PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2016

TRADE SHOW REVIEW 66 PET planet insider Vol. 17 No. 09/16 www.petpla.net Review of ProPak Asia 2016: June 15-18, Bangkok, Thailand ProPak Asia grows further The 24 th edition of ProPak Asia was another record-break- ing event. It hosted 1,976 exhibitors from 48 countries and welcomed more than 40,000 visitors from 68 countries, who were able to see over 5,000 machines on display. The exhi- bition showcased the latest developments in the field of food and packaging, many of them in PET. One reason for the high number of exhibitors and visitors was the anticipation of the new Asean Economic Community (AEC). Chinese machinery manufacturers’ backyard If judgement is to be solely based on the number of exhibiting compa- nies present at ProPak Asia, Chinese machinery manufacturers are now the leading force for moulds and equip- ment for injection and stretch-blow moulding in the region. Tech-Long can be considered one of the most advanced Chinese suppliers of turnkey systems for PET manu- facturing systems, including injec- tion moulding, stretch-blow mould- ing, filling and conveying. Previously nestled and almost hidden between other small stands, the company this year had a prime location alongside PET machine heavyweights Krones, Sidel and KHS. In common with the established Western machinery manu- facturers, Tech-Long put its focus on communication and discussion with customers, rather than running machines. The neighbouring KHS stand was presenting a very interesting develop- ment. The company debuted Fresh- SafePET, a special coating techno- logy that combines the advantages of glass and PET in a single bottle. A very thin glass inner layer keeps sensitive beverages fresh for longer periods, while the PET outer layer keeps the bottle light and provides the properties PET is well-known for. The market for preform systems and blow moulds gets more crowded. Leading Chinese mould supplier GDXL faces more intense compe- tition from “Unique” (Guangzhou Unique Injection Molding Systems), who presented 72 cavity moulds at its stand. In contrast with GDXL, it offers complete PET preform moulding systems, including injection moulding machines, hot runners and take-off robots. This puts Unique in direct competition with Demars (Zhejiang Demark Machinery) which also offers complete 72 cavity moulds and stretch blow moulding systems, for outputs of up to 24,000bph. Another competi- tor in this market segment, Guang- dong Friend Machinery, showcased a 10-cavity stretch blow moulding machine with a capacity of 18,000bph for 0.5l water bottles. Continuing cap & closures light weighting trend Lightweight design still dominates the mass market. At the Asia Drink Conference, held concurrently with ProPak Asia, Mr Vivek Chabra, Presi- dent of Sermsuk PLC, delivered a presentation on the emerging bever- age markets in Southeast Asia. One of his suggestions for bottle producers was to go into neck bottle set-ups of 33mm in diameter. Closure specialist Bericap intro- duced HexaLite UL 29/11 SFB, which fits with 29/25mm neck size. It claims weight savings of up to 37%, com- pared to a 30/25 neck and closure combination. The company also introduced its new flip top press-on closures (CTC IP 29/19 and CTC IP 29/20). The tamper evidence band is designed for left and right-hand open- ing. Once the flip top is opened with just the thumb, a second tamper evi- dence function, in the form of a tear- off membrane, safeguards product integrity. Easy pouring is facilitated by an integrated marguerite flow control. Functionality and customisa- tion, rather than light weight, are the main focus of Mikasa from Japan. It produced its first plastic closure back in 1953 and is now one of the lead- by Michael Maruschke