EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 25 No. 03/24 www.petpla.net 10 Multiple designs produced in a one-step process PET bottles for food and non-food by Kay Barton When it comes to format flexibility and high-quality special designs for often very different applications, manufacturers turn to single-stage lines. Petcogulf FZE, which we were able to visit in Dubai’s Jebel Ali free zone, is one such manufacturer. The company, led by Chairman and company owner Nabil Kanazeh and General Manager Aswin Puthran, specialises in PET bottle and container production for the beverage, food, personal care and home care sectors. It is part of the Petco Group, which consists of two independent companies, the local headquarters here and another plant in Jordan. Meeting with Petcogulf FZE December 6, 2023 We met: Mr Nabil Kanazeh, Chairman Mr Aswin Puthran, General Manager General Manager Aswin Puthran welcomed us in the foyer and took us past a large display case with countless different bottles and jars into the meeting room. He has been with the company since 2006, comes from the Indian state of Kerala, and is a Mechanical Engineer. Starting as a Plant Engineer, he later rose to his current position. He told us about the beginnings of the company. “The decision to set up the company in such a dynamic field was a logical one. At that time, there was so much demand and hardly any PET bottle manufacturers in the UAE, so the bottles had to be imported, which was laborious and costly. We therefore started with around three or four machines back then and now have 26.” 14 machines are from Nissei ASB (models 12M, PF6-2B, PF4-1B, 50MB, 70DP). Production takes place in one to four cavities, with a container or bottle range from 50ml to 5 l. Around 260 different formats, both coloured and clear, can currently be produced, with an annual capacity of almost 110 million bottles and containers and over 90% capacity utilisation. Petcogulf obtains its raw materials from Reliance, Hainan Yisheng and Sabic, among others. In addition to a specific masterbatch, customers can also choose a UV barrier or a biodegradable additive for their packaging. Customers also receive the matching closures, which are supplied by Bericap. The manufacturer is certified in accordance with ISO9001:2015, BRC Issue 6 and HACCP. During our tour of the factory, we saw that production is divided into two sections - food items and non-food items. We also discovered two exotic machines in the single-stage machine park, namely a Haitian and a Joyson machine. “We currently produce rPET preforms for juices on the Haitian and blow the bottles on the Joyson, simply because it’s faster at the moment,” explained Mr Puthran. “Our typical customers include edible oil and juice bottlers, tea powder packers and personal and home care bottlers.” He then showed us some sample bottles. Shortly after the official approval of PET recyclate for food contact, Petcogulf acquired the corresponding confirmation for the use of rPET for this purpose. “RPET bottles are the hot topic right now,” said Mr Puthran and showed us one of his latest products, a fully labelled rPET juice bottle for the Carrefour food chain, the same bottle that we had previously been able to inspect virtually naked in production. The company, which recently generated an annual turnover of around US$ 8.2 million, is growing by an average of 10-15% and is focussing on organic expansion in line with the quantities required by customers. In the area of sustainability and recycling, the company saw great potential for the future, moving away EDITOUR The Editourmobil in the driveway of Petcogulf FZE All PET: an insight into the PET containers manufactured by Petcogulf Interview session with (f.l.t.r.) GM Aswin Puthran and Kay Barton Aswin Puthran shows one of the new rPET preforms for juice.
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