PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2013

EDITOURS REPORTS 16 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 03/13 www.petpla.net The idea of setting up Europlast came about in 1997, coinciding with the introduction of the first PET bottles on the Russian market. Following a period of preparation which included, for example, finding a suitable site and the purchase of the first machine from Netstal, Europlast came officially into being. At that time, Belyaev explained, there was no preform production at all in Russia. Ready made preforms were being brought to Russia from Lithu- ania, Latvia and Poland. This was unprofitable for con- sumers and so production of preforms started in Russia. Europlast‘s core market is Russia and CIS. As regards preform production, the company achieves an annual output of currently 2 billion preforms on 21 Husky and Net- stal machines. In the closures sector, Demag and Sacmi machines are used with similarly high production quan- tities. In addition, each year a further 2 billion closures approximately are produced for Tetra Pak. Europlast has the potential to produce almost any kind of preform. Among its key accounts are global companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi as well as local brands. With its facility for manufacturing hotfill preforms for Pepsi‘s Lipton Iced Tea, for example, as well as for smaller bottling plants, the company maintains a unique selling point throughout the whole of the country. Overall the product range currently comprises approx. 70 different types of preforms in differ- ent colours and neck finishes to BPF/PCO 1810, PCO 1881 standards, 38mm wide-mouth Bericap etc. Mr.Belyaev noted that the Solnechnogorsk plant has production facilities and warehouse areas occupying 6,000m 2 , facilities ideally suited to joint venture projects or production under contract. Europlast is currently seeking partners with a worldwide reputation with a view to devel- oping large-scale business. Also part of the Europlast Group are the resin producer Senege and the Plarus recycling plant. Belyaev empha- sises that the intention was to create a “virtuous circle” production system comprising granulate, preform and clo- sure production plus subsequent recycling into granulate or flakes as required. This Europlast achieved with the open- ing of its subsidiary companies, Senege in 2007and Plarus, in 2010. Senege has since become one of the largest PET resin manufacturers in Russia and can also be found in Solnechnogorsk alongside the country’s sole PET bottle-to- bottle recycling plant, Plarus. But there is still a great deal to do in order to secure the future of both companies in the long term. In conjunction with this, Senege is looking for investors or strategic partners interested in further develop- ment, while Plarus is hoping for draft waste separation leg- islation as well as for support in the creation of infrastruc- ture measures that will make PET-bottle recycling possible on a large scale. As far as the future is concerned, in the medium term Belyaev is predicting growth consumption of PET-packag- ing of 3-5% per year. The market is at present evolving and is constantly looking for new solutions. In this regard, both in Europe as well as in Russia more and more prod- ucts, often very different in nature, are packed in PET, for example coffee, milk products and household goods and cosmetics. Belyaev also sees a clear trend as regards lightweight production. Probably the most innovative topic within the company at present is the idea of manufacturing bio-PET at Senege – new material from organic ingredients. Certainly it is something which may seem a long way off, but is never- theless being discussed at the moment. Here, from the customer point of view, the bottle could be subsequently manufactured at roughly the same price, whilst, from the point of view of Europlast, it could be sold more cheaply because, instead of oil, alcohol for example could be used to produce it. In summary, Mr Belyaev considers that Europlast is showing stable growth and is moving steadily forward in spite of the threats to the global economy. www.europlast.ru July 10, 2012 Protey We met: Dmitriy Naidenov, Chairman Sergey Ribachev, Product Manager Dmitriy Naidenov (right) and Kay Krüger in the production hall PET for the cosmetics and non-food sectors too Protey, a company that has been in existence since 2002, with its headquarters in the Kaluga Region south of Moscow, has specialised in the manufacture of performs, bottles and jars for the cosmetics and food industry. Dmitriy Naidenov, the Chairman in charge of the company, and Product Manager Sergey Ribachev can look back on a dynamic development phase. It all started with the parent company, UMSC (United Marketing Service and Consulting) based in Moscow. At the time this company was (and still is) one of the largest distributors of imported plastics, includ- ing PET, for the Russian market. In those days they were already beginning to gain experience in selling material to bulk purchasers such as Coca-Cola and Baltika. However, they had no intention of stopping at pure distribution. In 2002, in talks with suppliers, it emerged that, from the point of view of microeconomics, it would definitely be an advantage not only to trade in plastics but also to recycle these themselves. The credit rating for the company as a whole would then increase automatically. This was the signal for a new independence from UMSC and the birth of Protey as a manufacturing company. Naidenov recounts the story of the first KraussMaffei machine which was com-