PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2015

EDITOUR REPORT 18 PET planet insider Vol. 16 No. 03/15 www.petpla.net f.l.t.r.: Stefan Zatti Divisional Manager Sales & Marketing, Waldemar Schmitke, PETplanet, Otto Hofstetter, Managing Director, in front of the Editourmobil on the forecourt of Otto Hofstetter AG in Uznach Switzerland PET is for us the past, present and future by Waldemar Schmitke Otto Hofstetter AG Having crossed the Alps on our way back from Italy in the Editourmobil, we make a stop for what will for the time being be our final meeting on this section of the tour - at Otto Hofstetter AG in Uznach in Switzerland. This family concern is one of the pioneers in PET mould making. PET moulds have been built here in Switzerland for more than 35 years using mould and mould construction technolo- gies that have themselves existed for over 50 years. level of capacity on a country-specific basis and, secondly, the company’s partner on the machine front, Netstal, who have, with their PET-Line 4000, a machine system with competitive potential in this segment.” He went on: “30% of mould deliveries are handled through Netstal systems busi- ness and the remaining 70% are direct customers.” With the new PET-Line 2400 from Netstal, Hofstetter are expecting a significant increase in competitive capa- bility in the 72 cavity sector. The 72 cavity preform mould developed specially for this machine is in accordance with the latest state-of-the-art technology and the insert groups are designed to be compatible with the 128 cavity mould. An expansion of the horizontal preform machines tailored to a 48 cavity preform mould would be desirable. How- ever, Netstal are using a Krauss-Maffei “PETform” vertical machine for this. Nevertheless, there are currently no plans at Hofstetter for vertical construction preform moulds. The service sector, made up of overhauls, refits and upgrades, is showing encouraging growth. Citing Russia as an example, Stefan Zatti reported that BPF neck finishes are still a predominant feature of the market. Conversion to the more lightweight finish is only a gradual process. But instead of using the lightest version, PCO 1881, the choice tends to be predominantly in favour of PCO 1810 because the further processing lines are not yet being designed for this. Hence there is still major potential for refits on the Here we meet Otto Hofstetter, the Managing Direc- tor and Stefan Zatti, Division Manager Sales & Marketing. The company employs 200 people and has a turnover of approx. 52 million CHF. Of the 200 employees, 23 are apprentices, as Otto Hofstetter is at pains to emphasise: “Everybody is looking for skilled personnel but only a few are prepared to train them; the training of young people is part of our company culture and at the same time it also helps to safeguard long-term quality within the company“. Hofstetter have specialised in moulds for packaging products in the high-performance segment and PET pre- form applications. Here the PET moulds dominate with a total share of 70% of turnover. The company’s capacity is approx. 50,000 mould inserts per year. The fact that Hof- stetter will also be opting for PET in the future is reflected in their most recent investments. It is impressive to see how the site has changed and not only as a result of the construction works; the fleet of production-machines has gradually been extended to provide a higher level of auto- mation. Otto Hofstetter continued: “With our investments in machinery we have not only increased the degree of automation, but also our in-house manufacturing.“ He went on: “Slide bars and hot runner parts used to be bought in; nowadays we make them ourselves. In addition, we have extended the frame - mould manufacturing facility even further. All in all, this is increasing our flexibility and helping to keep the know-how in the company.” The risk is, of course, problems with capacity which could result from a change to the market, but Hofstetter continue to have faith in the PET market and in their own performance capability. The company has already experi- enced this in 2013. Deliveries to China fell between 2012 and 2013 more than 50%. Since then, by the first quarter of 2014, the shortfall had been compensated by markets such as Russia and Middle East by increasing operational group deliveries to major customers. Preform Moulds As far as the new moulds are concerned, today it is the 96-128 cavity models that dominate with a share of 80%. Stefan Zatti takes up the story: “The reasons for this can be found firstly in the beverages market that is geared to this