No.1+2 2022 www.petpla.net D 51178; ISSN: 1438-9452 07 . 02 . 22 PETplanet is read in more than 140 countries MAGAZ I NE FOR BOT T L E R S AND BOT T L E - MAK E R S IN THE AMER ICAS, AS IA, EUROPE AND AL L AROUND THE PLANET MARKETsurvey Suppliers of resins and additives Page 24 Page 08 CAPS & CLOSURES Page 17
Twist, open, ClipAside! Added performance meets extra sustainability PET 26 Our revolutionary ClipAside closure design makes enjoying bottled beverages more fun than ever. It twists open like a standard closure but the unique design keeps the cap attached. Opening as wide as 180°, it is easy to use with no spills or splashes. That means less waste* and more consumer convenience. ClipAside is available for all major neck finish standards, from 26 mm to 38 mm, and for liquid products ranging from carbonated soft drinks to water, juices, teas, syrups, dairy and more. Fun to use, easy to enjoy and less waste. * Conforms to the EU Single Use Plastics Directive Contact us and arrange your line trials now! www.bericap.com PET 26 GME 30.40 PCO 1881 PET 29/25 PET 33 PET 38 ClipAside with parallel tethers prevents overbending or breakage, even when misused.
No.1+2 2022 www.petpla.net D 51178; ISSN: 1438-9452 07 . 02 . 22 PETplanet is read in more than 140 countries MAGAZ I NE FOR BOT T L E R S AND BOT T L E - MAK E R S IN THE AMER ICAS, AS IA, EUROPE AND AL L AROUND THE PLANET MARKETsurvey Suppliers of resins and additives Page 24 Page 08 CAPS & CLOSURES Page 17
We think about your caps, so you can think of everything else. www.corvaglia.com
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 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 Eine Unternehmung der Limberg-Druck GmbH Danziger Platz 6 67059 Ludwigshafen, Germany WWW www.hbmedia.net | www.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’ subscription 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. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net Copyright of Thomas Fischer picture by: www.heidischerm.de Dear readers, Since 2003, there has been a compulsory deposit return scheme in Germany for mineral water and beer bottles as well as for carbonated soft drinks in non-returnable glass bottles, PET bottles and cans. This year, Germany is expanding the compulsory return scheme to include all non-alcoholic beverages in the three types of containers with a content of up to three litres, including juices and energy drinks, for example. Once again, Germany has failed to charge a deposit for ALL non-returnable beverage containers. For example, the beverage carton remains outside the deposit return scheme. In particular, the German Environmental Aid (DUH, www.duh.de) describes the “supposedly environmentally friendly beverage cartons as a massive confidence trick on consumers.” Calculations by the German Environmental Aid (DUH) from 2018 describe the official recycling rate for beverage cartons of around 76 percent as incorrect. In fact, only around 30 percent of beverage cartons in Germany are recycled. Right from the start, around 40 percent of the composite packaging does not end up in the yellow recycling bag, but in the residual waste, the paper bin or the environment. The recycling of the composite packaging made of plastic, aluminium and new paper is also complex. Beverage cartons have even become significantly less ecological in recent years: the paper fibre content has decreased, the plastic content has increased and in the last 20 years composite packaging has become 35 percent heavier. Thomas Fischer, Head of Circular Economy at DUH, explains: “Tetra Pak offers beverage cartons with a plastic content of more than 50 percent, ... these are 2.0 plastic bottles. The upper parts made entirely of plastic, long-stemmed pouring aids or oversized screw caps are evidence of increasing plasticisation.” That is why the DUH also demands a deposit of 25 cents for beverage cartons in Germany. This is the only way to increase the low collection volume and recycling rate. Yours sincerely, Alexander Büchler Green washing
PETcontents 4 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net 01+02/2022 Page 31 EDITOUR 8 The European Road Show to Drinktec 2022 is underway - Will it be different? And if so, how exactly? 14 First Circle: New name, new direction CAPS / CLOSURES 17 Extended slider mould concept - Responding to tethered caps requirements 18 Lightweight, ready-to-market solution 19 A two-in-one solution - Rocket Sports cap with Actiph Water and PolkaLite paired with SimplyCycle valve 20 “Clearly sustainability is a major trend - also for the closure industry”, Interview with Thomas Schmidt, Group Marketing Director at Bericap 22 In-line inspection with AI - A new way to inspect special closures 26 Full precision during tethered cap inspection 28 Boosting process stability - iQ weight control for caps & closures MARKET SURVEY 24 Suppliers of resins and additives MOULD MAKING 32 Second life for moulds too fit to retire BOTTLE MAKING 33 1,000 l container in PET - Cypet Technologies launches Circular Economy PET IBCs EVENT REVIEW 34 5th Edition of Blow Moulding 2021 BUYER’S GUIDE 40 Get listed! INSIDE TRACK 3 Editorial 4 Contents 6 News 30 Cap Products 38 PET bottles for beverage and liquid food 46 Outer Planet CAPS & CLOSURES Page 22 Page 14
yellow.agency A FAMILY OWNED SWISS COMPANY. T OTA LLY SW I S S. OUR INJEC T ION MOULDS FOR PE T AND PAC FE ATURE ROCK-SOL ID, GENUINE SWISS CRAF TSMANSHIP. OT TO-HOFSTE T TER . SWISS
