PETpla.net Insider 06+07 / 2014

EDITOUR REPORT 19 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 06+07/14 www.petpla.net CHOOSE THE NUMBER ONE. BA C K T O L IFE. VAC U R E M A ® – F o o d Co nt ac t Ap pr ov ed Recycling With highly efficient decontamination BEFORE the extrusion process. Bottle-to-bottle Pelletising Inline Applications Following in Netstal’s footsteps On the Krauss Maffei exhibition stand at Feiplastic in São Paulo, Brazil, I met up with Stefan Zatti, Divisional Manager Sales & Marketing and Harry Kleiner, Area Sales Manager PET from Otto Hofstetter AG Switzerland. What, it might be asked, is the connection between the two compa- nies? Otto Hofstetter are manufacturers of injection mould- ing tools and specialists in thin wall packaging and PET preforms. The bulk of the company’s sales is in preform moulds. Over the decades Otto Hofstetter have developed a close working relationship with Netstal Preform Systems. A large proportion of the preform moulds made by Hofstet- ter are to be found in Netstal systems. This is very much the current situation in Brazil. It was thanks to Netstal and their sales and servicing network that Hofstetter were able to establish themselves some years ago in São Paulo, and the two companies have cooperated ever since. In October 2011, Netstal became part of the Krauss Maffei do Brasil Ltda. Group, and found themselves sharing the same agents as Hofstetter and so it was “carry on as normal” as far as customer service was concerned. Both Netstal and Otto Hofstetter share broadly the same contacts, and customers are therefore serviced either directly by Hofstetter themselves or via Netstal. “This still doesn’t go far enough", according to Stefan Zatti. “Brazil, and indeed the whole of the Latin American market, is very important for us. We want to offer local support to the market through our own people whilst at the same time safeguarding our after sales service. Other important areas include the supply of spares and hot runner modifications.” He went to say that “Hot runner localisation is also an issue here. Brazil could find itself playing a central role for the whole of Latin America." The Brazilian market, like the whole of Latin America, offers significant potential for preform systems. Stefan Zatti again: “In the beverages sector, 96- and 128-cavity preform systems are dominant. But if we look at the household goods and cosmetics sector, we are forecasting increasing industry interest in preform moulds with 48 to 72 cavities. And naturally,” he concluded, “Netstal will be able to meet market expectations in this area.” Turning to the thin wall packaging sector, Zatti explained that here the focus is on specialities such as cartridges and injection moulded tubes that call for special know-how. “We are well prepared,” was his final comment. www.hofstetter-ag.ch