Drinktec 2022: PET Technologies perseveres in Ukraine to supply world with blow molding tech
12 Sep 2022 --- European equipment developer PET Technologies continues to operate in Ukraine despite the ongoing war. Live from Drinktec 2022 in Munich, Germany, the company discusses with PackagingInsights its decision to remain active in the country and what products and services it offers.
Maxin Poliansky, CEO of PET Technologies, explains that the company’s decision to remain in Ukraine was not easy but that ultimately businesses must return their operations to the country to help rebuild the nation.
“Our production is in the northern part of Ukraine, and when the war started, it was only a few days before the fighting was near the company, and we were forced to stop production for six weeks,” he says.
“There was no electricity, and it was dangerous to operate, so many people left the region. However, since the beginning of April, things started to get better, and we restarted our operations, and now we are almost at prewar capacity. Still, some issues came from the supply chains since many supply chains broke during the war.”
The PET Technologies stand at Drinktec 2022.Rebuilding Chernihiv
PET Technologies has its head office in Austria and a production factory in Chernihiv, a Ukrainian city near the Belarusian border. Despite the city coming under siege between February and April this year, Poliansky says holding out and returning was the right thing to do.
“We decided to stay in our city rather than flee to the West. Our machines are there, but more importantly, our people and our staff are there. Most of the workers remained, so we did too,” he says.
“Somebody needs to rebuild the city and pay taxes there. We are proud to have stayed.”
The company is still exporting its blow molding machines around the world, including to the US and other regions.
“Our main business is blow molding. Until now, this core business remains, but we also produce other things,” says Poliansky.
Recycled PET
In terms of recycled PET (rPET) production, the company’s machines are well suited to providing customers with 100% recycled content, continues Poliansky.
“We also have machines for making special flakes for packagers. The trend for rPET is very strong, and many consumers want to increase their percentage of recyclates. The other trend is to reduce the weight of the bottle.”
“Ten years ago, we could make a 1.5-liter bottle to 35 grams, and today we can make it with 27 grams. The quest to further reduce the amount of material we use just continues,” he says.
Also on display at the show is the company’s APF-Max blow molder, equipped with a special short-wave near infrared heating system (NIR). This is an uncommon method for the PET blow molding market, though preform heating is more efficient while fewer kilowatts are consumed.
Benefits of the NIR system include uniform temperature distribution between the inner and outer parts of the preform wall; reduced heating time; compact heater size; and reduced energy consumption of blow molder.
Drinktec attendees can visit PET Technologies at C5.332.
, with additional reporting from Natalie Schwertheim
By Louis Gore-Langton
