PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2015

THE NORTH AMERICAN ROAD SHOW 39 PET planet insider Vol. 16 No. 03/15 www.petpla.net beverages (juices, sports drinks and tea), and it claims that is experienc- ing positive growth rates for most of these markets. Its all-electric preform system, H-PET™ AE, is an evolution of its entry-level system. It continues to be a popular choice in the market for certain applications and is making inroads in niche, low-volume markets such as consumer packaged goods, niche beverages and packaged foods. Husky’s “renewal cycle” for novel technologies and products is 18 to 24. It maintains that it is continually looking for opportunities to eliminate waste and to boost consistency in the injection moulding process. The latest version of the HyPET® HPP5 is claimed to significantly improve uptime and the user interface, as well as reducing maintenance costs and simplifying operations. Customers will be able to see for themselves when it is demonstrated at NPE in Orlando, Florida, in March. John Galt said that Husky has a healthy development pipeline, with new technologies and product features to come. A major feature of 2014 for Husky was its “World Tour” which, John Galt says, generated “very good feedback” from its customers. It will not be the last – a number of World Tour events are already planned for 2015, along with appearances at trade shows such as NPE 2015. “We strongly feel that a mix of Husky World Tour events and tradi- tional trade shows works best to reach both current and potential custom- ers,” he says. “The Husky World Tour allows us to bring our customers and subject matter experts from Husky and from other suppliers together to engage in deeper-level discussions, which can be difficult to have at busy industry tradeshows.” Business Development and Engineering We thanked Mr Galt for his time and joined the business develop- ment and engineering team of Robert Domodossola, Roman Pirog and Wesley Grove, who took us to the showroom and R & D area of Husky’s corporate headquarters. Robert Domodossola explained that Husky has developed a structured approach to innovation, which bal- ances creativity and discipline and enables it to apply a proven method of solving problems and develop- ing products that are designed to answer customers’ clearly identified needs. “We develop virtual models using computer simulations that provide clear insight into how a closure might be deformed during the ejec- tion from a mould. These findings can then be used to optimize design features or functions in a develop- ment project before the actual pro- totyping begins.” Mr. Domodossola explained. f.l.t.r.: John Galt President & CEO, Waldemar Schmitke PETplanet