8 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 11/21 www.petpla.net Coca-Cola Germany begins the switchover of beverage caps and closures for PET bottles From the beginning of November 2021, Coca-Cola in Germany will begin the gradual changeover to new caps on all single-use PET bottles. In doing so, Coca-Cola is implementing an EU requirement that plastic beverage caps on single-use bottles must remain on the bottle after opening by July 3, 2024. Coca-Cola is using the changeover as an opportunity to optimise the use of materials of the bottles as a whole. The company intends to save up to 1.37g of plastic per bottle with the new caps. Changeover period of two and a half years Coca-Cola is starting the changeover to the new closures early in order to meet the EU requirement in Germany by July 2024. The bottling plant in Dorsten will start in November 2021, followed by the non-refillable PET lines at the sites in Mannheim, Mönchengladbach, Hildesheim and Knetzgau in 2022. By January 2024, all German plants with single-use disposable PET lines will successively convert their production to the bottles with the new closures. To ensure a smooth process, this will happen in a maximum of five plants per year. Due to the long-term changeover phase, for a while there will be single-use PET bottles with both the previous type of closure and the new closures on the market. In order to draw consumers’ attention to the new closures, the caps will be marked with the inscription “Lass mich dran!” (“Leave me on!”). The previous opening mechanism does not change. The new closures will, however, remain connected to a part of the safety ring at the neck of the bottle. For comfortable consumption, the cap can be opened and closed easily and moved back and forth. In addition, it can be fixed in one position, to allow for easy pouring. As before, the PET bottles with the new caps can also be handed in via reverse vending machines including the cap throughout Germany. Thanks to the deposit system, the material can be collected and recycled. www.cocacolaep.com Alpla selects Kansas City for new facility, dedicated to injection moulding The Alpla Group, a global packaging solutions manufacturer and recycling specialist headquartered in Hard, Austria, announced that it has selected the Kansas City region for its new 23,000m2 manufacturing plant. In a facility located at the Blue River Commerce Center in Kansas City, Missouri, the regional organisation Alpla Inc. will create 75 jobs while continuing to invest in the city over the next several years. “We are excited about our new Kansas City site, which represents a key element of our growth strategy and our continued commitment to the expansion of our injection-moulding capabilities,” stated James Rooney, Managing Director, Alpla North America. The new addition in Kansas City will be Alpla’s fourth site in Missouri and the first dedicated to injection moulding. As such, Alpla Inc. will utilise cutting-edge technologies to produce packaging systems, bottles, caps and injectionmoulded parts for a wide range of industries. Led by Cushman & Wakefield, the project is slated to begin in late 2021, with a completion date in the fourth quarter of 2022. The company cited the Kansas City region’s central location and strong community relationships as key drivers for the decision. The Kansas City Area Development Council is proud to have worked with a number of regional partners in attracting Alpla Inc. to the Kansas City area, including the State of Missouri; Missouri Partnership; Port KC; City of Kansas City, Missouri; Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City; Cushman & Wakefield – Joe Accurso, NorthPoint Development, Evergy, Spire and KC SmartPort. www.alpla.com Conair Group names new president Jason Ganim, whose background includes almost 30 years of success in sales, management and executive leadership, as well as a degree in Finance, is the new President of Conair Group, effective November 8. Most recent ly, Ganim was a senior executive for Transtar Industries, Cleveland, a leading distributor of automotive aftermarket parts and solutions. He held multiple high-level positions during his 13 years with that company. He was Vice President Business Development for East West Manufacturing, Atlanta, for just over 5 years before that, and, earlier in his career spent 6 years as Director of Aftermarket Business for a large distributor of automotive and industrial replacement parts. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Georgia, with special concentration in Finance. www.conairgroup.com
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