PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2013

NEWS 10 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 03/13 www.petpla.net MHT MOLD & HOTRUNNER TECHNOLOGY Dr. Ruben-Rausing-Str. 7 | D-65239 Hochheim/Main Tel. +49(0) 6146-906-0 | www.mht-ag.de Make the most of your machine – with a mold from MHT! For many machine types, we supply the mold with the highest cavitation, thereby enabling optimum preform output. For the Husky HyPET machines, we offer upgrade sets for up to 50% more preforms, without refitting on the machine! • 60 cavities for Netstal PETline 2000 • 96 cavities for Husky HyPET 300, • 112 cavities for KraussMaffei 350 Engineering made in Germany 128 for HyPET 400 + 1/C35 Booth B3/441 M&G signs up for new Texas plant Italian company M&G Group has announced the signing of a US$ 1 bn EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract with Sinopec Engineer- ing (Group) Co., Ltd. for the turnkey construction in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA, of what will be the world’s largest single line PET plant. It will have a capacity of 1 million t/a and will be integrated with a single line PTA plant that will also be one of the world’s largest, with a capacity of 1.2 million t/a. M&G’s engineering arms, Chemtex Global S.à r.l. and M&G Finanziaria S.r.l., will provide critical equipment and services as a subcontractor to Sinopec. The plants, along with the necessary operating permits, are expected to be com- pleted within 36 months. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Banco Inbursa, a leading Mexican bank, are expected to provide the bank financing for the project. M&G will be the sole owner of the plants and responsible for their operation. www.gruppomg.com Portola Packaging announces investment in closure business Portola Packaging, Inc. is announcing a $12 million capital expenditure in its Kingsport, TN/USA. and Tolleson, AZ/ USA facilities. The investment is being made to accommodate growing market demand for its hot-fill and aseptic beverage closures and increased dairy business market share. Some of the new capital improvements are already under way, with completion expected by the end of the third quarter. New investments are being made in additional high-speed compression and injection moulding equipment as well as in existing production line upgrades. The company projects that approximately 30 production employees will be added to those locations. Projected infrastructure replacements and upgrades will include process water capacity, hvac/dehumidification, electric power service and distribution, resin delivery, etc. Over the past three years, Portola has grown its beverage closure volume by double-digit percentages annually. Manufac- turing and quality initiatives, coupled with new stock and custom closures for tamper evident, aseptic and extended shelf-life applications are responsible for part of the growth, particularly in the juice, dairy and speciality beverage market segments. As a result of the decision to expand capacity at the Kingsport and Tolleson facilities, Portola will begin tapering off produc- tion at its Batavia, ILL/USA plant in the middle of April. The facility is expected to be completely shut down no later than August. Geographic location of expected growth opportunities and the level of investment which would have been needed to upgrade this facility were factored into the decision. Affected are 76 employees. Going forward, Portola Packaging will oper- ate nine manufacturing facilities around the world: two in the United States, three in Canada and one each in Mexico, the United Kingdom, Czech Republic and Russia. www.portpack.com Expansion plans at Brigl & Bergmeister In 2012 Brigl & Bergmeister sales increased by 5% to 155,000t compared with the previous year, meaning that both plants in Niklasdorf, Austria and Vevce, Slovenia, were running at full capacity. By acquiring the waste incineration plant Enages, B&B in Niklasdorf also has increased its independence from the volatile energy market and improved its carbon footprint. The producer of one-side coated paper for labels and flexible packag- ing has now announced that it has signed a cooperation agree- ment with Cham Paper Group. Once base paper production at the facility in Cham, Switzerland, has been shut down, B&B in Niklasdorf will take over the production and marketing of their sili- cone base papers (Clay Coated Kraft paper). Cham will provide its highly specialized technical expertise. The first products will be available during the second half of 2013, giving the Niklas- dorf plant an additional pillar to its successful wet strength label papers. Following this, there are plans to make further invest- ments in expanding capacity at Niklasdorf in 2014. In September 2013, the PM5 in Vevce will receive a new film press which will increase capacity by 20,000t. An improved pre-coating process will enable the development new products in the label paper and flexible packaging range. www.brigl-bergmeister.com