IVL announced a September price hike on US PET

(packagingnews) -- The global packaging giant posted its results for the year ended 30 June 2012 this morning (21 August).

It said that it had achieved record profit after tax of USD634.9m, up 11.3%, compared to the same period last year. It also announced that profit after tax and significant items of USD412.6m, up 15.7%.

"During the global financial crisis the business undertook two transformational acquisitions, purchasing Alcan Packaging and Ball Plastic Packaging," said Amcor chief executive Ken MacKenzie. "The integration programs for both acquisitions are ahead of schedule in terms of timing and total synergy benefits. These improvements have been a key component of earnings growth for the year."

Sales volumes in Amcor’s developed markets remained stable, MacKenzie said, reflecting the subdued economic conditions in these economies.

Emerging markets including Asia and Eastern Europe experienced strong sales growth. The company’s flexibles segment is expected to achieve a solid increase in earnings in the next year, Amcor said with continued growth in the emerging markets and from recent acquisitions in Australasia, Mexico, Argentina, India and Thailand .
MRC

(plasticstoday) -- Dole Fresh Fruit, fully aware of issues with brown bananas, is testing a new banana packaging system that may help control the ripening system.

Dole Fresh Fruit is teaming up with supermarkets in Amarillo to test Dole FreshPack, a plastic bag designed to extend the shelf life of bananas.

The two-pouch banana bag is designed with microperforations, and significantly slows the ripening process by reducing the concentration of oxygen around the bananas, while increasing the level of carbon dioxide, according to David Bright, Dole Fresh Fruit vice president of marketing. The FreshPack features dual compartments designed to preserve half of the bananas until ready to eat. Consumers can use one side of the bag immediately, and use the second side to extend its shelf life.

The packaging is said to keep the banana at a greenish-yellow up to six days longer with no added chemicals. The trial run will be deemed successful if FreshPack increases banana consumption in Texas.

Wasting produce is bad for the environment and our pocketbook, and much of the household waste is attributed to food spoilage. The Organic Consumers Association reports that Americans toss out on average $600 worth of food each year, which is more than 100 billion lb of fresh vegetables, fruits, milk, and grain products wasted, primarily due to spoilage.
MRC

(plasticsinfomart) -- Spot ethylene markets recorded noteworthy increases in major monomer markets including Europe, Asia and the US. The main driver behind the bullish trend was surging naphtha costs which continued to rally as energy prices remained high despite fluctuations during last week.

Market sources attributed the ongoing firming to vivid demand due to the approaching maintenance shutdowns at several regional crackers.

In the meantime, two producers restarted their crackers in the region. Repsol reportedly restarted its 410,000 tons/year Sines cracker in Portugal after shutting it in early May. The cracker was scheduled to resume operations in early June initially, but the company faced some technical problems and had to delay the restart.

Also, PKN Orlen ended a six-week maintenance at its Plock cracker in Poland after shutting it in late June, said market sources, adding that the cracker can produce 700,000 tons/year of ethylene. In Asia, demand from China increased noticeably, boosted by a number of typhoons which hit the country’s eastern region and caused port closures and shipment delays. Buying interest was expected to remain strong, sources said, since ethylene supplies were expected to remain limited in September.

Sinopec Tianjin Petrochemical Co. will reportedly shut its Tianjin cracker on August 20 in line with its entire petrochemical complex. The 1 million tons/year cracker will undergo maintenance. In addition, Taiwanese Formosa plans to shut its No. 2 cracker in Mailiao on August 15 for a month long maintenance. The cracker normally produces 1.03 million tons/yr of ethylene.

The recent values indicate a same amount of increase when compared to early August. The jump stemmed from the news that Flint Hills Resources postponed the restart of its Texas cracker due to a leak. The cracker is able to produce 617,000 tons/year of ethylene under normal circumstances.
MRC