PETpla.net Insider 04/ 2013

PREFORM PRODUCTION 22 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 04/13 www.petpla.net Husky’s focus on emerging markets A breath of fresh air in emerging markets Husky’s announcement that in 2013 they have decided not to participate in the two major plastics fairs, K’ 2013 in Düsseldorf or at Drinktec in Munich, has caused a considerable stir, to say the least. Reason enough, then, to ask what lies behind the surprising decision and learn more about Husky’s growth strategy. Waldemar Schmitke, Editor-at-large for PETplanet, talked with Jeff MacDonald, Husky’s Vice President Marketing. The world market leader in PET preform systems has reported encouraging growth in emerging mar- kets that has been accompanied by increased demand for lower volume preform systems in the 48-and fewer cavities sector. Jeff MacDonald began by stat- ing that Husky has sold 50 preform systems in the H-PET All-Electric (AE) series since its launch in 2010, which has proven to be an ideal solution for customers in emerg- ing markets: “It was only relatively recently that we started to real- ise just how much opportunity this market presents and how demand for two-stage preform systems is growing steadily.” “The question we have to ask,” MacDonald went on, “is what are our customers’ expectations? It seems to us that customers in this lower volume segment want to put them- selves in a competitive situation by supplying a premium quality preform, while minimising production costs, and at the same time reducing invest- ment risk.” Surprisingly, the dominant com- modities in these emerging markets, even with lower volume systems, are for mineral water and CO 2 applications. While there has been global interest with orders for lower volume applica- tions in mature markets, 90% of orders for the H-PET AE system have come from emerging economies. MacDonald explained that the lower volume H-PET AE range is a dominant force. Once again, it is not a question of all-electric versus hybrid machines. That is part of the key deci- sion criterion, but it is important to look at the system’s total performance to determine what technology will work best to meet a customer’s pro- duction and application needs. What about established cus- tomers? Where are they heading? According to Jeff MacDonald, many are focusing on household and food packaging applications up to 48 cavi- ties. Their objective is to enter new markets and extend their product range. Following years of increases in the average number of cavities for pre- form systems, it appears the demand has peaked for now and there seems to be little scope for further growth in cavitation. The average number of cavities per preform system supplied is currently between 72 and 96 cavi- ties, which is now showing a decline. The basic reason for this is, “better technology equals improved perfor- mance per cavity.” Husky is also seeing established customers pur- chasing 144-cavity systems for very high volume production of the most highly standardized products. This leads us into an interest- ing discussion about Husky’s future projects. MacDonald was clear about where the priorities lie. In regards to PET, Husky is concentrating on its HyPET and H-PET AE preform systems, both now and in the immedi- ate future. Husky’s next generation HyPET system was officially launched in November 2012. The system incorporates proven technology from Husky’s High Performance Package (HPP) system to enhance productivity and performance. We asked about the recent acqui- sition of the KTW mould making facility. MacDonald stressed that the acquisition is relevant to the compa- ny’s beverage strategy. “We will now be able to supply the complete HyCap injection moulding system, including machine, mould, hot runner and con- troller, from a single source. It means that we no longer have to use third party moulds, thus streamlining inte- gration and enabling us to more effec- tively measure and deliver results. But the real benefit,” he concluded, “will be the impact on our customers’ total cost to produce through lever- aging and improving on the closure mould as part of the complete system. For example, our HyCap HPP system offers an up to 20% increase in pro- ductivity, and energy savings of up to 20% over the previous generation product. This is only possible through the complete system approach and Jeff MacDonald, Vice President Market- ing, Husky Injection Molding Systems Waldemar Schmitke, Editor-at-large for PET- planet insider