PETnews 6 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net Clariant completes sale of its pigments business Clariant, a focused, sustainable and innovative speciality chemical company, today completed the sale of its Pigments business to a consortium of Heubach Group (“Heubach”) and SK Capital Partners (“SK Capital”). As announced upon the signing of the transaction, the base enterprise value of the sale amounts to CHF 805 million subject to closing accounts adjustments and before a potential earn-out payment of CHF 50 million which is subject to the business’s 2021 financial performance. Clariant rolled over approximately CHF 115 million to retain a 20 % stake in the new holding company, alongside Heubach and SK Capital. This combined business is a global pigments player with approximately 3,000 employees generating approximately EUR 1 billion in annual sales with strong service and production capabilities across the globe. This roll-over allows Clariant to further benefit from the improving profitability of the Pigments business, participate in future growth opportunities and realise synergies via the combination with Heubach’s Pigments business. Clariant’s net cash inflow after roll-over and initial debt adjustments, but before closing account adjustments, tax, transaction cost and a potential earn-out payment amounts to approximately CHF 615 million. Clariant intends to use the proceeds of the divestment to invest into growth projects within the core Business Areas, execute the strategy along sustainability and innovation, fund the performance improvement programs as well as strengthen Clariant’s balance sheet to reach and defend a solid investment rating. “The Pigments divestment concludes Clariant’s transformation into a high-value speciality chemical company, allows us to invest in profitable growth in our most attractive segments and to address the increasing demand for more sustainable products,” said Mr Conrad Keijzer, Chief Executive Officer of Clariant. “We are convinced that the Heubach and SK Capital consortium is the best owner of the Pigment activities and I wish our former colleagues all the best in their new environment. Clariant looks forward to participating in the group’s further development as a shareholder.” www.clariant.com Moldintec’s packaging and design team have won the WorldStar Award in the category Beverage Moldintec announced that their packaging and design team has won the 2022 WorldStar Award in the category of Beverage for “Bonafont NoLabel project”. The WorldStarAward Jury explained their decision as follows: “Moldintec’s NoLabel bottle arouses emotions in people that are more effective than marketing that touts features and benefits only. NoLabel is all about essential packaging for branding agencies that strive for “iconic assets.” It’s a manifesto to people about environmental protection, materials reduction, and recyclability commitment. Essential itself as water. It’s a unique combination of industrial design and engineering talent to develop laser-based manufacturing technology for blow moulds. Decoration, communication, and structural design features fused on the whole bottle skin. Easy to recycle and made 100% PCR. Laser machining makes it real “what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Winners will be honoured at the prestigious WorldStar Awards presentations to be held during May 2022. www.worldstar.org www.moldintec.com/es/ BrauBeviale 2022 suspended at the request of the industry – BrauBeviale 2023: 14 – 16 November 2023 The Covid pandemic continues to shake up the international event calendar in the global beverage technology sector in 2022. After intensive consultation with the companies and associations represented on the BrauBeviale exhibition advisory committee, the event organiser, Nürnberg Messe, has decided to suspend BrauBeviale 2022, from 8 – 10 November 2022. “By taking this step, we are reacting early to the concerns of the market, and ensuring planning reliability for the industry,” says Ms Andrea Kalrait, Executive Director of BrauBeviale and Beviale Family. The next BrauBeviale, therefore, will be held from 14 to 16 November 2023 in Nuremberg. Here are a few voices from the BrauBeviale exhibition advisory committee: “We made the decision to suspend the BrauBeviale in 2022 as key sponsors, alongside our partner NürnbergMesse; by doing so, we are accepting the industry’s desire to hold just one international specialist exhibition in 2022. However, we are already working together to get another attractive and successful BrauBeviale up and running in Nuremberg in 2023!” Mr Stefan Stang, Managing Director, Private Brauereien Bayern e.V. “I have the utmost respect for this difficult, but certainly correct decision. Instead, next year we will be putting the pedal to the metal once again in Nuremberg!” Mr Andreas Holleber, Vice President Global Technology Centre, GEA Brewery Systems GmbH. “The decision is absolutely the right one: holding the two leading beverage technology exhibitions in one year would be too much. We are very much looking forward to a strong BrauBeviale in 2023!” Dr Roland Folz, Group President, Pentair Haffmans BV. “Planning reliability is very important, particularly at present. I want to express my thanks and great respect for this early decision!” Mr Martin Tolksdorf, CMO, Döhler Group GmbH. www.braubeviale.de/en
7 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net Executive board change in Engel Group Effective February 1st, 2022 Dr Stefan Engleder will take over all responsibilities from Christoph Steger. Dr Christoph Steger, hitherto Chief Sales Officer, is leaving the Engel Group at his own request. Background for his withdrawal is his wish to further develop himself vocationally and to change his career orientation. “We would like to thank Christoph Steger for his full commitment to Engel over the last 10 years”, highlights Dr Stefan Engleder, CEO of the Engel Group. “He has significantly contributed to the success of Engel within this period! At the same time, we would like to wish him all the best for his further professional and personal future.” www.engelglobal.com Starlinger delivers its first bottle-to-bottle plant to Turkey The food-grade PET recycling system will be suppl ied to rPET f lake producer Başatlı in April 2022. The recoSTAR PET 215 iV+ will be Starlinger’s first bottle-to-bottle recycling system operating in Turkey. It is equipped with one of the biggest extruder sizes that Starlinger recycling technology is currently building and produces up to 2,400 kg food-safe rPET per hour. The evaluation of the project by the European Food Safety Authority EFSA is currently underway. “Başatlı is one of the pioneers in PET bottle-to-bottle recycling in Turkey. We are happy that they have chosen PET recycling equipment from Starlinger for their ambitious project”, says Mr Paul Niedl, Commercial Head of Starlinger recycling technology. “With this investment, Başatlı is contributing significantly to establishing a PET bottle recycling system in Turkey.” Founded in 1953, family-owned Başatlı Boru Profil San. Tic.A.