"This technological quantum leap offers enormous commercial benefitsto our customers in the fast-growing PET market" said Klaus Moll, mg's executive board member responsible for plant engineering. "As one of the world's leading providersof equipment and processes for the production of PET bottles, Zimmer is extending itstechnological lead and strengthening its outstanding position in this market."
Approximately 10 million tonnes of blanks for PET bottles are manufactured around theworld every year. According to the Association of German Plastics Manufacturers (VKE), global PET consumption is set to grow by 10 per cent per year until 2010.
In contrast to conventional processes, Zimmer claims that its new technology realises the enormous potential for cost savings by obviating the need for costly production stages. In order todevelop this new production process for use on an industrial scale, the company has nowcommissioned a pilot plant with the capacity to produce approximately 12,000 bottleblanks per year at its Frankfurt technology centre.
Zimmer is confident that by the end of the year it will have won its first contract to build a plant in which PET bottles are manufactured using its new process.
Zimmer, which is headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, is a global leader inthe engineering of processes and industrial plant used to produce synthetic fibres andpolymers. It possesses a number of proprietary processes for the manufacture, processingand recycling of polymers, synthetic fibers and thermoplastics.
mg technologies is an international technology group that focuses on specialty mechanical engineering -especially process engineering and components - and plant engineering. The company generated sales ofroughly €6.4 billion excluding discontinued operations in 2003. At the end of 2003 it employed around 29,000people and is one of the world's market and technology leaders in 90 per cent of its businesses.