Mogilevkhimvolokno increased export PET prices

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Mogilevkhimvolokno announced an increase in its export prices of bottle grade polyethylene terephthalate (PET) this week. The plant's prices for export shipments rose from 1 April by EUR12/tonne from March, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

The plant's new April export prices were heard at EUR1,092/tonne FCA Mogilev, excluding VAT. Traders said price increases were not expected, however, they were accepted normally by end-users of PET chips.

Open Joint Stock Company "Mogilevkhimvolokno" is the only Belarusian major producer of dimethyl terephthalate, PET polyester chips, food grade PET, polyester fibers and yarns and the main feedstock supplier for consumer industry of Belarus.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- European producers of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) have maintainув March prices for April shipments to the CIS markets, despite lower ethylene prices in the region, according to ICIS-MRC Price report.

April contract ethylene prices in Europe were agreed by EUR15/tonne lower than the March level, which gives an average reduction of EUR7,5/tonne in costs of PVC production. However, European producers mostly maintained March prices for April shipments to the CIS markets, only few companies reduced prices by EUR5/tonne.

Negotiations over April delivery of European PVC already began last week. Delas are considered in the range of EUR725-770/tonne FCA.

Many market participants announced their plans to increase PVC purchasing in Europe on the back of seasonally stronger demand for finished products.
MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) into Kazakhstan fell in January and February 2014 by 43% year on year, according to MRC DataScope.

The overall PET imports to Kazakhstan totalled 6,400 tonnes in the first two months of the year. The sharp decline in imports was registered in February. February imports of PET chips was only 2,000 tonnes on the back of tenge devaluation and a consequent fall in the overall purchasing power (this figure was 5,400 tonnes in February 2013).

Local traders have felt all the negative aspects of the devaluation. Importers reported a slump in demand from buyers. Many companies suspended their purchasing, waiting for the stabilization of the financial market. Local traders said they expect lower shipments in the first half of 2014 because of the inflationary trends and the general decline in sales of finished products.

As reported earlier, there is no domestic PET production in Kazakhstan. Local bottlers' needs are fully met by imports.

MRC

MOSCOW (MRC) -- Krones AG, Neutraubling, Germany, introduces a whole series of innovations and design enhancements, as per the company's statement.

All of them geared to creating even lighter, more attractive, consumer-friendlier packages, plus energy-economical, eco-friendly and affordable production operations designed to reduce the total cost of ownership.

In the field of plastics technology, Krones has developed a new base design for PET containers that features better resistance to heat and pressure coupled with good stability during transport. In comparison to classical hotfill, filling this bottle in the NitroHotfill process enables lower bottle weights to be used, even at high line speeds. In actual operation, the NitroHotfill process, which is used with fruit juices and other sensitive beverages, enables bottle weights down to an exceptionally light 15.5 grams to be achieved.

But it’s not only with sensitive beverages like fruit juices that the thrust towards lightweight containers is being progressed. For carbonated beverages, too, Krones presents a true lightweight, one that weighs 30 to 45 per cent less than comparable PET containers on the market: the "PET lite 9.9 carbonated", a prize-winning study based on the NitroPouch concept. This 500-millilitre bottle, weighing a mere 9.9 grams, scores highly in terms of low material costs and suitability for use at high line speeds.

Deployment of a square 500-millilitre PET bottle weighing just 12.5 grams for product-friendly aseptic filling is made possible by the development of the innovative technology featured in the Contiform AseptBloc, and by the container’s own design, which is particularly persuasive in terms of the bottle’s haptics, and is based on a square-rounded cross-section and a lightweight 33-millimetre neck finish.

In comparison to dressing containers in labels, direct printing on the containers themselves, using the DecoType direct printing system, offers significantly more scope for individualised, attractive design of the containers concerned. It is also ideally suited for supporting marketing campaigns and product launches. With the debut of the DecoType, Krones has expanded its product portfolio for container dressing to include an entirely new variant.

For non-returnable sixpacks, Krones has come up with what’s probably the world’s most space-saving packaging and palletising solution, with the lowest energy consumption, in the shape of the LitePac. Three EvoLite machines are already up and running successfully: up to the present date, 15 million LitePacs have hit the retail shelves. The EvoLite pack strapping machine creates packs with an integrated looped handle. In comparison to shrink-packs, and to other packaging systems on the market as well that operate with gluing, the exceptionally resource-economical production process for the LitePac (which comprises six plastic bottles) offers extremely high potential savings for packaging material and energy, with a cost reduction per pack of up to 74%.

As MRC informed previously, England's Petainer, leading plastic container supplier, has opened a new site in Russia producing recyclable PET beer kegs and water cooler bottles for the local market. The factory, which is located 40 miles from Moscow in Klin, is equipped with a state-of-the-art SIDE blowing machine capable of manufacturing 700 kegs per hour, up to a maximum keg size of 50kg. The facility is currently supplying 20 and 30-litre PetainerKegs to customers in Russia, as well as Belarus and the Ukraine.
mrpclast.com