PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2020

PET news 6 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 04/20 www.petpla.net Strengthening sales activites Xabier Noguera, ABC Compressors sales and service director, has degree in business administra- tion from the University of Deusto, specialising in strategic management. His industry experience includes more than 10 years at furniture fittings company Indaux, which he joined after working for the European operations of Colep, a consumer goods packaging and contract manufacturer. He began his professional career as a consultant in Brussels and in Italy for the Eurogap Strategic Marketing Consultancy. Xabier’s position at ABC is key in the company’s ongoing efforts to determine future challenges and the actions needed to meet them: “The first is to maintain and boost our commitment to the environment, reducing the carbon footprint. More than a challenge, it is a solid future aim, and we are already a driving force in supplying solu- tions to achieve this. The second major challenge focuses on developing machines that are better adapted to any client situation, covering airflow, temperature, certifications, etc., and ultimately to offer the best compressor for every need. This is the result of a continual research and improvement process, the basis of our philosophy.” He identifies the company’s third challenge as continuing the strategy of international expansion and growth. www.abc-compressors.com Alpla builds new plant in Lanseria, Johannesburg The new production site near Johannesburg bundles activities from five existing plants. Alpla Group, an interna- tional specialist for plastic packaging and recycling, is building a factory in the province of Gauteng. The groundbreaking work began in February 2020 and completion of the build- ing is scheduled for summer 2021. The location lies in an emerging area northwest of Johannesburg, with an excel- lent infrastructure. Concentrating on one plant simplifies and optimises manufacturing processes and contributes signifi- cantly to improving logistics and transport. Standard bottle solutions and tailor-made packaging for the food, personal care, home care, chemical, detergent and pharmaceutical industries will be predominantly manufactured as before. Customers include international groups as well as smaller, local players. As part of the consolidation the manage- ment contemplates that more than 50 employees would be impacted. Accordingly, a notice in terms of section 189(3) of the LRA will be issued. Trade unions have been informed of these intentions. In the past five years, Alpla has expanded its market presence in Africa with acquisitions and coopera- tion agreements. This included in particular the acquisition of the African market leader for PET preforms, PET bottles and closures Boxmore Packaging in 2017. With the construction of a new production site in South Africa, Alpla is now creat- ing the basis for long-term growth and competitiveness in the Sub-Saharan African region. As part of a consolidation, the production of five existing plants in Harrismith, Denver, Isando, Kempton Park and Samrand will be transferred to the new plant in Lanseria. www.alpla.com Loop Industries announces signature of multi-year supply agreement with L’Oréal Loop Industries, Inc. announced that they have entered into a multi-year offtake agreement with beauty industry brand L’Oréal to supply them with PET resin made of 100% recycled materials for their packaging needs. This resin is to be supplied from Loop Industries’ joint venture facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA with Indorama Ventures, a global integrated leader in PET plastic and polyester fibre manufacturing. The growing demand for Loop Industries’ resin has driven the joint venture’s decision to increase the facil- ity’s production capacity to 40kt per year, thus enabling Loop Industries to broaden its array of partnerships and supply more brands with resin made from waste PET plastic and polyester fibre. Thanks to Loop Industries’ low-energy technology, waste PET plastic and poly- ester fibre can be diverted away from landfills and natural areas, depolymerised into its base building blocks, purified and polymerised into virgin-quality Loop PET resin. Started in 2018, the collaboration between L’Oréal and Loop Industries is now entering a new step forward with this agreement for the supply of sustainable PET resin. www.loopindustries.com Due to the current coronavirus / Covid-19 situation many events have been cancelled or postponed. Please find regula r updates at www.petpla.net