PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2018

BOTTLE MAKING 10 PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 03/18 www.petpla.net Leading one-stop PET converter from Singburi, Thailand by Kay Barton Pro PET is part of Thailand’s TCK group of companies, which also includes TCK Interplas, Superpack Plastic and TCK Plastic. Its core business is plastics processing and integration of different fields of packaging to a single, comprehensive and easy-to-use package, according to customers’ requirements. PET conversion accounts for 80% of Pro PET’s business; the balance is concerned with PP, HDPE and LDPE. The company’s portfolio includes preforms, bottles and closures for beverages and food. Tour Sponsors: Pro PET (Thailand) Co., Ltd. June 22, 2017 We met: Mr Chaichana Santhudkijkarn, Man- aging Director Mr Kittisak Pookhaw, Production Manager Preform & Closures In Central Thailand, in the Prov- ince of Singburi, we spoke with Pro PET’s Managing Director, Mr Chai- chana Santhudkijkarn, and Production Manager Mr Kittisak Pookhaw. It might be hard to overlook an 80,000m 2 com- mercial building even in a bustling South-East Asian city but Pro PET’s main production facility is some way away from the main communications route and some visitors can only locate them with outside help. We found that, in the end, if you follow the directions precisely you will get there! It is quite a picturesque approach; a fountain sits behind the gateway and, beyond it, is the main entrance. Pro PET, which was founded in 2001, now employs almost 1,000 people. As we arrived it became immediately apparent that hygiene is taken extremely seriously: shoes had to be removed before enter- ing and swapped for slippers. When we arrived in the meeting room, Mr Santhudkijarn provided us with a first overview of the different fields of activ- ity of the group, which was last visited by PETplanet in the person of Editor Wolfgang von Schroeter in 2009 (see PETplanet 09/2009). “Our head office is located in Nonthaburi, but the TCK Interplas and TCK Plastic plants are only 200m from here”, Mr Santhudkijkarn said. Non- thaburi is about 130km from Singburi. “Superpack Plastic is in Khonkaen Province, the north-east of Thailand. As well as customer supplies we also take care of in-house production lines for some customers.“ Pro PET cur- rently has capacity for approximately 100 million preforms and 50 million bottles per month.  PET bottles: 250ml, 350ml, 400ml, 500ml, 600ml, 750ml, 1l, 1.5l, 5l, 5.2l, 6l;  Preform types: 29/25, 30/25, PCO 1881;  Preform weights: 11g,13.5g, 14g, 15g, 17g, 18g, 20g, 22g, 26g, 28.5g, 31.5g, 37.5g;  Caps & closures (incl. custom- ised closures); 29mm, 30mm, flip top cap, sauce cap, ice cream cap, mouth wash cap. The company’s strict attention to hygiene has been recognised with the award of GMP, HACCP and ISO 9001 & 22000 certification. Nothing hap- pens here without haircover, face- mask, shoe covers, hand disinfection and an air shower, even before enter- ing the production area. Its two-stage injection moulding equipment consists of four KM PETform machines, each with 96 cavities, and a large number of 24-cavity preform injection machines. It has approaching 30 Nissei single-stage ASB machines, in addition. The company produces seal caps and flip top closures with five 200t KM CX machines, one with 110t of closing force. A foil extruder specifically equipped to ProPET’s requirements shapes PE plastic bags in-house, for cleanliness. They are then carefully packed with completed bottles, which are thus protected until they are filled by the customer. Four camera-equipped inline preform inspec- tion machines from P&S, along with an Intravis Prewatcher sampling inspection machine, provide the backbone of qual- ity assurance. Workshop visit with (f.r.t.l.) Chaichana Santhudkijkarn and Kay Barton