Daryl Perry, key account manager PET at VIP Packaging, a PET packaging supplier, speaks to Celia Johnson about the latest trends, developments and challenges facing the PET and rigid plastics industries.

Q. What do you see as the main trends and developments within the PET and rigid plastics indus­tries?
A. The market requirement for PET containers for products other than beverages continues to increase.

For instance, more companies today are considering the many benefits of PET for glass replace­ment because it is shatter-proof, has the ability to provide clarity as good as glass and, with the devel­opment of barrier technology, pro­vides acceptable barrier properties for food applications such as tomato sauce containers.

Q. What are some of the chal­lenges facing manufacturers, sup­pliers and distributors of PET and rigid plastics?
A. The main challenge is the cur­rent upheaval due to an increase in private label products.

Manufacturers who are not cat­egory leaders are facing a predica­ment: do they take the risk and continue to invest in new packag­ing, hoping they won’t be suddenly replaced by private label products; do they embrace private label and try and get a slice of the business; or do they shift their focus to other areas?

Increased National Packaging Covenant obligations are creating interest in packaging weight reduc­tions, alternative recyclable and/or sustainable resins, and closed-loop packaging and recycling solutions.

Q. How are these challenges being overcome?
A.VIP Packaging supports cus­tomers by offering low entry cost solutions in conjunction with innovation.

VIP Packaging has a large stock product offering that can often provide a solution with little or no tooling investment. Existing preform tooling can be shared between similar product shapes, dramatically reducing the tooling cost.

VIP Packaging is also one of the few packaging manufacturers with in-house design capabilities, reducing design time and product cost. The company’s experience helps it balance aesthetics with per­formance and lightweighting.

Q. What is being demanded from PET and rigid plastics at a manufacturing level?
A. Most local manufacturers are under pressure from low-cost imports so the major pressure is price related.

We address this by invest­ing in high-cavitation machines and robotics to keep costs down.

Many customers also require assistance to improve line efficiencies. To this end, VIP Packaging has dedicated technicians who work with customers to make lines faster and more reliable.

Q. What are some of the latest innovations and technologies in the PET and rigid plastics indus­tries?
A. Sustainable resins made from polylactic acid (PLA) are an exciting development.

Imagine being able to dispose of your 100% biodegradable plastic con­tainer with your green waste?

VIP Packaging is working on an implementation strategy that will introduce this technology to the Australian market while pre­serving the current PET recycling stream.

At present, PLA resins cause major problems when mixed into the PET recycling stream. The introduction of PLA into Australia needs to be care­fully managed or else we risk creating a larger problem than the one we are trying to solve.

Q. What advice or key mes­sages can you offer the industry at present?
A. Taking a product from concept to reliable produc­tion is a highly specialised business.

The best advice I can give is this: the earlier you get the packaging manufacturer involved, the lower your overall cost will be, and the quicker you’ll get your product onto the market.

Also, when considering new packaging options, look towards those companies that support local industries. There are far too many products being imported into the country; buy Australian made.

Click here to read an interview with Steve Warren, managing director of SMI Pacifica, about trends and developments in PET.

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