PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2020

imprint EDITORIAL PUBLISHER Alexander Büchler, Managing Director HEAD OFFICE heidelberg business media GmbH Vangerowstraße 33 69115 Heidelberg, Germany phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 info@hbmedia.net EDITORIAL Kay Barton Heike Fischer Gabriele Kosmehl Michael Maruschke Ruari McCallion Waldemar Schmitke Anthony Withers WikiPETia.info petplanet@hbmedia.net MEDIA CONSULTANTS Martina Hirschmann hirschmann@hbmedia.net Johann Lange-Brock lange-brock@hbmedia.net phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 LAYOUT AND PREPRESS EXPRIM Werbeagentur | exprim.de Matthias Gaumann READER SERVICES Till Kretner reader@hbmedia.net PRINT Chroma Druck & Verlag GmbH Werkstr. 25 67354 Römerberg Germany WWW www.hbmedia.net | w ww.petpla.net PETplanet Insider ISSN 1438-9459 is published 10 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (1-year subscription 149 EUR, 2-year subscription 289 EUR, Young professionals’ sub- scription 99 EUR. Magazines will be dispatched to you by airmail). Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Note: The fact that product names may not be identified as trademarks is not an indication that such names are not registered trademarks. 3 PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 05/20 www.petpla.net Dear readers, A WASTED OPPORTUNITY? The coronavirus crisis has brought a great deal of sorrow and anxiety into our lives, and for producers in the food industry, things are anything but normal. The consumption of mineral water has leapt in comparison to last year to levels seen only in a really hot summer. And the good old PET bottle is experiencing something of a revival. The usual trend for a greater variety of drinks is also a thing of the past. Top of everyone’s list is good old mineral water. You have to ask yourself how, before the coronavirus crisis, plastic and its representative of all evil, the PET bottle, were portrayed as the devil incarnate by the media. The well-known arguments that it is light, resource-saving and easy to recycle never appeared in the media. And now there is a run on the PET bottle similar to that on toilet paper and hand sanitiser. In times of crisis, it seems that consumers also panic-buy water in PET bottles, the very image of environmental destruction a mere three months ago. However, in contrast to toilet paper or hand sanitiser manufacturers, the drinks industry is geared up for seasonal peaks. Fluctuations of 30 to 50%, depending on the climatic region, are written into the business plan. Usually, a PET bottle takes two months to get from filling to consumer. Today, however, this has shrunk to just a few days. So there are rarely any shortages at point of sale. It is not only flexible production that is responsible for this; it is also the proximity of bottling facilities to the consumer. A dense network of bottling facilities covers Germany and hardly a single PET bottle travels more than 300km through the country. And, in contrast to reusable glass bottles, this happens just once. This saves time, money and protects the environment thanks to quick deliverability. Oblivious to all this is the consumer, who simply reaches into the full shelf while making a fuss about other products in short supply. The systematic advantage of PET bottles that are independent of container returns policies is their greater availability even in times of crisis. Here, PET manufacturers can shine. They can continue their brisk service to society, without any shortages. Nowhere in the media can you read about the enormous efforts of the PET bottling industry. Perhaps it would help the image of the PET bottle if the aspects like regionality and flexible production were made plainer to the con- sumer alongside the better-known advantages. Otherwise, it will be another wasted opportunity to significantly improve the image of the PET bottle in the media. Yours Erik Eichler HANSA-HEEMANN AG Production Manager in Bruchsal, Germany