PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2015

BOTTLE MAKING 27 PET planet insider Vol. 16 No. 09/15 www.petpla.net three biggest producers in relation to its European competitors is rapidly substantiated. The customer has the choice between just under 300 differ- ent types of preforms for practically all CSD, water, beverages, edible oils, food and non-food applications in all weight and categories / neck finishes. Also on offer are 110 bottles and tubs, 82 of which are in non-metric US format. Different types of CO 2 , oxygen and light barriers can also be incorpo- rated to meet customer requirements. The production ratio is around 70% for beverages / food and 30% for non-food applications. When it comes to catchment areas and product quality, the competi- tors are the same as the rest of Europe. 25% of all products are exported, chiefly to Portugal and the associated former Portuguese colonies, as well as to Morocco. “We have also been active in Latin America for a number of years but, due to the unfavourable dollar exchange rate, we are no longer sufficiently competi- tive in this market. However, we have on-going business dealings and good relations and are currently building up opportunities with different countries in Latin America”, reveals Ms Fabo. “The Latin American markets are still very exciting as far as we are concerned”. Depending on the application or requirement, Resilux also delivers to Italy from time to time, depend- ing on, for example whether other plants (in this case the Greek plant in Patras) have the required moulds available. “Our strategy is flexibility, tech- nological strength and proxim- ity to the customer”. And what will the future bring? “Now”, explains Ms Fabo, “we envisage increas- ing interest in our AirOPack bottles in the future. We have secured a contract with a big manufacturer in this field and it is only a matter of time before this innovative form of packaging starts to become even more firmly established”. AirOPack, the result of a joint venture during the past decade between Resilux and Innovative Pack- aging Solutions AG, is aimed at revo- lutionising the spray container sector, e.g. in beauty and medical care, liquid food and detergent products by intro- ducing PET packaging and replacing typical classics such as aluminium cans. This is claimed to improve visual appearance and recycling capability, and also has a patented compressed air method that ensures that the bottle is consistently emptied almost completely without losing any of the product. An innovation which could make aerosols redundant. “Our aim in the short term is to be able to offer a complete ready-to-go product, filled and labelled, with this trading partner”, summarised Fabo. www.resilux.com