Amcor Pet Packaging

Australian firms stumbling over Chinese competition

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (June 28, 11:55 a.m. ET) --  Australian plastics firms need to rethink how they can minimize labor costs, if they want to compete against cheaper Chinese imports, industry commentators say.

Also, they warn that imports will intensify once a free-trade agreement is finalized. Australia and China have had 15 rounds of FTA negotiations since 2005 without yet reaching an agreement. Negotiations are ongoing, but many Australian manufacturers are worried that eliminating tariffs will increase cheaper Chinese imports, putting Australian businesses at risk.

China is Australia’s largest trading partner, surpassing Japan in 2009. In the financial year ended June 30, 2010, merchandise exports to China were US$49.4 billion and imports were $38.7 billion. The majority of exports, though, are raw materials, mainly iron ore and mineral concentrates. The top categories of imports are clothing, computers, telecommunications equipment and parts, and toys and sporting goods.

As more plastic products are imported from China, onshore production is decreasing, said Kevin Thomson, former president of the Society of Plastics Engineers Australia-New Zealand and director of Melbourne-based Eco Products Agency.

It’s possible for Australian companies to compete with China, but they must demonstrate the benefits of Australian-made products, for example, higher quality and no shipping costs, Thomson said.

John Petschel, managing director of plastic product designer and manufacturer APS Innovations Pty. Ltd. of Ferntree Gully, said many companies have no choice but to source manufactured goods from overseas, particularly China.

“The quality of raw materials is fairly similar whatever country you go to, so the main perk of moving production offshore is reduced labor costs,” Petschel said.

Australia has the ability to manufacture competitive plastic products but companies need to design them to reduce manual labor, he said. “If we want to keep manufacturing onshore, we need to focus our attention on automated manufacturing.”

Petschel said companies have to engineer their products for manufacturability: “The process should be design, engineer, build; not design and build.”

And, he said, there is a misconception that cheap products can only be made in China. “Any Australian company that decides to invest its capital into automated systems will be able to produce at a reduced cost,” Petschel said.

Amcor PET Packaging Partners with McCormick Distilling — Announces ...

Ann Arbor, MI (PRWEB) August 19, 2009

The combination of Amcor's state-of-the-art PCR manufacturing capabilities and McCormick's leadership in advancing environmental issues creates the potential for an effective collaboration. At 15 percent PCR, McCormick Distilling will consume over a half million pounds of PCR annually, the equivalent of more than 7.5 million PET bottles collected in curbside and deposit programs and diverted from landfills.

We couldn't be happier with Amcor, said Jim Zargo, President and COO of McCormick Distilling. Simply put, they help us sell more in the market. They're a full service vendor on the forefront of customer relations and innovation. One such innovation resulted in the highly successful launch of a 100 percent PCR container for McCormick's 360 Vodka –a liquor industry first.

McCormick's 360 bottle is manufactured at the Amcor PET Packaging plant in Nicholasville Kentucky, which will also produce the new 15 percent PCR lines. Within this advanced facility, which does everything from the preform to blow-molding of the containers, Amcor engineers combine technical expertise, innovative thinking and an unwavering commitment to ensure that color, shape and clarity is an exact match to customer expectations.

From the plant perspective alone, McCormick is a great client, said Michael Warkentien, General Plant Manager, Nicholasville, KY. We do a lot of development work with McCormick, and the 15 percent program is very exciting. For McCormick's Jim Zargo, the feeling is mutual.

We saw what they were doing in the Nicholasville facility, said Zargo. It's a dynamic, collaborative process. Like us, they're already working in the PCR arena, so it's a true partnership. And Amcor couldn't be a better partner.

Amcor's approach to the PCR business is a bit different than the competition. Instead of providing PCR to customers upon request, Amcor actively encourages its increased use in their products–something the majority of PET providers cannot do. Dave Clark, Amcor PET Packaging's Director of Sustainability, explained, PCR requires extra attention and expertise because it is more difficult to work with than virgin PET. It really takes a commitment on behalf of the customer and on behalf of Amcor to go out and source this material, and make the investments to make food-grade recycled PCR. McCormick is very progressive in terms of their commitment to the environment – and here at Amcor we push technology, engineering and design through to solutions.

Major companies of the Far East and Australasia

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