PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2012

REGIONAL MARKET REPORTS 12 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 10/12 www.petpla.net Netstal’s best customers (estimate) These are the very big bottlers who work with Netstal PET-Line systems among others:  Nongfu Springs with approx. 30 PET-Line installations  Yinlu with approx. 30 PET-Line installations  Wahaha: with approx. 9 PET-Line installations (order January 2012, delivery anticipated by September 2012)  The biggest customer for closures is Tinghsin with approx. 70 units. Once the merger of the Netstal and KraussMaffei brands of PET systems has been completed and inte- grated into the KraussMaffei Group Organisation in China, there will be a much bigger team of service engineers on-site. At the Haiyan plant there are plans for a labora- tory and a demo centre. Sources close to the company say there is talk of a possible integration of systems in Haiyan. David Tso – who has been with Netstal for twelve years – is relaxed about the small number of people employed in sales. There are only a small number of bottlers (albeit very big and important customers) with in-house production, and no converters, to look after. The watchword is “low key” – entirely in keeping with the Swiss character – direct and continuous dialogue with key managers and also with chiefs and owners, who dislike their time being wasted. David Tso: “Low key is essentially what I am about. I try to concentrate on the big picture.” In Xiamen we were fortunate enough to hold the fol- lowing revealing discussion with Michael Mueller, Vice President China. PETplanet: Netstal and KraussMaffei have been run by a holding company in Munich since the 1990s yet were competitors for PET systems. Since October the same staff have been involved with both systems in China. What effects will this have and for which brand? Michael Mueller: The activities of the KraussMaf- fei Group in the PET sector now come under the Netstal umbrella – not only here in China but everywhere – and we are pursuing a vigorous commercial strategy. We have the commercial solution for every application - the Netstal PET-Line system with a horizontal injection unit for the quantity and volume market, the KraussMaffei PETForm system with vertical injection for the special applications (e.g. for heavy bottles, wide mouth bottles etc.). With this re-alignment of the product range, the KraussMaffei Group is now well positioned to exploit the opportunities offered by the Chinese PET sector. PETplanet: Your Netstal customers are noticing changes with concern such as: service centre in Pudong closed; at present no laboratory; no demo machines; fewer individuals for servicing the Netstal as well as the KraussMaffei machines installed. Customers must fly their operating and maintenance personal to Switzerland for training. How will KraussMaffei Group restore confidence and demonstrate commitment? Michael Mueller: Merging our activities now gives us a bigger team of Service staff, local engineers who will be trained in Netstal technology as well as in KraussMaffei technology. In addition, we are working close together with Netstal service and applications engineers from Switzer- land. A laboratory is to be set up at the KraussMaffei Group Plant at Haiyan – complete with a Netstal system, 400t clamping force, a 6,600 plasticising unit to inject into 128 cavities, with a Hofstetter mould and pre-blow technol- ogy for lightweight bottles. The laboratory will be used for machine and process demonstrations as well as for training purposes. Sales of the classic KraussMaffei injection mould- ing machines, like our MX 850, which is now produced in China, will continue alongside sales of the Netstal systems. PETplanet: Are you planning to manufacture Netstal machines and systems in Haiyan following the example of Husky? Michael Mueller: Our plan is to be able to install sys- tems in the existing factories and complement these with local peripheral equipment and ancillaries prior to com- missioning. Our aim is to build up local expertise. The machines – these are at the heart of the systems – will be supplied from Switzerland in the future too. PETplanet: You come up against the dominant market leader in China – and elsewhere. What technological argu- ments do you put up in favour of products – Netstal and KraussMaffei – given the strength of the competition? How do the systems differ? Michael Mueller: I use three fundamental arguments: A Netstal development under the heading of ”Preblow“. By blowing the bottom part of the bottle in the robot system by air, Netstal can reduce the bottle weight by approx. 0.5g per preform compared to the best available competition solution. We have calculated an annual saving in materi- als of up to €400,000 – for still water using a 128-cavity system. As regards the vertical KraussMaffei PETForm systems – thick-walled preforms, wide mouth – cycle times can be optimised. By directly compounding with a Krauss Maffei Berstorff twin screw extruder, it is possible to use up to 100% recy- clate, without the need for pre-drying. These are the foundation stones on which the Krauss- Maffei Group is building. PETplanet: Are there any indications so far that the new KraussMaffei Group strategy is paying off? Are we likely to be reading a success story any time soon? Michael Mueller: Despite the strength of the Swiss franc we are anticipating a large increase in our order intake and in the turnover of Netstal in China in the cur- rent financial year (as of September 2011). The custom-