PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2020

TRADE SHOW REVIEW PET planet Insider Vol. 21 No. 03/20 www.petpla.net 38 India-made moulds by Kay Barton Mould manufacturer Leo Precision, based in Silvassa, in the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli close to Daman in west India, was founded in 2010 and now has plans to expand more strongly in the single-stage sector. With up to 40 moulds already produced per year in this segment within the first year of expansion, the company is now roughly on a par with its other main area of business: the production of two-stage preform moulds. In the 2018/2019 financial year, it generated US$ 4 million; expectations for 2019/2020 are that revenues will increase 55%. Leo Precision currently has a market share of 35% in the high- quality moulds segment, according to Managing Director Senthil Kumar. The idea behind Leo Precision is to provide equipment for single and two-stage moulds plus conver- sion from one single source – with a 30–50% saving compared with the corresponding original moulds. Mr Kumar has more than 20 years of experience in PET equipment and processing. “Right now, we have roughly 1,500 moulds in use world- wide,” he explained. “The demand for single-stage moulds is always high, so we want to push forwards in this area further.” Leo Precision said that its equipment is compatible with machines from Nissei ASB, Milacron or Krauss Maffei. Mould manufactur- ing is undertaken on CNC machines from Mazak, Haas, Makino and GF, with the use of Zeiss and Mitutoyo measuring equipment. “We currently have around 180 employees. Our company premises extend to roughly 6,000m 2 . The Leo Plastic divisions account for about 1,000m 2 , with 1,800m 2 occupied by Leo Mould Tech,” Kumar explained. The majority of customers are located in India, with around 40% of produc- tion destined for export, primarily to Africa. Leo Precision’s principal competitor is Delhi-based equipment manufacturer Acme moulds. The com- pany expects demand for single-stage equipment to grow and can generate 60% of its own revenue. “The market for beverages here in India is still growing and has a lot of potential. Nevertheless, we are noticing an increase in the propor- tion of small, local bottlers, for whom the innovative packaging is not the key factor,” Senthil Kumar further explained. “Overall, we can see shifts in the market away from larger brands and towards smaller brands.” Not sur- prisingly, Leo Precision is feeling the effects of the poor image that plastics generally have in the world. “As long as no real alternatives are found and made usable on a wide scale, the present situation will stay the same worldwide, and things will get a little more difficult for plastics manufac- turers every day. The demand for alternatives is there, but we’ll have to wait and see. Our industry thrives on continual technological developments and investments. We are now focus- ing on the acquisition of some test machinery also.” www.leopp.in Leo Precision’s booth at K show with Senthil Kumar (left) and Kay Barton CONTACT US TODAY TO LEARN MORE! AGRINTL.COM | +1.724.482.2163 | SALES@AGRINTL.COM MANAGE PROCESS VARIABI L I TY Plant environment, temperature, recycled PET, preform source and storage can all create challenges in the blowmolding process. Agr’s automated blowmolder control technology can overcome these challenges and NHHS \RXU SURFHVV UXQQLQJ ZLWK LPSURYHG HɝFLHQF\ P R O C E S S P I L O T