Ş. is a producer of industrial steel pipes, hollow sections and sheets located in Kocaeli Province. The company entered the PET recycling market in 2019 and produces PET flakes from bottles and post-consumer waste. The rPET flakes are used in non-food PET packaging, fibres and strapping production. The food-grade rPET pellets processed with Starlinger’s FDA, EFSA and brand owner-approved recycling equipment will be supplied to the bottle-to-bottle industry for preform production. www.starlinger.com www.basatli.com.tr/pet-fl ake EcoIbéria and WorldPET are now part of Logoplaste group Logoplaste announced that EcoIbéria and WorldPET, two leading companies in the production of recycled PET flakes and rPET, are now part of the Logoplaste group. Both companies, located in the North of Portugal, have experience in recycling PET, focusing on the transformation of post-consumer plastic bales into food grade recycled flakes and pellets. The transaction is still subject to customary regulatory approvals. Currently, Ecoibéria manages 47.500 tons of plastic a year – sorting, grinding, washing and transforming it into usable raw material for the plastics industry. For its part, WorldPET recently installed a new Erema Vacunite 2 system that is able to supply 12.000 tons of food grade rPET per year. Mr Jorge Lemos will remain as CEO of both businesses, helping to drive growth as well as ramp up the recently added capacity. For him this new partnership means: “The possibility to continue to evolve and develop an activity that is vital for the green economy. The partnership with Logoplaste aims to ensure that the company I founded in 2005, under the name Ecoibéria, plays an increasingly important role in the evolution of the PET recycling industry globally. Together, we will help society reach a balance in its consumption habits reducing the consumption of finite natural resources and increasing the usage of recycled materials. Above all, we want to contribute to a sustainable planet today and enabling a safe environment for future generations.” This acquisition is a strategic step for Logoplaste towards a circular economy for plastic packaging. The combination of Logoplaste with the recycling knowledge of EcoIbéria and WorldPET, is intended to allow the group to provide its customers with circular packaging solutions that drastically reduce carbon footprint and the impact on the environment. Logoplaste and its partners are committed to reach 100% of recyclable packaging and a target of 30% recycled content for beverage packaging by 2025. www.logoplaste.com Dr Christoph Steger, CSO Petcore Europe annual conference postponed until June due to pandemic The Petcore Europe Annual Conference 2-3rd February is postponed until 14-15th June due to the pandemic. After extensive consultation and consideration of all the circumstances surrounding the Petcore PET Conference, 2-3rd February, it has been decided to postpone the event until 14-15th June 2022. The uncertainty surrounding the Covid circumstances, considering the health and safety of attendees the delay has been chosen as the best alternative. The venue and facilities remain as planned at the Doubletree Hilton Brussels (Rue Gineste 3, 1210 Brussels). Tickets will automatically be applied to the rescheduled event. Conference – Day 1: Tuesday, 14th June 2022 Networking Event and Dinner: Tuesday, 14th June 2022 Conference – Day 2: Wednesday, 15th June 2022 Petcore Europe Management sincerely apologises for the inconvenience this may cause to all stakeholders, speakers, sponsors, media partners & attendees. www.petcore-europe.org
EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net 8 The European Road Show to Drinktec 2022 is underway Will it all be different? And if so, how exactly? The Editourmobil is back in Europe! In the most exciting project we have implemented since the annual Road Shows, the PETplanet Team is working in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic to highlight the current challenges, strategies and opportunities for the European PET sector. The global crisis has put the global economy, global requirements and consumer behaviour to the test. Conservative sectors, some operating constantly for decades, have been knocked around, forced to rethink on the fly and restructure themselves to suit the new situation. The way we communicate, invest and consume has undergone lasting change during the pandemic and the climate crisis. In many places, digitalisation has undergone massive expansion and remodelling; topics like health, sustainability, logistics and e-commerce have received an unprecedented boost and are once again the topics of our time. How can we achieve our future climate goals and structure production with greater added value? How can we ensure continuity and become more self-sufficient while maintaining competitiveness? What trends have arisen both because of and during the pandemic? And what adjustments must be made so we can offer our customers and partners security paired with good service? We want to discuss all these topics and much more on the European Road Show.
EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net 9 Sponsors to date The worldwide round trip with EDITOURS Back to Europe The second part of PETplanet’s bipartite Drinktec Editour is right ahead! After the successful first part “From Down Under to Japan” in 2020, our second stage of the project takes us back to the flourishing European hub where we will be exploring the latest technologies, news, innovations and developments that move our PET industry. It is time for a new start, for renewal and for developing new ways of thinking. During and especially after the pandemic, it will be vital to make every effort to get the global economy back on track in the medium term. Sustainability will be the key. Once again, PETplanet will be at the forefront. It will again be a partner in Drinktec, the world’s leading beverage trade fair, which is to be held in Munich from 12-16 September 2022. After the success of our previous Drinktec Road Shows, in 2017 in South East Asia and 2020 in Australasia, we will be back on the road in Europe for a whole year. Starting in Autumn 2021 with our Editourmobil, we will be ready for a new get-together with the industry. We will be revealing the results of our meetings and discussions at Drinktec with the leading thinkers in PET processing, packaging and recycling. Apart from new technologies we will be also taking stock of how things stand. We will be asking how global thinking might change as a result of Covid-19. How will bilateral business relationships cope with the aftermath of the pandemic? What opportunities will there be for the drinks industry and its suppliers? Our planning, in terms of precise timeframes and details of the countries to be visited will be flexible, in order to take account of the rapidly changing pandemic situation. However, this much we can confidently say: in these challenging times we, as the voice of the PET industry, will be at the very heart of the roadshow as usual and are already looking forward to welcoming you back on board the Editourmobil! Share this exciting experience with us! Interested in being interviewed? barton@hbmedia.net Let Your Inspiration Flow. The European Road Show PART2 Empowered by drinktec Interested in becoming a Sponsor? sales@hbmedia.net Autumn 2021 - 2022
EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net 10 Insular or Global? by Ruari McCallion The United Kingdom – officially, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Of these, England is by far the largest and, economically, the most dominant although, politically, the smaller nations have punched above their weight. The UK is the world’s fifth-largest economy and second only to Germany in wider Europe. Its economy is dominated by service industries; it is a global financial centre, with capital-raising resources dating back centuries. The country can claim to be the cradle of the Industrial Revolution but it now ranks eighth or ninth in the list of the world’s manufacturing economies (depending on definition) and less than nine per cent of its GDP is from manufacturing activities. Germany’s manufacturing sector contributes over 20% of total GDP. The UK’s largest manufacturing sector is Food & Drink, with 16.5% of total manufacturing GDP, followed by Transport, including automotive (13.9%) and Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals (13.8%) which should lead to packaging production being equally large. It is significant but packaging is well down the list of manufacturing sectors. Rubber, plastics and nonmetallic minerals segment accounts for 7.3% of total manufacturing GDP, with machinery slightly larger, at 8.4%. there are no UK-based producers to match Canada’s Husky, the German network or Italy’s cluster. The Food & Drink sector is mature and significantly concentrated. Nonalcoholic beverages and energy drinks are overwhelmingly produced by a small number of large companies: Coca-Cola (including Fanta, Sprite, Dr Pepper and Schweppes), Britvic (which is the UK licensee for PepsiCo, Lipton Ice Tea, 7-Up and Gatorade), Suntory and Red Bull. Packaging – foreign ownership; zero-carbon challenges The UK’s packaging manufacturing industry as a whole employs some 85,000 people and has sales in excess of £11 bn (€13 bn). Much of the industry is owned by non-UK based companies. The Packaging Federation says that the decisions to invest or not in the UK have adversely influenced by perceptions of unilateral actions by the UK in pursuit of a low carbon economy (including carbon floor pricing) and the lack of a coherent strategy on the availability and pricing of energy and warns that there is a real danger that such policies – or lack of them – may seriously impact continued investment and employment in the industry’s UK manufacturing facilities. Indorama Ventures, a global leader in the production and supply of PET, closed its UK plant, located in Workington, NW England, in December 2017. Investment the other direction has been led by Alpek Polyester, which acquired the 26-hectare former Lotte Chemical UK site in Wilton, near Redcar, NE England, in January 2020. The site, which is 350 km from London, has the capacity to produce over 350,000 tonnes of PET resin chips annually. Beverage performance – growth in smoothies, health and energy drinks According to Mintel, total combined sales volumes of fruit juice, juice drinks and smoothies declined by 10.5% between 2014 and 2019. Sales fell 1.4% over the same period; revenues were estimated at £4.6bn (€5.5 bn) in 2019. The smoothies segment actually went the other way during the period, posting strong Plastic packaging placed on the market (POM) thousand tonnes 2017 2019 Change t % Grocery 948 987 39 4% Non-Grocery 584 460 -124 -21% Consumer 1,532 1,447 -85 -6% Agriculture 37 37 0 0% Construction & Demolition 62 76 14 23% Retail Back of Store 126 100 -26 -21% Hospitality 196 220 24 12% Manufacturing & Other 409 409 0 0% Non-consumer 830 842 12 1% Overall POM 2,362 2,289 -73 -3% Source & copyright by: WRAP Plastics Market Situation Report 2021 Macro-economic data United Kingdom 2019 2020 2021* Population (millions) 66.8 67.1 67,4 Population growth p.a. 0.6% 0.6% 0,70% GDP (current prices, trillions) US$ 2.83 US$ 2.71 US$2.89 GDP growth rate (real) 1.7% -9.7% 6.5% GDP per capita (current prices) US$ 43,070 US$ 41,125 US$46,744 Import (billions) US$ 918.9 US$ 765 US$798 Export (billions) US$ 892.5 US$ 770.5 US$772 National debt of GDP 85,2% 104,5% 96.1% Unemployment rate 3.8% 4.5% 4.2% Inflation 1.7% 1% 4.6% *estimated
