PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2018

Preform Production PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 12/18 www.petpla.net 12 Retal’s expansion into the US market Knowing how to grow by Heike Fischer In Donora, Washington County, Pennsylvania, 20 miles south of Pittsburgh we visit the first Retal facility in the US. The building is located in a very pleasant valley. While driving over an old industrial bridge we saw the five big blue-shining letters of Retal ahead of us. We met Admir Dobraca, President and CEO of Retal PA, LLC. Tour Sponsors: June 4, 2018 We met: Admir Dobraca, President and CEO of Retal Pa, LLC Admir Dobraca, a formerly with Husky, told us about Retal’s promis- ing start in the US with the building of its first facility. “At the end of 2015 the decision was made to enter the US market. We were attracted to the idea by our customers with high volume expectations with us. The former Polyone plant offered the space we needed, power was already avail- able, and there was a rail connection. Geographically, the location was ideal with 65% of the US population within a 500 mile radius. Our aim is to build production hubs. ” After six months’ hectic activity, the work was completed. “On April 22, 2016 we received the keys of the facility and by the end of October the first packed trucks left the plant. The 14.000m 2 area is currently mostly occupied with the production area, and is capable of further growth. Prospects are looking healthy in the long term for our operations in the US. “A centre of excellence for R&D is planned. At the moment we have a hybrid operation with a small team, but we are currently building it up right.” We have a former PTI person with a lot of experience in analytical testing.” With a total investment of US$30m the newest generation of chillers and dryers have been installed. “We also work with Kaeser Compressors and blenders from Conair,” Admir explained. The US plant is the 24 th plant Retal has built up. “Every division of Retal world- wide produce preforms, roughly ten divisions are producing closures and preforms, four produce containers and bottles, some with single-stage, some two-stage machinery. Film is produced by three divisions in Russia, Ukraine and Lithuania. At the moment Retal has a € 900m, US$ 1 bn turnover, with 32,000 employees globally. We deliver 18 billion preforms a year. We have 800 different preform designs, different neck finishes; Retal is also a leader in multilayer. With 11.5 billion closures we are the largest PCO1881 producer in Europe by far.” “Here in Donora we are set up to produce three billion preforms on 400 or 500 t machines and up to six billion closures in the building as it is today. By the middle of next year staff numbers will grow from 65 to over 100. This division has a turnover of US$ 30m. A realistic market share of Retal in the US is at the moment 5%. We are working with global multi nationals in different CSD and water segments while developing local markets, with the smaller producers of water, dairy and similar beverages. The next big expansion will be to install the blowing capacity for cold fill and hot fill.” In the field of bottle production Retal has two new high-quality pro- Retal President and CEO Admir Dobraca (on the right) with PETplanet editor Heike Fischer High output, low energy consumption: Engel’s e-cap 420 based at the production hall of Retal