PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2012

PET news 6 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 12/12 www.petpla.net LSB Q3 turnover up to €931 million La Seda de Barcelona (LSB) has reported consolidated revenues of €931 million in the third quarter of 2012. The figure represents a 3.9% increase on the same period in 2011. However, group EBITDA fell from €49.9 to €19.7 mil- lion. The company highlighted reduced margin on sales, increased energy costs in nearly all plants and exchange rate trends as the principal reasons for the fall. Operating losses for the period attributable to the parent company came to €70.6 million. Despite the financial difficulties the group has been experiencing, LSB has paid €14 million since the beginning of 2012 under the agreements negotiated as part of the restructuring process completed in 2010. The Packag- ing Division reported a positive performance, with increased turnover and EBITDA up 5.5%, to €37.4 million. Recycling is reported to have made a significant contribution to this divi- sion’s profits. Sustainability policies have generated oppor- tunities for the recycling business, such as the joint venture agreement signed by the French plant in Beaune and Coca- Cola Enterprises. The Chemical division increased its sales in Q3 2012 to €99.8 million. The PET / recycled PET division increased its gross sales by 5% over the first nine months of 2012 in comparison to the same period in the previous year. However, the business unit recorded a negative EBITDA of €3 million, down from 2011’s €17.3 million, due to a 23% reduction in sales margins and a 22% increase in unit energy costs. LSB says that the search for a strategic partner for the PET business is under way. www.laseda.es A very special brew… Brau Beviale 2012 attracted around 32,810 trade visi- tors through its doors from November 13-15 at the Nurem- berg Exhibition Centre. Downturns, credit crunches and Eurozone crises failed to dampen spirits at Brau Beviale 2012, the beverage raw materials, technologies, market- ing products and logistics show. Visitor numbers were slightly up, from confirmed 31,693 to 32,810, although there were slightly fewer exhibitors – 1,284 in 2012, against 1,384 in 2011. Slightly more visitors (38% against 36%) were from outside of Germany, with The Nether- lands, Switzerland, UK, Belgium, Italy, Czech Republic , France, Russia and Spain all well represented, and exhib- itors came from a total of 50 countries.Satisfaction levels were reported to be high, with 97% positive responses to a survey by an independent agency. Around 90% of visitors were reported to be decision- makers. The show also hosted the first-ever European MicroBrew Symposium, organised by NürnbergMesse and Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei (VLB – Brew- ery Research and Training Institute). The symposium will take place annually in Nürnberg from now on. The European Beer Star Award involved 100 experts in the consideration of 1,366 beers in 50 categories, from across the world. Judging took place before the exhibi- tion and the 50 Gold Medal winners were sampled by several thousand visitors on the first day of Brau Bevi- ale. The 2012 Consumers’ Favourite Gold Medal win- ners were Double Jack IPA, brewed by Firestone Walker Brewery Paso Robles (USA), Silver went to Schimpf Hefe Hell (Light Wheat Beer), Kronenbrauerei Alfred Schimpf Neustetten (Germany); and Bronze was won by Weiherer Rauch (Smoked Beer), Brauerei-Gasthof Kundmüller Viereth-Trunstadt (Germany). Brau Beviale will next be held from November 11-13, 2014. www.brau-beviale.de US demand for plastic containers on the rise US demand for plastic containers is forecast to increase 4.9% annually to $32.4 billion in 2016, according to research in a study named Plastic Containers, published by The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland, Ohio-based industry market research firm. Growing demand will consume 14.2 bn lbs (6,500t) of resin. The study says that growth will be driven by performance advantages over alternative pack- aging formats as well as recovery in the broader economy. Volume gains will lag value gains as average weight per container unit continues to fall, reflecting preferences for single-serve containers in some food and beverage markets, as well as lightweighting. While plastic containers will face increased competition from pouches and other types of flex- ible packaging, these will often augment rather than replace rigid containers. PET and HDPE accounted for a combined 86% of demand in 2011. Bottles and jars represented 77% of plastic container materials by weight in 2011; demand for them is expected to grow by 2.8%/a to 165 bn units in 2016 but growth will be constrained by the already-dominant posi- tion of plastics in a range of applications, with few remain- ing opportunities for large-scale conversions. After a period of rapid growth from 2001-6, a substantial deceleration in bottled water growth is expected, based on environmental considerations. The fastest gains are anticipated for pharma- ceutical and food applications. www.freedoniagroup.com Petainer announces agency agreement with Eminence Srl Petainer, the manufacturers of PETainer one-way kegs for the beverage industry, has announced that it has secured a strategic alliance with Eminence s.r.l. of Treviso, Italy, for the servicing of the wine and craft brew- ing sector. Eminence, along with KHS, will conduct the direct sales activities of Petainer as agent representatives. Eminence is well established in the local wine industry and will market the product in Italy through their network of agents. It will also establish a logistics base for Petainer kegs in the north of Italy. Eminence declared that it has strong demand for wines and craft beers in the Petainer keg format, driven both by the export market and by niche domestic sectors. The kegs come in 15, 20 and 30l sizes and are compatible with existing trade dispense equip- ment. KHS is Petainer’s international cooperation partner and preferred supplier of filling and handling equipment and machine conversion services. www.petainer.com  www.eminence.it  www.khs.com