A VIRTUAL newcomer in the plastics-for-packaging industry has now attracted a great deal of attention with its strong growth. OCTAL, biggest producer of PET sheet worldwide, is also attracting market interest for its new DPET? technology, an in-house developed solution.
The actual scale of growth of the producer of high-quality PET sheet is reflected in the following figures: From this year to 2012 alone, the Omanbased global enterprise will more than double its turnover from €400 million to about €1 billion.
Nicholas Barakat, CEO of OCTAL, makes no bones about the strides his company have made. "At this stage, we are the most advanced producer of PET sheet in the world. To expand our unique technology, we'll invest another €600 million in the next five years. Thus, our growth is on a winning track," Mr Barakat stated.
On closer examination of the production outputs, this growth becomes even more evident. When the enterprise was founded in 2006, it produced 30,000 tonnes of PET annually. In 2009, with the erection of the new factory, annual production rose to 300,000 tonnes. One year later, thanks to its leading technology and more efficient production methods, the turnout amounted to 350,000 tonnes.
Because of the rapidly growing demand for the new DPET technology, OCTAL is planning to build another factory in 2012 to enable the company to increase production to 927,000 tonnes per year. To cope with the increasing demand, another factory will be established next year. The company has also seen to it that the technology minimises carbon footprint.
OCTAL's order books are full, but the Omani firm wants to provide additional capacities to serve the US and Asian markets. It is eyeing bigger markets and investments in additional capacities have been finalised.
Reducing carbon footprint
The key factor of this growth is its inhouse developed DPET technology because of its lower carbon footprint – today, increasingly a factor for industries trying to achieve their sustainability goals. The lower carbon footprint is a direct result of OCTAL's patented melt-to-sheet technology.
This unique technology has now attracted a great deal of attention in Asia, the United States and Europe. "With the new technology OCTAL has created a revolution. They have successfully broken new ground," said Jarek Zasadzinski, CEO of Greiner Packaging UK and a major customer.
'At this stage, we are the most advanced producer
of PET sheet in the world'
— Nicholas Barakat, OCTAL CEO
Conventional PET manufacturing, which depends on as many as five reactors and requires separate processes for resin and sheet production, is energy intensive. WiAir Jordan XIII 13 Kid