PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2019

TRADE SHOW REVIEW PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 11/19 www.petpla.net 48 5 th International Conference at PET Technologies 13 countries in two days It’s always nice to feel you’re in the right place at the right time! It is not only the enthusiasm for the PET material that inspired the participants at the fifth International PET Technologies Conference in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Above all the sincere discussions and interesting presentations by the company’s organisers and customers to the topic of modern trends of PET industry market were impressive. Of course this year is a very special one for PET Technologies. Like PET- planet, the company is celebrating its 20 th anniversary. Since its founding in 1999, the company has grown into a global player with a sales and service network in 15 countries around the globe. PET Technologies blow mould- ing equipment and blow moulds can be found on five continents in over 45 countries. The quality of the company is not only confirmed by its steady growth but also by the confidence of long-standing customers and partner- ships. In addition to numerous local brands, AB InBev, Olvi, Unibrew, Coca- Cola, Pepsi, Carlsberg and many more belong to its customer base. In keeping with the anniversary year, the com- pany made itself a great gift: it opened a new workshop. A new, modern and well equipped blow moulds production hall operates now at full capacity. The first day of the event began with the opening speach and warm welcome words of Maxim Poliansky, CEO at PET Technologies. He empha- sised the unified harmonious approach of production, landscape and way of life in the circular economy that PET Technologies is committed to. The opening presentation about the Circular Economy for PET bottles was held by Eduardo Martinez, CEO of Plásticos a la Medda, President of Plastics Recycling Association Mexico. Eduardo referred to the Ellen Mac- Arthur Foundation and the three-step model of take-make-waste. This model has to be extended in the sense of the five R model: Rethink, Redesign, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Eduardo explained that after a short first-use cycle, 95% of plastic packaging mate- rial value, or USD80–120 billion annu- ally, is lost to the economy and that a staggering 32% of plastic packaging escapes in collection systems. He poined out that the new Plastics Econ- omy aims to overcome the limitations of today’s incremental improvements and fragmented initiatives, to create a shared sense of direction, to spark a wave of innovation and to move the plastics value chain into a posi- tive spiral of value capture, stronger economics, and better environmental outcomes. For Eduardo recycling is the first option for plastic packaging waste. Eduardo explained, that the Mexican PET recycling rate is around 55.5%. He introduced PetStar the very large bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in Mexico, producing circa 50,000 metric tons of recycled resin annually. It is a merger of the companies Arca Conti- nental, Coca-Cola de México, Bepensa Bebidas, Corporación del Fuerte, Corporación Rica, Grupo Bottler Nayar and Embotelladora de Colima. Valentina Sikdan, artist at PET Technologies presented her new design concepts for different PET bottle applications. Roland Steurer, Managing Director at PET Technolo- gies GmbH, Austria, presented how these new concepts are implemented at PET Technologies. His vision begins with the development of a design idea for the customer, sup- ported by CAD, up to the production of the mould and the blown bottle in 24 hours. To realise this vision, PET Technologies uses rapid prototyping with 3D printing machines. With this method the customer receives a fast and favourable result, also it offers a high flexibility in the production process, since one can react fast and uncomplicated to change requests, so Roland. Lightweight contructions und free-form geometries are possible. The production process is as follows: a bottle design is developed and a bottle dummy is produced with the help of 3D printing finally an inlet for the mould in which the bottles can be blown is produced. Roland summarises the key point of this project as follows: from the idea to the bottle it only takes 24 hours. Mr Eduardo A. Martinez from Plásticos a la Medida presenting his ideas on Circular Econony F.l.t.r.: Maxim Poliansky, CEO of PET Technologies and Roland Streuer, Managing Director at PET Technologies GmbH, Austria On the first day of the conference the 85 participants from 13 different countries were guided through the state of the art production hall of PET Technologies.