PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2015

PET TOP TALK 32 PET planet insider Vol. 16 No. 03/15 www.petpla.net Piovan 2014: reporting growth for another year As a result of its continuing international expansion, seven production facilities and 23 associated companies, the Piovan Group has been able to build up an articulated posi- tion in all main trading partner nations. This multinational- style of organisation is based on strong local representation and a close working relationship with the customer base in order to offer technical assistance in real time. The Piovan Group In 2008 the group began its mission to strengthen its position in the mar- ketplace with its acquisition of Univer- sal Dynamics (Una-Dyn), a US-based company specialising is the design and production of storage, handling, blend- ing and drying systems. The Una-Dyn purchase was key to Piovan’s break- ing into the American market. In the following six years the partnership with the Virginia-based company went from strength to strength and Una-Dyn is now a well-established member of the Piovan family fully on board with the group’s objectives in terms of product design, expansion and sales strate- gies. German company FDM, a leading name in blending systems for extrusion lines based in the town of Königswin- ter, joined the group in 2010. This was followed, at the end of 2014, by Penta, an Italian firm from Poggio Renatico, near Ferrara, that designs and produces large-scale systems for the storage and handling Piovan has been operating in the plastics sector since 1964: during these fifty years it has reached many important milestones. While in the beginning the company concentrated on the develop- ment of plastic processing technology, it later adopted a strategy of specialisa- tion in conversion processes. Now it has extended its areas of expertise to include a number of sectors in which plastic materials are used. Ten years ago the company was divided into four divisions: Injection and Blow Moulding, Extrusion, PET Preforms and Optical Applications. At the beginning of 2013 there was a fur- ther re-organisation with the introduction of 10 application sectors that correspond with specific industrial segments and products that Piovan, together with other companies from the group, is able to supply in highly specialised formats: PET Preforms & Bottles, Rigid Packaging, Automotive Components, Medical Solu- tions, Technical Parts, Thermoforming & Technical Sheets, Flexible Film, Pipes – Profiles – Cables, Fibres & Strapping, Recycling & Compounds. Overall Piovan employs a staff of 900, including 106 Research and Devel- opment engineers, who are constantly at work to perfect the operational perfor- mance levels offered by the company’s products. The group also has 120 techni- cians who provide after-sales assistance to customers so they can be sure of a rapid, reliable and efficient response wherever their production may be based. of raw materials and ingredients in powdered form used mainly in the plastics and food and beverage indus- tries. Aquatech, a new company founded to operate in the industrial refrigeration sector, opened its doors in January 2015 and represents a natural evolution of Piovan’s existing chiller department. Another member of the group, Energys, works mainly on the Italian market in the field of energy efficient industrial systems. Structur and organisation Piovan’s drive towards growth has been achieved using synergy and by continuing to integrate the know-how and business acumen each member of the group brings with it thereby cre- ating closer ties within the group itself. This has allowed it to exploit to the fullest its high degree of specialisation in those fields of application where the group has now become a leading name and a recognised brand.