EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net 29 PET packaging for drinks, food and pharmaceuticals Plastic containers for the Cypriot market by Kay Barton As part of our European Road Show, we visited the industrial estate of Frenaros in Cyprus, close to the tourist hotspots of Ayia Napa and Protaras. Here, we were told, there was an interesting plastic converter that provides various sectors of the local market and abroad, with flexible packaging solutions, sometimes using PET. We met founder and boss Yiannakis Kone and his son in their factory and formed an overview of their production processes and portfolio. Interview with YK Megaplast Ltd. March 1, 2022 We met: Mr Yiannakis Kone, Owner Mr Michalis Sideris, Business Development at Cypet Technologies From the outside, the double warehouse gives no reason to suggest it is the place we are looking for. Only a couple of large boxes marked “Megaplast” just being loaded by Gate 2 give any indication that we are in the right place. The workshop that we enter is unusually deserted apart from Yiannakis Kone, who is packing small bottles just created on one of his Nissei ASB machines. The six-person team is currently out of action due to coronavirus so he is simply doing the packing in his family business. “Such is the dedication and professionalism of this company to keep the production running, no matter what”, he says. Without him, the founder of Megaplast with a background in engineering, and his son George Kone with a background in economics, the local packaging market in Cyprus for pharmaceuticals, food and chemicals would presumably look very different. Mr Kone founded the business in 1994 specifically to develop and produce different types of packaging for different applications in the local market. Back then, he started production with one injection moulding machine and one extrusion blow moulding machine. cally. Mr Sideris explained: “Covid-19 presented many challenges, from health and safety in the work place, to supply chain logistics, to customer support, to project freezes globally. For each type of challenge, we had to get creative to work out solutions that would minimise workflow disruption. In the end, despite these challenges, we still delivered machines and moulds to customers, as well as continued to make additions to our order book.” In the future, Cypet intends to continue to invest heavily in R&D and continue its development of machine and container technology. The company is also planning to expand its plants in Cyprus and India. Furthermore, the business is investing in staff training in sales and marketing. In addition to its in-house sales department, the company works with several international sales agents, as well as in after-sales service. “We have a dedicated after-sales team, supporting customers on all five continents with a one hour response time for technical and processing support. We also have a stock of spare parts for immediate dispatch to customers. Cyprus is well connected by air to all continents for customer visits”, said Michalis. Cypet is operating one of their own machines on the floor below, which is used both for demonstration purposes as well as a proper production unit because the K28, which has two cavities, continually moulds 10 l water dispenser bottles for a local water bottler. www.cypet.eu Cypet’s production hall Michalis Sideris from Cypet (left) explains the features of the K16 to PETplanet editor Kay Barton. Tour Sponsors:
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