PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2012

NEWS 8 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 10/12 www.petpla.net Retal expands production range The Russian company. Manufacturer of Polymer Films (MPF), which belongs to the Retal Group, is to increase its production capacity of BoPET films. Starting from 2008, the company became a key player in the Russian market, with sales of more than 12,000t/a. An invest- ment of about €40m in a new production line will allow the company to triple the volume of its production and sales, expand its product range, as well as consolidate its lead- ing position in the Russian market, the CIS countries and Eastern Europe. Commissioning of the line is scheduled for the first quarter of 2015. www.retal.ru Resilux reports slower H1 2012, invests in capacity and R&D Resilux NV, the Dutch manufacturer of PET preforms and bottles, has reported lower sales volumes, revenues and profits in the first half of 2012 compared to 2011. Sales were down 3.6% and revenues by 8.5%, to €142 million. “Added value” declined by 9.8%, to €28.8 million; EBITDA by 24% (€13.7 million); and profit before tax was down by 30%, to €6.8 million. Resilux says that the performance resulted from poor spring weather in northern Europe com- pared with 2011, and the ongoing impact of the economic crisis in southern Europe. The biggest decreases in vol- umes were in Spain, France and Germany, while volumes increased in Greece, Switzerland, and East and Central Europe. Personnel costs increased, due to indexations, additional hiring and the strength of the Swiss Franc and US Dollar. Net financial debt (excluding subordinated loans) as at June 30, 2012 showed a decrease of €7.2 million, to €39.9 million. Net new investments in H1 2012 amounted to €6.8 million (2011: €11.5 million) and include the first part of a building in Switzerland, increases in production capac- ity and increases in new production tools. The company asserts that the new tools should allow it to offer solutions to customers to balance increasing raw material prices by means of lighter and more ecological products. Resilux says that its current cash flows allow it to invest in additional capacity and new products and to increase R&D. www.resilux.com Invista acquires La Seda IP and licensing Invista Performance Technologies has acquired intel- lectual property (IP) and licensing rights from La Seda de Barcelona SA, relating to its PTA, PET and related process technologies. The acquisition covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The IP and licensing rights for the EMEA region were previously vested in a joint venture company established by predecessor companies of Invista and La Seda in 2000. www.invista.com “Big Five” announce formation of the Plant PET Technology Collaborative (PTC) Five of the world’s largest companies - Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company, H.J. Heinz, Nike, Inc. and Procter & Gamble - have come together to form the Plant PET Tech- nology Collaborative (PTC). It has been founded as a strate- gic working group focused on accelerating the development and use of 100% plant-based PET materials and fibre in the companies’ products. PET is used by all five companies in a variety of applications, including plastic bottles, apparel, footwear and automotive fabric and carpets. PTC is intended to build upon Coca-Cola’s PlantBottle packaging technology, which is partially made from plants and has a lower envi- ronmental impact than traditional PET plastic bottles. It will aim to drive the development of common methodologies and standards for the use of plant-based plastic including lifecy- cle analyses and universal terminology. www.thecoca-colacompany.com Erratum: Krones Contiform Medium output In the last issue we asked market participants, among other things, about the output per hour for the SBM mould for 1.5l still mineral water bottles. In the case of the Krones Con- tiform Medium the data was inadvertently omitted. We now wish to rectify this omission: the output of the Krones Conti- form Medium is 2,250 units / h. www.krones.com Onex Corporation to acquire KraussMaffei Group Onex Corporation, a North American private equity firm, which sold Husky Injection Molding Systems in 2011, has agreed to acquire KraussMaffei Group. The firm signed the purchase contract to acquire the company from Madison Capital, the owner of KraussMaffei Group since 2006, for €568 million. The transaction is antici- pated to close by March 31, 2013 subject to customary conditions und regulatory approvals. KraussMaffei is the first European-based investment for Onex Partners III. www.kraussmaffei.com www.onex.com