PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2017

PREFORM PRODUCTION PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 05/17 www.petpla.net 36 Tour Sponsors: PT Namasindo Plas, Bandung, Indonesia, February 17, 2017 We met: Mr Herman Neo, Executive Vice President Mr Yanto Widodo, Director High-tech for affordable products by Alexander Büchler Affordable preforms and caps in a logistically complicated setting that can even measure up to the high technical demands of international brand names, as demonstrated by Mr Yanto Widodo, founder, owner and director of PT Namasindo Plas in Bandung. His secret? Standardisation, effective organisation, cleanliness and high-tech machinery. After coming off the motorway and driving for half an hour along stretches of bumpy roads, past plain and simply constructed residential and indus- trial areas, it’s quite a shock when the entrance to the PT Namasindo Plas factory appears on the horizon. From the outside all you can see are walls, no sign of the company’s name. Then the factory opens its gates and a sense of therapeutic order instantly washes over you – lorries come and go in an orderly manner, streets and squares are clearly structured, buildings are well- maintained. What kind of owner builds such an oasis in the middle of a region which had previously been the epitome of disorder? It was Mr Yanto Widodo who founded the business in 2001 by pro- ducing 5 gallon PC water bottles. Since then, his company has expanded to include 13 factories across Indonesia, which not only produce PC gallons, but also seals, preforms, bottles, caps and deep-drawn beakers. But the apple of his eye is a PET processing plant for bottle-to-bottle grades. “It’s extremely important for us to think about the environment when we manufacture our products, so PET recycling is effectively a must-do.” The goal is to be the best integrated plastic company in Indone- sia. The key product is light blue and forms 10% of the product used in the preforms for his principal customer Danone. His emphasis has always been on state-of-the-art technology, and so the granulation equipment process- ing 10,000t/a comes from Erema, and he sources post-condensation technol- ogy from Bühler. The problem is that customers in Indonesia are rather price-sensitive. “It’s fair to say we have the lowest preform prices in the world here in Indonesia,” Yanto surmises. On the other hand, he supplies Danone and Coca-Cola, com- panies who are not prepared to compro- mise on their quality. What’s more, he has to factor in the risks associated with foreign exchange rates: raw materials are generally bought in US $, but pack- aging is paid for in Indonesian rupees. Furthermore, the expensive transport in Indonesia drives up costs; transport links are inadequately developed and there are several ferry connections to take in order to reach the island. He has addressed these issues in the orderly fashion that is also evident on his business premises: he has lim- ited production to a few standard pre- forms with longnecks (CSD) and short- necks (water) and manufactures very high quantities. Shortnecks weigh 9.7g for 330ml, 12.5g for 600ml and 26.15g for 1,500ml. Longnecks in the same sizes are between 1-1.3g heavier. The market is satisfied with these three sizes. Smaller bottle volumes are simply produced using larger preforms. CC fills a 600ml preform with 390ml and at AJE the 535ml bottle is also produced from a 600ml preform. In this way, bottles are stronger and the PT Namasindo Plas have over 20 Netstal facilities across Indonesia which produce preforms. Yanto Widodo, company founder and classic car enthusiast Namasindo Plas started off producing 5 gallon PC water bottles, then the com- pany grew and grew. Go with the flow. South East Asia Road Show