PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2017

BOTTLE MAKING 39 PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 06/17 www.petpla.net from 2 to 20 cavities, of which 3 blowers are connected inline pro- duction at customers’ sites  15 Nissei ASB single-stage machines  8 compression moulding closure machines ranging from 32 to 64 cavities All the raw material used comes from Asia, including from Indorama Thailand. Around 70% of the products are channelled into the beverage indus- try, the rest into the food and non- food sectors. Their customers include Pepsi and Vinamilk (see the company timelines), as well as Coca Cola, Unilever (whose factory is inciden- tally located right next door), Nestlé, almost every Vietnamese manufac- turer of edible oil, as well as about 300 more. The manufacturer exports around 30% of preforms and 10-15% of closures, whilst 100% of the bottles they produce remain in Vietnam. Ngoc Nghia develops parts of their blow Company timeline: 1993 Ngoc Nghia was founded, becoming the first company in Vietnam to produce PET bottles 1998 First bottle factory was established in the Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh 2003 A second factory was constructed in Cu Chi to manu- facture bottles and preforms 2005 PepsiCo production lines were set up 2007 A third factory, International PET (InterPET), was established in Tinh Tay Ninh, producing preforms and clo- sures. Ngoc Nghia became a joint-stock company 2009 They officially became a public company. Their pro- duction lines for Vinamilk were set up 2010 A third factory producing preforms and closures was set up in Linh Trung 2012: Research and development began in advanced pack- aging for home and personal care, liquid dairy, beer and other sensitive products 2013: Ngoc Nghia products were now being used in 24 dif- ferent countries worldwide 2015: Advanced packaging was introduced for liquid dairy, beer and other sensitive products moulding in-house, particularly for local brands, whilst Pepsi and Coca Cola supply their moulds themselves. After our tour of the factory the fol- lowing day, we finally got to meet Mrs La Bui Hong Ngoc, or as she prefers to be known, Ruby, Vice Chairwoman and CCO of the PET Division at the new registered office in downtown Ngoc Nghia, housed in the nine-story Vietcombank Towers. She is part of the corporate family, owning a 75% share in the company. Of the remain- ing 25%, 14% is shared out chiefly among the employees. However, the company is not listed on the regu- lar stock market, rather, the shares can only be traded over-the-counter (OTC). “Our turnover in 2016 amounted to US$60 million,” explains Ruby. “It was our worst year to date due to the numerous external factors affecting the beverage market. These factors included things such as scandals becoming public for one brand or another, shifts in consumer drinking behaviour, and an increased aware- ness of healthy beverages. As such, we have clearly identified our goals for the years to come and we can see a trend emerging: the population is consuming more and more bottled water. We’re also seeing an increas- ing demand for liquid food and non- food, so we’re reacting accordingly by adapting our capacities and expand- ing our ranges here and there.” Around 75% of Ngoc Nghia’s products are currently used for drinks and liquid food, with 25% being employed within the non-food sector. “We’d like to improve our capaci- ties for bottle blowing in the medium term, so we can cater for sectors not related to beverages, among others,” further explains Ruby. “Our aim for 2018 is to achieve a turnover of US$100 million.” www.nnc.com.vn Sacmi compression moulding installations Preforms made by Husky equipment