EDITOUR 11 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 value and volume growth. It will be challenging to reverse this trend, as health advice now is to restrict juices to 150ml a day. Kiti Soininen, Mintel’s Head of UK Food, Drink and Foodservice Research, highlighted the pressures and campaigns on sugar content as on ongoing trend but also mentioned emerging health trends – for fibre content particularly – as a possible bright spot. The same company’s Soft Drinks Review 2021 found that 35% of adults in the UK believe that there are not enough soft drinks available that are aimed at adults. This may be an opportunity for smaller brands to capitalise on. High levels of interest in functional benefits emphasises the scope for these to increase market share by offering benefits beyond hydration and flavour, which can offset concerns around sugar, to an extent. Immune health has come higher up the agenda, thanks to the Covid-19 outbreak. The energy drinks market is dominated by a Big 5: Coca-Cola, Suntory, Red Bull, Monster Beverage Corp, and PepsiCo (Rockstar Energy). It is forecast to show CAGR of 4.3% over the 10 years 2016-2026. Around 80% of energy drinks are sold in cans, with PET taking the remaining share. Consumers are, increasingly, turning to sugar-free energy drinks; only around 30% say they never drink sugar-free, according to Mordor Intelligence. Alcoholic beverages – a mixed picture The alcoholic beverages market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 3.1% during 2019-2025, according to Research & Markets. In 2018, the UK market was valued at £33bn (€37bn) and is forecast to reach £40bn in 2025. WHO reported that alcohol consumption per capita decreased slightly, from 12.3 litres in 2010 to 11.4 litres in 2016. That decline seems to have been reversed during the Covid-19 period, despite the introduction of minimum alcohol pricing in Scotland and Wales. The key players in the alcoholic beverages market are Carlsberg A/S, Diageo PLC, Suntory Holdings Ltd., and Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV. The brewing industry was historically centred around Burton-uponTrent, in the Midlands of England, with a legacy of strong regional brewers. The consolidation upwards has, paradoxically, left space for the emergence of micro-breweries at the bottom end. Most beer for retail sale is packaged in glass; cider, in contrast, has a stronger representation of PET. While the UK is gaining a reputation for high quality white and sparkling wines, made from vineyards in the chalk downlands of the SouthEast, most wine is imported. Whisky is made primarily in Scotland and Ireland, with new distilleries emerging
EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net 12 in Wales and England. Specialist and premium gins have become a trend in the spirits market. The overwhelming majority of spirits and wines are packaged in glass. Although consumption at home increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK hospitality industry was very hard hit by shutdowns in 2020 and 2021. Many pubs, cafes and restaurants shut their doors permanently after a series of lockdowns and restrictions. The pub trade newspaper, the Morning Advertiser, reported that six pubs a week had closed from March 2020 to May 2021. This number has since been revised upwards; Sky News reported on 22 January 2021 that 10,000 licensed premises – pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants - closed permanently during 2020, with a net reduction of just under 6000, when new openings were taken into account. Brexit and ‘Global Britain’ The impact of Brexit has been far less although, as the pandemic retreats in the UK, producers are becoming more concerned about export markets. Trade with with the EU has fallen since the UK formally left, on January 31, 2020, but activity with other parts of the world have risen, quite significantly, in some cases. It is being actively supported by the UK Government’s ‘Global Britain’ campaign. The USA’s relaxation of a trade embargo on whisky has seen a recovery in sales to America. Environment In Mintel’s Soft Drinks survey, 62% of adults cited plastic pollution among their top five environmental concerns. CocaCola Great Britain (now part of CocaCola Europacific Partners) announced in 2021 that all plastic bottles of 500ml and less for brands including Coca Cola, Coca Cola Zero Sugar, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Dr Pepper and Lilt will be made of 100% recycled plastic. The new bottles are easy to spot; they have been lightly coloured in a translucent shade of dark green. The Packaging Federation maintains that modern packaging and distribution methods in the UK enable food wastage in the supply chain to be at very low levels – just three per cent, compared to more than 40% in Russia/India and other countries. While demand for packaging is directly linked to consumer demand for products, developments in packaging in recent years have seen a decoupling of packaging growth from GDP growth in Britain. In the last ten years, the amount of packaging per person used in the UK has remained virtually unchanged while, in the same period, GDP and household expenditure have grown by some 20%. End of life packaging represents less than 20% of total household waste and below three per cent of unrecovered waste to landfill. Even that can be recovered; the UK has several energy-from-waste schemes that mine for and extract methane and other usable products from landfill sites. Proper, circular economy recycling of PET still lags behind aluminium and ferrous metals in the UK. Aluminium cans are now nearly 100% closedloop; virtually no virgin aluminium goes to food and beverage cans. While households are exhorted to sort waste and to recycle as much as possible, there is still a lot of potential. According to WRAP, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, UK plastic film recycling capacity was estimated to be just over 205k tonnes in 2020. Rigid plastic packaging recycling capacity was estimated at 440k tonnes in 2020; it could rise by nearly 300k tonnes by 2025, if all plans come to fruition. The UK is seeking to increase domestic capacity to recycle and reuse plastic waste and is consulting on policies to improve the quality of recovered plastic and create demand for recycled plastics. The market for recovered and recycled plastics is likely to continue to grow over the next 5–10 years. 338 124 25 599 266 34 7 53 286 229 92 111 93 24 1 6 Source & copyright by: WRAP Plastics Market Situation Report 2021 Consumer plastic packaging placed on the market by format and polymer 2019 (in 1,000 t) Source & copyright by: WRAP Plastics Market Situation Report 2021 Non-consumer plastic packaging placed on the market by format and polymer 2019 (in 1,000 t)
EDITOUR 13 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23
EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net 14 Tour Sponsors: First Circle: New name, new direction by Ruari McCallion Interview with First Circle Packaging Limited December 13, 2021 We met: Mr Chris Phelan, CEO and Mr Greg Ward, HR Director First Circle Packaging Limited emerged from the restructuring of Nampak Ltd, where the UK Plastics division was divested. Nampak Plastics was previously formed by the merger of Plysu and Blowmocan back in 1999. Greybull Capital LLP, its new owners, have committed to significant strategic investment including development of new product lines outside of dairy, including its first foray into PET. PETplanet Insider’s UK editor, Ruari McCallion, met HR Director Greg Ward and CEO Chris Phelan – coincidentally, two years exactly from the acquisition. First Circle Packaging’s HQ is in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England, 90 km north of central London. It has very good transport links, being less than 4 km from the M1 arterial highway from London to the Midlands and North of England, and well-placed for east-west routes as well. It also has a facility in Livingston, Scotland, which serves the local market and Northern England. The brand name may be new but it has a long history of manufacturing and supply of polymer packaging, with the familiar names of Plysu and Blowmocan in its legacy. It was owned by South African company Nampak from 1999 to 2019, when it was acquired by private equity firm Greybull Capital. The acquisition was followed by a complete restructuring of the Board as part of the transition. It now employs over 230 people; it is actively seeking to recruit but it is up against tough competition in the local labour market. Rebranding, refocusing and restructuring The decision was made to rebrand from Nampak Plastics as part of a strategy that would draw a distinct line under the past. That the company did so in 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, was a twoedged sword. As well as the inevitable upheaval that such an exercise would involve, the company had to deal with disruption to the supply chain, same as everyone else. On the upside, a less than predictable market meant that the whole workforce was already in troubleshooting mode, ready to deal with problems and unexpected challenges. “The change of ownership gave us an excellent opportunity to rebrand, to reflect, restructure and refocus,” said Greg Ward. “While there was uncertainty initially after the takeover, it quickly became clear that Greybull Capital’s view was that this business has growth potential and opportunity. Some is within the dairy industry but the market is already competitive with limited growth. We wanted to diversify, to extend our product portfolio outside of dairy, to return in some ways to the Plysu days and to go into personal care.” The choice of First Circle as the new name is intended to convey the company’s strategy to develop circular economy and manufacturing ideas and principles, as well as its decision to venture outside its traditional market of dairy, to personal care, First Circle’s factory hall F.l.t.r.: CEO Chris Phelan with HR Director Greg Ward
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EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net 16 Tour Sponsors: household, industrial and agrichemical products. Its geographical focus is on the UK and Ireland at present. We met on 13 December 2021, the second anniversary of Chris Phelan’s appointment as CEO. The immediate past two years have seen a lot of changes in structure and direction. Stability and viability The objective is for First Circle to be a profitable operation and it is not intending to go for volume at any price. “The immediate priority was to restabilise the dairy business, which had been operating at a loss, and to get the finances and commercial model under control. One of the first targets was waste. We are interested in growing profitably, rather than building turnover at any cost” said CEO Chris Phelan. “We were seeing 16% waste in production runs,” he continued. “While we can reprocess a lot of our waste internally and reuse this, its costs energy and money, so it was not sustainable.” Waste has been brought down dramatically, to less than six per cent, but Chris isn’t resting on any laurels. The business continues to review its cost base and ensure it manufactures its products in the most cost effective and efficient way. In contrast to the decision to focus on domestic markets it has scoured the world for raw material suppliers, both to ensure security of supply and to address cost issues. This was bound to happen, as part of the strategic expansion into new markets, but Covid-related disruptions highlighted vulnerabilities within the supply chain – the company had only two main suppliers when it was acquired by Greybull – and threw into sharp relief those businesses that wanted to work collaboratively over the longer term, and those with narrower horizons. Expansion into PET – from a low base “Our products have previously been exclusively HDPE and prior to the acquisition the business had been totally focused on the dairy sector,” he said. “We are reviewing the current machine landscape in the factory to enable us to operate more efficiently, along with installing new machinery and equipment – some engineers from ADS (Acme Drinktec Solutions, an Indian single-stage mould manufacturing company) have been on-site supporting the installation of new toolsets, which will be totally dedicated to PET bottles.” PET is currently a small proportion of First Circle’s overall bottle output but it is currently engaged in a big programme of investment. The first PET bottles are scheduled to roll off the new machinery in January 2022, so there was a buzz of urgency and focus about the place. ADS was selected in preference to other suppliers because of its quality and speed of delivery time. From a complete standing start, First Circle expects PET to reach over five per cent of total output during 2022. The first customer to engage with the new line is MyFabulosa, based in the north-west of England, which makes a range of ethical and vegan household cleaning, laundry and air freshening products. The packages First Circle is making for them are heavier than for food or beverage, which is appropriate for a container that will be handled a lot. They have a high-gloss, glass-like finish, and contain around 30% rPET. Recycled material is not a new thing for the business; it has been heavily involved in rHDPE for some years, initially introducing it in 2007, into milk bottles it supplied to Marks & Spencer. First Circle is fully dedicated to single-stage