BOTTLE MAKING 12 PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 03/23 www.petpla.net “We need to work and move forward altogether. This is the only way to go.” Russia’s war against Ukraine, which is contrary to international law, has been going on for a year now. PETplanet spoke to Maxim Poliansky, CEO of PET Technologies, about production conditions, challenges and his assessment for the coming six months. PET Technologies plant is located in Chernihiv, in north-eastern Ukraine, about 80 km from the Belarusian border and 140 km north of Kyiv. PETplanet: What is the current economic situation of the PET and plastic packaging industry in Ukraine? Poliansky: The PET container market in Ukraine is keeping pace with the global trend: consumption is growing. This might seem surprising as several bottlers have ceased operations, but their share of the market has been taken over by other producers. In addition, humanitarian demand has actually led to this market growing. The PET container is still the most economic and at the same time most effective type of packaging. We are continuing to see a higher percentage of rPET in bottles and a trend towards reducing PET bottle weight. Milk and vegetable oil is one of the top growth sectors. The beer market was a little sluggish in mid-2022, but by the end of the year it was beginning to move and Inbev, Carlsberg and some middlesized breweries are now coming back to us with their projects. PETplanet: What are your current production conditions? Poliansky: Manufacturing facilities of PET Technologies are in full operation. The number of employees has not significantly reduced since the war started. Some people are still abroad, but 80% of pre-war numbers are working and that percentage is OK for us. Indeed, in some professional sectors we are hiring again. When the Russians began their full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we did our utmost to hold on to our staff and we have achieved this goal. As for production conditions we immediately implemented additional measures at our manufacturing facilities: industrial generators were installed to ensure we had enough electricity in the case of power cuts, and we created alternative supply chains. In this way, all equipment was produced on time; we have kept to the lead-times agreed with the customer. It’s worth highlighting that currently PET Technologies´ lead-time is about average for the market average or even shorter. Usually, we use the western border of Ukraine to export equipment. In this sense, nothing has changed and delivery times have been unaffected. We are still selling in Ukraine and exporting. Even in 2022 we shipped 3 blowers to the USA. PETplanet: What are your strategies to lead your company through these difficult times? Poliansky: It is now evident that the Ukrainian economy has not come to a halt, despite the war. Local manufacturers of food and beverages have invested hundreds of thousands of US dollars in PET stretch blow-moulding machines since February 2022! Ukrainians and Ukrainian business have a clear vision – we need to work and move forward altogether. This is the only way to go. Our customers worldwide continue to place orders with PET Technologies, trusting in Ukraine. Some of the regions where we have sold our machines and moulds include Europe, the Middle East (Saudi Arabia takes a lot of our moulds) and the Americas. PET Technologies GmbH, Austria (part of the PET Technologies group) participates significantly in these projects. This March we will be commencing manufacture and commissioning of another machine in the United States, followed subsequently in Mexico. PETplanet: What are the biggest challenges in general and how do you see the next six months? Poliansky: People are our principal resource and our biggest challenge is to look after them in whatever way we can. These are people in our company, together with their families, as well as our city and country itself. We consider our mission to maintain the economic balance of the country. PET Technologies is not just staying fully operational, but we are also continuing to invest in research and development! We have recently extended our newest APF-Max series of blow-moulders with smaller 2 and 3-cavity machines. Soon they will be launched on the market. PET Technologies is continuing to develop into new business directions, expanding its manufacturing facilities and we have already invested in new equipment! PETplanet: Thank you so much Maxim. www.pet-eu.com by Heike Fischer
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