2017 – South East Asia

Our next adventure 2017 is coming up: South East Asia! In conjunction with the world’s biggest beverages technology and equipment show Drinktec, we will set off again for an extensive tour throughout the PET industry of South East Asia – again all by road! Starting in January 2017, we will be

Think of Bali, and we think of idyllic beaches, luxury holidays and endless sunshine… But for us, it is also the start of this year’s Editour. Of the 17,508 islands I will only see one, the main island of Java with the capital Jakarta. My first appointments with AJE and Indofood

A constant theme wherever we go on our tours is: what’s the driving like? It is amazing that wherever we go, the locals think their traffic is the worst. It was the same story in Indonesia. OK, on my travels I can’t use the driving standards common in Switzerland as a

In stark contrast to the wintry PETplanet headquarters we left behind, here in Ho Chi Minh city, my first stop on this section, we are basking in temperatures of 35 degrees – and with humidity to match. Fortunately, I did bring an extra supply of shirts along with me. Although I’ve

It is Wednesday and in my “things to do” file, I have an appointment with the RTD tea manufacturer URC, represented by Mr Sunil Pandit. URC has already been featured in the PETplanet Vietnamreport 2010, so I’m obviously keenly interested in seeing what has happened in recent years. URC produces among

I am on my way to Ngoc Nghia, pretty much the go-to place here for PET processing. The company operates several factories in Vietnam, producing preforms, closures and bottles and boasts a market share of approximately 75% for beverages and 25% food and non-food sectors. Today I’m visiting two of the

Time is simply flying by; I have scarcely arrived in Kuala Lumpur, when I am already packing my bags for the return flight from Singapore. Over a little more than a week I have visited bottlers from the north of the country to the south. All are family-owned businesses, with fathers

A major feature of our worldwide tours is the recurring spontaneity. Often it is forced or in response to unpredictable circumstances, but sometimes it is a very conscious decision. Typical was the decision I took as I was planning for the Chinaplas exhibition. I decided spontaneously to extend the tour to

Barely two weeks after returning from the Philippines, I was bidding goodbye again to the PETplanet team and Germany. This time for a month and a half. The last section of the Thailand and Laos tour was ahead of me and after a somewhat turbulent 6 months, I was more and

The week begins and the first appointments are in-house. I’m meeting up with Indorama, now the world’s largest producer of PET. There is plenty to discuss, so Monday and Tuesday have been set aside for our meeting. Today we are going to the Lopburi plant, where the company produces both material

The weekend was over before I knew it thanks to my foreshortened Saturday and all the report writing. As if that were not bad enough, I have no confirmed appointments for Monday despite all my best efforts, meaning that I could end up kicking my heels. All my best laid plans