production of bottles. Its raw material is HDPE pellets (and a rising proportion of PET), with a finished bottle at the end. It is not involved in preforms at all. Realigning the factory floor Greg Ward led us on a tour of the factory floor. The facility is spread across three adjacent units in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Newport Pagnell. Its main machinery suppliers are Nissei ASB; Nissei PET single stage, Magic and Uniloy EBM. The Magic EBM all-electric large capacity HDPE machines will mostly be dedicated to large industrial packaging containers. Building One houses its EBM Uniloy machines. Finished bottles from there go into Building Two, for semiautomatic palletisation into stillages. Building Three previously had eight Uniloy dairy machines. Just two were there during PETplanet Insider’s visit; they are shortly to be relocated to Building One, which will then be purely for dairy packaging. The change in machine landscape will enable more efficient use of space, with an additional 30% of warehousing, within the same footprint. Building Three will then be devoted entirely to non-dairy packaging, with production from its Magic machines repurposed to personal care and household, plus Nissei ASB PET machines. The power and support infrastructure is already in place for further investment. “Plant services and high-pressure system has been installed to support additional Nissei machines. If we could buy some more PET machines we would do so, tomorrow,” Chris explained. “The hydro-electric four-pump system has been removed and is being relocated to the Livingston plant. As well as new machinery, Newport Pagnell has been equipped with new flooring, new lighting and ABB robotic orientation and alignment, trimming and packing equipment.” Return on investment All the investment is already starting to pay off. Production and business management systems are also being upgraded, with a new MMS (manufacturing management system) and ERP scheduled to be installed during 2022. The productivity improvements have been pretty immediate and quite significant. “The business has gained real traction over the past 24 months and this continues with it moving into the PET space, although we still have a way to go in delivering our long-term strategy,” Chris Phelan concluded. www.fi rstcircle.group
CAPS & CLOSURES 17 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net One of the early pioneers in using the z-slides concept was Coca Cola’s operation in Eastern Creek, Australia. Since last year the bottler has been part of CCEP, the Coca Cola European Partners, the biggest bottling company for Coca Cola. David Chalmers, Head of Packaging Services at CCEP Australia has been leading the projects for the past ten years and says: “Fast cycle times, exceptional performance, low maintenance and minimal wear parts, great technical support and part design capabilities made z-moulds a perfect fit and partner.” Since 2012 the company produced billions of closures with the z-slides system and proved that the concept is robust and reduces significantly the necessity for unexpected downtime. With the patented z-slides technology the Austrian mould maker responded, more than 10 years ago, to a common wear problem with lateral slider moulds in the closure industry. Due to rapid cycles and therefore multiple million shots per year, the conventional slider moulds have issues with ongoing wear. The parting line between the cavities is flat and does not need any additional centring and consequently the wear was reduced to an absolute minimum. (Fig.1) Meanwhile the Australian CocaCola bottler runs 11 closure systems from the Austrian mould specialists and proofed this as a success story. In addition to the lowered reinvestment for maintenance and also the reduction of downtime, output was increased as well as the overall efficiency of the system. For example, US based water bottling company Premium Waters Inc. successfully ran the 96-cavity moulds more than 35 million shots, in less than 3 years, producing more than 3 billion closures from each of their systems. Adjusted to tethered caps requirements Not only in Europe, where the new Single Use Plastics Directive (EU) 2019/904 of the European Parliament will apply from 2024 on, but also in many other countries around the globe customers are tending to look for more environmentally-friendly solutions. Michael Fink, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing says: “To respond to today’s market requirements, the proven concept was re-engineered and enhanced by an extended movement. This allows us to have complete closure side walls within the slider geometry. Combined with the ability in de-moulding into four directions, this technology is a perfect fit for the new generation of beverage caps. Specially tethered caps require these enlarged slider heights and de-moulding possibilities.” With this technical advance the Austrian mould and closure specialist can remain with the well-proven concept and the associated benefits and at the same time open a new possibility of de-moulding all types of tethered closure designs. One of the first customers using this enhancement is design partner Universal Closures Ltd. from the UK, who designed a screw-on and flip-off tethered solution to be used with standard 29/25mm 3-start bottle necks. (Fig.2) The new z-slides extended can fit closure wall’s up to 15mm, so all new bottle necks are covered. www.z-moulds.com Fig.1 Patented z-slides cavity stack CAPS & CLOSURES Responding to tethered caps requirements Extended slider mould concept The Austrian mould maker and closure specialist z-moulds is known for its unique slider technology used for all beverage closures with tamper evidence bands. The so-called z-slides system is patented and used by many closure producers around the world. To meet tethered caps requirements, the proven concept has been re-engineered and extended. Fig.2 UCL Tethered Peacock Design
