PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2021

Editour PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 09/21 www.petpla.net 12 Tour Sponsors: Stefan Zatti, CEO at Otto Systems AG 1) We have sensed a real reluctance to take on new projects. In my view, this is due to planning uncertainty that the pandemic has created in many compa- nies. On the other hand, we were able to record a significant increase in the volume of orders for spare parts and mould reconditioning. All in all, 2020 was a moderate year for us in terms of sales. We have been able to register orders that exceed our budget since the beginning of the year. We do not expect this encourag- ing trend to change in the coming months either given the fact that projects that could not go ahead from 2019/2020 will now be implemented this year. 2) The introduction of EU approved tethered caps seems to us to be the most important change in the PET bottle market. Although our company does not directly produce any capping moulds, we are still affected by this regulation. Some of the new caps need modification or a completely new design in the thread area of the bottle. This means that our customers will have to redesign or in some cases remake the respec- tive preform moulds. This year, we received orders from two well-known major customers in Europe to convert their preform moulds and believe that more will follow during 2021. We increased our manufacturing capacity accordingly at the beginning of the year. 3) The use of recycled PET will be an extremely important issue. Many well-known brands have already made commitments in this area and developed the nec- essary targets to meet them. Preforms and bottles made from 100%rPET are no longer an impossible pipedream. However, the biggest challenge for some countries is to establish a functioning take-back system for used bottles. In addition, we must continue to try and optimise the weight of preforms in order to reduce the consumption of PET granules per bottle. www.otto-systems.com Michael Perl, Group Director Sales Division Sorting Recycling at Sesotec GmbH 1) Our work and also our business performance were inevitably affected by Corona in Q2 and Q3 2020. There were many uncertainties, but these brightened towards the end of the year. Nevertheless, I would classify the busi- ness performance in 2020 as good overall. With the exception of the severe dis- ruptions in overseas travel, our work and the course of business have developed very well this year. The PET industry in Europe will certainly face some challenges in connection with collection and recy- cling quotas, among other things. I am confident about the development of the industry in the coming months. 2) As a manufacturer of sorting and analysis equipment for the recycling industry, we are right in the middle of the discussions about collection and recy- cling quotas, the design and labeling of plastic packaging and, of course, the ways in which this packaging can be sorted and recycled in the best possible way. We want to support our customers with our solutions and experience in order to ensure material quality and yield, as this is the basis for a profitable and therefore longterm successful circular economy of plastics. 3) On the one hand, I think it is enor- mously important to promote the collection and thus the availability of PET bottles and trays in order to have sufficient recycla - ble material available at all. This would also mean that fewer plastics would end up in the environment or be incinerated. Furthermore, it is important to use plastics for packaging that on the one hand pro- tect the goods and on the other hand are really recyclable. In addition to the plastic itself, the design, colours and composition (keywords: mono/multilayer and additives) of the packaging play a decisive role here. This is where we have to work together. www.sesotec.com Matthias Müller, CEO Sales at Contexo GmbH 1) The pandemic has challenged everyone´s lifestyle, habits and daily life. Looking at Contexo, it has been a suc- cessful year, even though we were facing a number of challenges: Not meeting customers face-to-face, the cancelling of trade fairs, the difficulty of machine installation at factories across the world. New ways of working had to be developed and installed. This has become a routine now. We are looking optimistically in the future, as we see an increasing demand for machines on different sectors. That´s why we are actively investing in the future and continue strong execution. 2) Contexo has been working on a high number of projects, clearly with a focus on tethered caps, which will become the new standard for beverage bottles. The demand has risen - driven by the EU SUP direc- tive - but we see an increasing demand coming fromOverseas. Contexo launched successfully the “All-in-one”- machine for tethered caps, which includes slitting, folding and assembling. This machine solution turned out to be a bestseller on the European market. As the system also works for multi-part tethered caps, we notice an increasing European demand. Users benefit from a particularly powerful, flexible machine concept that is characterised by its high speed, out- standing precision and the lowest energy consumption on the market. 3) In the context of climate change and protection, packaging, particularly plastic packaging has received significant atten - tion. Sustainability and environmental protection is the key topic. The use of recycled materi- als is a growing trend among brands. But the discussion goes far beyond PET pack- aging. There also is a focus on secondary packaging such as shrink wrap. As a machine builder we are con- stantly striving to optimise the carbon footprint. www.contexo-automation.com