PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2012

REGIONAL MARKET REPORTS 14 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 09/12 www.petpla.net “Assuring the efficiency of plant and equipment is high on the list of priorities and is my personal ambition.” The company is targeting efficiency of 97% for injec- tion moulding and 95% for blow moulding. However, due to customer’s on-site management, utilisation and productivity at present is 85% for injection moulding and the utilisation of annual capacity for blow moulding machines is between 60 and 78%. Arthur Liu further claims: “In order to improve asset turnover rate we need to take several measures:  replace older machines to increase productivity,  adopt a new,planning module  implement just-in-time production  reduce inventory.” And returning to his favourite subject: “Europeans should not just consider a market in terms of product deliv- ered. They need to recognise that the Chinese market has grown and matured in the last twenty years. China can also give lectures which Europeans should heed – how to add value to the business and how to grow jointly with your partner – local or international - into a new dimension. 20 years ago the emphasis was on selling production. Today our prime aim is to nurture talent and invest in R&D.” We at PETplanet Insider will certainly be keeping a close eye on developments at Zi Jiang in the years to come. Sidel China Marylin Chua, Marketing & Communications Director Sidel Greater China Zone The Shanghai free trade zone is the location from which Sidel runs part of its Chinese business and produces its moulds. Production and assembly of Sidel products takes place on the site in Beijing. The Shanghai office located within the free trade zone is just a few hundred metres away from Husky’s Center of Competence. Husky has been here since 1997, Sidel since 2004. Both companies have made their mark on China’s PET markets – in the early days, when PET almost exclusively represented a technological challenge – with deliveries from abroad, from far-away Canada and no less distant France. Those times have long gone. The competition has got its act together. The technical performance of the equip- ment is still important, but elements have been added in the battle for customers, namely commercial perfor- mance, on-site service and marketing. Nevertheless, both companies are clearly succeeding in maintaining their extraordinary position in the market. The majority of PET preform systems in the country bear the name of Husky, the majority of PET blow moulding plants come under the Sidel brand. (As regards the block lines for blow moulding / filling of PET bottles, Krones presents the strongest challenge; it is currently build- ing up its order book and is certainly on an equal footing with Sidel). Apart from their strong market position, there is something else that both companies - Husky and Sidel – have in common: Both companies manufacture their PET machines for China and the adjacent Asian Pacific markets in China – with no compromises, in accordance with original designs and without accepting the slightest trade-off in terms of performance and quality compared with the original from abroad. There may well be differences as regards produc- tion methods and in terms of manufacturing penetration – as we will see – but once again common to both is the readiness to invest in China, with confidence in the sus- tainability of the Chinese market. Over and over again on our factory tours, we found ourselves hearing the same or similar statements as regards local Chinese production: “China’s manufacturing industry is currently in the second phase of globalisation. The expansion of inter- national sales is now being followed by the development and expansion of global production”. Or: “China’s industries insist on the most modern tech- nology. That is not possible with yesterday’s machines”. Or: “We are not prepared to compromise when it comes to product quality”. Or: “Customers in Asia expect excellent deliveries and the same service as in Europe”. And, again and again, the high concentration and the commitment of the Chinese workforce in the factories is mentioned – in particular that of the Chinese manag- ers, their capacity for learning and their input as far as operational processes and the internal value chain are concerned. The Chinese – or so it seems – are unaffected by industrial traditions and pioneering achievements. A transfer of know-how in the opposite direction is taking place – in the direction of Europe – something that is likely to be a surprise for many Europeans.