CAPS & CLOSURES 18 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net Lightweight, ready-to-market solutions Recent months have seen the launch of some special solutions for the new 26 mm necks by Sacmi. These solutions are already in use on several projects on four continents. Advantages include the ability to save material on each cap and on preform production lines while simultaneously helping the industry transition to the new tethered standard. CAPS & CLOSURES The waste hierarchy Each year, the world produces 400 million tons of plastic. That amount is set to double over the next 20 years. Respected sources estimate that at least a third of the produced plastic will, at the end of the packaging life-cycle, end up in the environment. That’s why the market takes a 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) perspective, an approach guided both by increasing environmental awareness and strict new standards requiring manufacturers to use less virgin plastic. “Reduce” is the main, most effective option available to the closures industry and has a dual goal: to shrink the industry’s environmental footprint and to develop more efficient, more competitive industrial processes. The resin & design challenge Sacmi has years of experience in overcoming the technological challenges associated with weight reduction. On the most common closure standards (e.g. PCO 1881 and 26mm packages) this has led, over the last 10 years, to an average weight reduction of nearly 50%. New CSD caps, 30.41 and 30.40 (26mm) The latest lightweight Sacmi caps for bottles up to 3 liters are well established on the market (e.g. 30.41 and 30.40 necks in combination with, respectively, a lightweight 1.65 g cap and the new 1.75 g cap). These solutions have the advantage of cutting weight by up to 20% compared to a traditional PCO1881, without affecting cap performance like for instance seal and ease of opening which are non-negotiable features for brand owners. Compared to previous packages, total neck/cap weight savings amount to 1.5 g. This means that a line producing 400 million bottles per year, saves an average of 600 tons of plastic every year. To cope with the market transition, Sacmi is proposing solutions for GME30.40 caps both in a tethered and untethered configuration. For the tethered field Sacmi offers the new Delta Hinged and This Cap Hold Open, a comprehensive proposal capable of meeting every market need. From water trends to high-speed lines up to 38mm (juices) Light and ultra-light water closures have been enjoying considerable success for at least 10 years on world markets. They comprise a wide range of solutions that - especially on American and, more recently, African markets - can include caps weighing less than 1g, or even less. As far as the juice market is concerned, Sacmi recently launched 38mm lightweight designs that can also be moulded on the CCM24 and CCM48, thus covering the entire CCM range.These lines offer high output rates (up to 72,000 caps per hour with the 48-mould press, cycle time 2.4 seconds) a small footprint, and, in comparison to alternative technologies such as injection, a high level of performance. Returnables, a new frontier also for HDPE New EU policies are expected to increase the number of returnable bottles on the market (both glass and PET). These containers require that the cap be easily separated from the bottle, so the anti-tamper band must remain attached to the cap itself. Here too, Sacmi is ready with solutions that meet these needs. www.sacmi.com
CAPS & CLOSURES 19 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net Rocket Sports cap with Actiph Water and PolkaLite paired with SimpliCycle valve A two-in-one solution Aptar Rocket redefines beverage packaging safety standards by offering a highly visible and non-detachable tamper evidence system to the market. The sports cap complies with upcoming sustainability regulations, including the Single Use Plastics (SUP) Directive proposal in Europe. CAPS & CLOSURES Partnering with Actiph Water to combine the Rocket sports cap with its brand speaks to the nature of both companies, where Actiph wants to match the overall consumer experience with the quality of its water. Actiph Water has a high alkaline level. Aptar Food + Beverage offers a sports cap that is cohesive with the Actiph brand and promises an overall premium experience. In addition to its visible safety, Rocket offers a no-dust, double-wall lid design that protects the drinking area from external contaminants. A large finger recess and audible closing “click” makes opening and closing Rocket easy and reassuring for consumers. Rocket’s hinge technology offers a wide opening angle, ensuring the elimination of a lid spring-back effect. Furthermore, Rocket was designed to adhere to child safety standards (BSDA). To meet upcoming sustainability standards, the closure is tethered to the neck of the bottle. This system ensures the closure and bottle remain connected through its lifecycle, and therefore, increases the likelihood of the closure being collected and sent through the recycling stream with the bottle. Aptar Food + Beverage leveraged the benefits of two high-performance products, PolkaLite, a lighter version of the Polka closure (-1.3 g). The award-winning SimpliCycle recyclable valve to bring to manufacturers and consumers a high level of performance, convenience and sustainability in a closure that is reliable throughout the product life cycle, stated Aptar. PolkaLite is a recyclable closure designed to use less raw materials. It not only helps brands in complying with packaging regulations and potentially achieve eco-taxes reduction, but it also appeals to environmentally conscious consumers who are committed to using products that are recyclable. PolkaLite, when paired with SimpliCycle, is a dispensing solution that is recyclable at the end of use, without compromising on performance. SimpliCycle, recently awarded the Best CSR & Sustainability Initiative at the World Food Innovation Awards ceremony in March 2021, is easily separated from the PET recycling stream and has the ability of being recycled with both PE and PP. PolkaLite is designed to provide enhanced capping performance thanks to its thread profile and the durable outer shape with less conicity. This ready-to-use solution is easy to deploy for manufacturers. By fitting different food products, even with chunks or with high level of viscosities, PolkaLite combined with SimpliCycle is easy to scale and supports manufacturer expansion in an e-commerce environment. The liner is not recyclable. Consumers benefit from a robust hinge and upgraded finger recess for a smoother grip plus the domed body deck and lower spout to avoid self-opening, said Aptar. The SimpliCycle valve size (500) allows usage for chunks and thicker sauces, pastes and other ingredients. When used with acid-, oil- and fat-based products, the slitting of the valve remains consistent, making it readyto-use in inverted dispensing systems, and reducing risk of leakage. Besides easy-to-open and close, this 2-in-1 solution allows consumers to dispense precise doses of products time after time. A clean cutoff and tight valve minimises stringing, spurts and drops. In addition, a smooth and straight flow reduces the chance of leaks; altogether, providing a much more hygienic and pleasant experience. www.aptar.com
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