PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2014

PET news 6 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 12/14 www.petpla.net Plastipak wins bid for acquisition of Appe Plastipak Packaging, Inc., a leading global manufac- turer of rigid plastic packaging, announced that it has been selected as the successful bidder to acquire the Appe Pack- aging Division owned by La Seda de Barcelona Group. The winning bid was EUR 360 million and included a gross up of EUR 65 million of accounts payable that will be transferred with the business, but will be discounted from the bid, and result in an actual consideration for the business of EUR 295 million. The selection of Plastipak as the winning bidder brings to conclusion a six month competitive process to sell the Appe Packaging Division in connection with La Seda’s pending insolvency proceedings. The transaction is subject to the negotiation of binding purchase agreements, regula- tory approvals and certain other closing conditions, and is anticipated to close late in the first quarter of 2015. Plastipak Packaging, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidi- ary of Plastipak Holdings, Inc., is a supplier of rigid plastic containers for the food, beverage, and consumer products industries. The company operates more than 27 sites in the United States, South America and Europe, with a total of over 4,000 employees and is holding more than 420 United States patents for its package designs and manufacturing processes. The company also licenses various packaging technologies worldwide. www.plastipak.com Husky exhibits beverage packaging solutions at China Brew and Beverage Exhibition In October, Husky Injection Molding Systems exhib- ited at the 11th International Brew and Beverage Pro- cessing Technology and Equipment Exhibition for China (China Brew and Beverage – CBB). CBB is positioned as the most important and influential showcase for liquid food machinery in the Asian brew and beverage industry. CBB is oriented towards the growing market in the Asia- Pacific region and showcases the most updated packag- ing equipment and technological know-how. Husky dem- onstrated its line of beverage packaging solutions for PET preform and closure manufacturing to over 50,000 visitors from various countries in the Asia-Pacific region. “Despite this being Husky’s first time at China Brew and Beverage, from the moment the show opened, it felt like the right place to be. Everyone was speaking about the same topics, and the beverage packaging information shared at the show was insightful and important,” said Karl-Heinz Hoefert, Husky’s Vice President of Beverage Packaging Sales, Asia Pacific. www.husky.ca Uni-Cap brings the one-piece 1881 cap to the Gulf States At the Arabplast 2015 trade show from January 10 to 13 in Dubai, Engel and Uni-Cap will be presenting the latest developments in closure applications. An all-electric Engel e-cap injection moulding machine will be producing 1881-type caps. While the one-piece 1881 cap for carbonated soft drinks has already become established in most parts of the world, the GCC countries has long remained the exception. Only the latest processing technology has allowed one-piece caps to also be used in regions with extreme temperatures of more than 50°C. Uni-Cap will be the first manufacturer in the region to produce this type of cap. The company plans to achieve an annual capacity of 300 million caps with the Engel e-cap machine presented at the Arabplast. In order to achieve the specified cap characteristics, poor-flow types of HDPE (melt flow rate of as low as 1.5 g/10 mi) must be used, which in turn puts high demands on the injection moulding machine. Due to its direct drive unit, the Engel e-cap achieves the preci- sion and performance needed for this application. During the trade show, a system from IMDvista, Switzerland, for the fully automatic 100% quality control will be employed for cap inspection. Uni-Cap has been producing on Engel e-cap machines since 2009 and achieves considerable savings on energy and cooling water, thereby cutting unit costs significantly. In comparison to hydraulic machines, the company needs 50% less resources for cooling. Uni-Cap, the largest cap manufacturer in the Gulf States, produces 4.5 billion caps annually. www.engelglobal.com PlastIndia 2015: Final destination Gandhinagar Plastindia 2015 will take place at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. More than 2,000 exhibitors will occupy 125,000m 2 of exhibition space, and about 150,000 visitors are expected to visit the trade show this year. Exponential growth of the Indian plastics industry, and herewith the Plast India exhibition, was the main reason to move to Gandhinagar. Concurrent events like Proplast, Plasticon Awards and International Conference will also be held at Gandhinagar, along with PlastIndia 2015. According to the organizers, Gandhinaga, located just 16 kms from Ahmedabad, is one of the most modern and well planned cities in India with a well developed exhibit- ing infrastructure and home to the internationally acclaimed Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre. In addition, Gujarat and its near surroundings houses a significant 60% of the Indian plastics industry, which is expected to increase from 12 MMTA to 20 MMTA between 2013 and 2020. www.plastindia.org