- ber stood at €987.3m (2010: €923.2m). Profitability in the period under review showed a significant improvement, reflecting market growth in the newly industrialising coun- tries. Earnings before taxes (EBT) in the first nine months of 2011 rose from €47.0million in 2010 to €84.1million, making the EBT margin 4.6 % (2010: 3.0 %). Krones earned €59.3million (2010: 31.9 m) from January to Sep- tember. Earnings per share were €1.97, against 2010’s €1.05. Krones’ business has not, so far, been affected by the deterioration in economic prospects, in Europe and the USA in particular; it is approaching its target of increasing sales by more than 10% over 2010 and exceeding 2008’s record figure of around €2,381million. In order to help it achieve its medium-term targets the company has expanded its workforce, including significant hiring of skilled temporary staff. While this is expected to impact earnings in the short term, Krones AG’s Execu- tive Board anticipates that results in 2011 as a whole will show significant improvement over the preceding year, with pretax return on sales of about 5%. The company maintains that its business is not heavily dependent upon on economic cycles. It expects to increase earnings in all business segments in 2012 and to generate pre-tax total return on sales of around 7%. www.krones.com