1. Blow molders and equipment manufacturers are jockeying for
acquisitions that will position them for plastic beer bottle production
(e.g. Malicron's purchase of Johnson Controls Uniloy; Sidel's purchase of
Gebo Industries, etc.)
2. By inference, if plastic beer bottles make major gains, the demand
for virgin PET will tighten and lead to increased prices for virgin PET. By
inference, this suggests that, ironically, in the event that the plastic
beer bottle does not increase recycler's costs or lower the price they
receive from end markets, the macro-economic effects in the virgin market
could tug recycled PET prices upward in its wake.
3. Some observers believe that, apart from sports venues, plastic
beer bottles will displace primarily aluminum because glass is preferred by
consumers, while metal is not, according to Jean-guy Delage, VP of global
sales for Groupe Sidel and Konie Brenneman, marketing manager for Krones.
This is tempered by the fact that the aluminum industry is competing very
aggressively lowering can prices to the point where it is difficult to make
money.
Peter
____________________________________
Peter Anderson
RecycleWorlds Consulting
4513 Vernon Blvd. Ste. 15
Madison, WI 53705-4964
Phone:(608) 231-1100/Fax: (608) 233-0011
E-mail:recycle@msn.fullfeed.com