PETpla.net Insider 07 / 2017

BOTTLE MAKING 17 PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 07/17 www.petpla.net Tour Sponsors: Local trade fairs gaining greater importance From Thailand to Vietnam by Kay Barton bottle making Meeting at Mahatanee’s booth during Propak Vietnam (f.l.t.r.): Yick Yu Lam and Kay Barton. Mahatanee Industrial Co., Ltd. March 21, 2017 We met: Mr Yick Yu Lam, Managing Director Thai machine manufacturer Mahatanee, which is better known under its “Great PET” machine brand name, exhib- ited at Propak Vietnam for the third time in a row in its 20-years history – and pronounced itself highly satisfied with the local market. In addition to its main business of blow moulding machines and ancillary equipment, Mahatanee manufactures sleeve-labelling equipment and cap counters. every year.” This level of demand is not coming solely from Tan Phu; nearly all drink, liquid-food and non-food products currently on the market in Vietnam are offered in PET bottles and cans. While they are manufactured on two-stage machines, manufacturers of them are almost non-existent in Vietnam itself. “There may be a small mechanic here and there, but no systems that are really to be taken seriously,” Mr Lam says. “The machines have all been imported up till now. That may change at some point in the future but it will be ten years before it does. At any rate, as of March we currently have exactly 100 blow moulding machines in the market here.” He dismisses concerns about any logistical challenges in exporting to Viet- nam, from Thai- land. “No compli- cations at all. It maybe takes as little as two days to get a machine from our factory in Thailand to the customer in Vietnam. We will definitely continue to expand our future relations in Vietnam and we hope for new, interested customers.” www.great-pet.com www.stf-group.de ENGINEERING WITH THE COMPETENCE OF THE RECYCLER • Complete Plastic Sorting and Washing Lines engineered by Europe’s largest PET Recycler • Bottle-to-Bottle rPET Recycling • More than 60 PET Recycling Lines installed worldwide We spoke to Managing Director Yick Yu Lam about the company’s positive business relations with the Vietnam market, and about the way that local trade fairs in South-East Asia are gaining ever-greater impor- tance. Our interview was held in front of the GPT-600 blow moulding line, which had pride of place and sole occupancy of its stand. With a capacity of up to 3,500bph for 600ml, it is among the faster systems in Great PET’s portfolio. It was the only machine exhibit at the exhibition stand. “We first came as an exhibitor to Propak Vietnam two years ago. At the time, admittedly, there was not an awful lot going on in the hall and we did wonder whether the decision to exhibit here was a good one,” Mr Lam recalls. “However, shortly after the trade fair, we received an e-mail with a pur- chase request.” That e-mail came from Tan Phu Plastic Joint Stock Company (TAPLAST), which became the com- pany’s first customer in Vietnam. Its first order, which was for ten blow-moulding machines, was worth approximately US$700,000. Tan Phu became, and currently remains, Great Pet’s biggest client. It is purely a blower and has, Mr Lam advised us, four plants in Viet- nam, of which the Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi locations are the two largest. “They needed higher output equip- ment for their size segment and they turned to our fully electric machine models, which manage up to 4,000bph,” he says. “Since that first deal we have received orders for around an addi- tional ten machines, from each factory,