PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2021

MOULD MAKING PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 05/21 www.petpla.net 13 ing machines) and other instruments, multiple times for 100% quality con- trol. PETform says that the company is the only preform mould manufac- turer in India with in-house preform systems from Husky and Krauss Maffei for testing moulds up to 96 cavities. The company currently serves cli- ents in over 100 countries. Its primary markets are North America (35%), Latin America (35%), Europe (10%) and North Africa (10%); the balance is spread between the Middle East and the rest of Africa. Its revenues in 2020 totalled US$ 4 million, with a year to year compound growth of 20% since it was founded in 2012. The work- shop extends to 4,000m 2 and has a workforce of 120 people. It houses eight CNC turning/turn-mill centres; six ultra-high precision jig boring machines and four CNC machining centres; surface grinders; and uni- versal cylindrical grinders; one deep hole boring machine and two CNC EDM machines. For prototyping, the company uses a Husky lab machine with two or four cavities. For mould testing, PETform employs Husky and Krauss Maffei preform systems, as well as two optical and tactile scan- ning CMMs, made by Carl Zeiss. “For moulds and hot runners to be reliable, besides the use of good quality steels and heat treatment, it is also necessary to maintain toler- ances of well under 10 microns and to have a good surface on mating or sliding surfaces”, he went on. “This requires the deployment of highly accurate machine tools that are well maintained and regularly calibrated, in a temperature controlled envi- ronment, operated by experienced machinists using internally-developed work holding methods, tool selection, cutting processes and in-process and post-process measurement tech- niques. PETform excels in all depart- ments and is therefore able to deliver excellent value for money, low TCO injection tools that produce good parts for over 8 million shots before the next refurbishment cycle.” Mr Mody determines his portfo- lio as a reasonably-priced alterna- tive to the well respected Canadian and European mould manufacturers. “We actually grew by 35% last year, despite Covid-19, and expect to grow this year also”, he said. ”We will grow even if the market shrinks, as we are able to take market share from the high end mould producers with our intrinsic competitive advantage.” PETform has the capacity to handle turnover three times last year’s, we were advised; so future plans are pretty much already in place. The company plans to invest later this year in a new preform system that will be able to test moulds of up to 144 cavities with horizontal pitch of 100mm or less, and up to 96 cavities with horizontal pitch of 140mm or less. Its manufacturing and inspecting equipment is going to be continuously upgraded. PETform has successfully supplied, complete mould refurbishment pack- ages for moulds up to 144 cavities. “Our interests lie in producing the best value for money product and having happy customers. We are not in a hurry to grow or to claim market share at any cost. It takes time to develop and educate personnel thoroughly in manufacturing, quality control, testing, service and application support. We will restrict our business volume to what we can support promptly and effectively. We want to be able to sleep peacefully at night knowing that our moulds in the field are reliable performers,” Mr Mody concludes. www.petform.net www.petequip.net 72-cavity preform mould for Husky machine 72-cavity preform mould for Netstal machine