PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2012

NEWS 8 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 07+08/12 www.petpla.net PETtalk Sao Paulo - first South America polyester conference The Polyester Recycling Forum, which presents the latest PET recycling technology from Europe and the USA around the world, held its 19 th event in South America – the first time it has visited the continent. PETtalk Sao Paolo took place in the Brazil- ian city June 11-12,, 2012. The event, which was organised by PET Recycling Forum (PRF) in cooperation with AbiPET, the Brazil Industry Organization of PET producers, converters and recyclers, attracted 247 representatives from over 130 compa- nies and 21 countries. Presentations on the market were made by PCI, CMAI, Canadean and Nous Consulting; and on PET production by M&G and Petrochimica Suape. Arpet, Bepex, Buehler, Gneuss, Herbod Meckesheim, Krones, S+S SeSoTec shared experiences and information on recycling, while Oer- likon-Neumag and Truetzschler made presentations on spinning and Bericap, Colormatrix, Husky, Piovan and Plastipack hosted sessions on packaging. Coca-Cola and Heineken presented brand owner perspectives. Nous Consulting presented the results of a survey of more than 400 companies on PET recy- cling cross Brazil. Polyester bottle collection growth has aver- aged 5.6% over the last five years but PET recycling develop- ment is still restrained, with a recycling rate of 57.1% in 2011. The number of PET recyclers rose from 32 in 2004 to 93 in 2011, with further new investments planned or in development. Petrochimica Suape asserted that Brazil will further improve investments in conversion of locally-drilled oil to basic chemicals and plastic intermediates. PET resin consumption is forecast to increase in Brazil from 573,000t/a in 2011 to 840,000t/a in 2016. Husky majored on innovation in bottle production and presented its new HyPET 400 HPP 4.0 platform and HyPET HPP RF bottle flake processing system. Bepex International described its new bottle flake decontamination process, which treats cleaned flakes under controlled MEG-steam / nitrogen atmosphere. www.polyester-recycling.com KHS Brazil celebrates 50th anniversary June 2012 sees KHS celebrating the 50th anniver- sary of its production site in Brazil. The company began operations in the country in 1962, when it entered into partnership with what was then Nashold S/A Industria de Maquinas. The focus at that time was on automatic filling systems. Production was moved to a new, larger facil- ity in 1974 and exports to other Latin American countries began the following year. Returnable PET bottles were introduced in 1990 and the factory gained ISO9001 cer- tification in 1996. The São Paulo facility now extends to 40,000m2 and employs 400 people. KHS Brazil primar- ily produces products for filling, rinsing, process, and conveying technology and, along with other KHS plants, it supplies local customers throughout South America with complete systems and ancillary services. The company has a 35% market share in filling and packaging technol- ogy for the beverage sector in Brazil and 30% for South America as a whole. The brewing industry accounts for 40% of KHS sales, followed by the soft drinks segment with 35% and the fruit juice business with 10%. The remaining 15% covers other beverage segments and the food and non-food industries. KHS Brazil expects to see future growth in all beverage segments and particularly in water, carbonated soft drinks, and fashionable non-alco- holic beverages, such as health and energy drinks. www.khs.com La Seda: Q1 turnover up, profits down, commitments met La Seda de Barcelona’s report for Q1 2012 shows consoli- dated turnover of €290 million, an increase of 11.7% compared to the same period last year. Recurring EBITDA of €6.7 million in the period is equivalent to a 58,6% reduction compared to 2012. La Seda noted the impact of weak demand and a PET resin oversupply in European markets during the period. It has continued to meet payments to suppliers and financial backers committed since the restructuring process was completed in 2010. Artenius, La Seda’s resin business, increased turnover by 5.6% in the quarter. The company expects to see improve- ment in the supply conditions of PTA (one of the raw materials employed in the PET production process), consequent to the March 2012 startup of PTA production of Artlant, in Portugal, which has an installed capacity of 700.000t/a. Appe, La Seda’s Plastic Packaging Division, increased turnover by 3,7%, with EBITDA of €9,4 million; 18% up on Q1 2012. Appe is opening a new factory at Katowice, Poland, to exploit new preform mar- kets in Eastern Europe. Shareholders have approved a capital increase of €40 million over the coming months, which will be used to finance Appe’s regional investment and development; the company’s fixed-cost reduction plans; and improvement of La Seda’s financing structure. www.laseda.es Colormatrix reduces carbon foot- print, gains recognition for recycling Liquid colorant and additive technologies ColorMatrix, now part of PolyOne, presented the results of an inde- pendent comparative study carried out by Sidel. It found that the company’s Joule RHB PET reheat additive, offers the largest carbon footprint reduction in PET preform pro- cessing compared with similar products, while maintaining performance and aesthetic qualities. The study compared resin containing 5ppm Joule RHB-2, an inert blue-shaded inorganic particulate, with a typical 5ppm carbon black commercial reheat resin and a commercial non-reheat resin. The Joule RHB-2 outperformed the other materials in terms of NIR absorption, L* luminance, reheat effi- ciency and energy use. Sidel tested the three materials in the form of 18.8g, 500ml carbonated soft drink (CSD) bottles and compared various qualitative characteris- tics. Using data from the Sidel study, ColorMatrix has determined that JouleRHB facilitates an energy reduc- tion of 38% was made possible when blowing 1t of PET. Joule RHB has FDA and EU food contact approved for use in PET bottle resins. ColorMatrix also exhibited the announcement by APR (Association of Post Consumer Plastic Recyclers) that its HyGuard oxygen scavenging system and Ultimate UV390 light-blocking technology achieve full recyclability under its Critical Guidance guide- lines. www.colormatrix.com