PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2020

BOTTLE MAKING 35 PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 10/20 www.petpla.net Mr Fiala. With a bag-in-keg design, Keg King is also aiming to attract another target group, the wine indus- try. Furthermore, continues Will Fiala, our 35 l and 60 l fermentation contain- ers are really catching on with home brewers, not only in Australia, but also internationally. These are also used as containers for loose goods like nuts or grains and they set themselves apart from the competition with their excellent material clarity, stability and integrity. There are still challenges to pro- duce these containers cost effec- tively. “By having a container which is made with a handle system as part of the process cost savings are achieved as well as a stronger prod- uct. The moulds for this sort of keg are extremely complex and with this design we are pushing the envelope significantly. Getting the highest burst pressure is obviously the main desir- able feature.“ According to the company, Keg King’s market share here is 70%. At the moment, the company has seven different moulds, of which three are used for the PET contain- ers and kegs mentioned here. At full capacity, around 2,000 PET kegs can be produced, which corresponds to around 50 t of material annually. This makes the PET business around 30% of the overall revenue. Another 30% of all PET products are sold outside of Australia, with the focus on the European, Asian and American mar- kets. The company obtains its raw materials from Chinese supplier Jade. According to CEO Will Fiala, capac- ity will soon double. “We are about to order a second K53 from Cypet, so that in future we have a dedicated machine specifically for ongoing PET keg production. We want to make this investment within the next two months,” says Mr Fiala. Keg King cur- rently employs around 25 employees on its 5,000m 2 site. In 2019, overall turnover was US$ 5.2 million of which around US$ 1.6 million was from PET products. In future, the supply chain to end customers and breweries that use Keg King’s kegs is to undergo further systematic expansion. Keykeg/Unikeg and Dolium are among the strongest competitors in the sector. www.keg-king.com.au Keg King’s production with Will Fiala (right), employee Nick and a 60 l keg check it out: check MASTER YOUR PROCESSES . OPTIMIZE YOUR POTENTIALS WITH US. PLASTIC PACKAGING VISION INSPECTION WWW.INTRAVIS.COM your Caps & Closures, Preforms, Labels & IML, Layers & Barriers, Containers & Bottles with an INTRAVIS Vision Inspection System.