— By Plasteurope.com staff — 

Austrian packaging and recycling specialist Alpla (Hard; www.alpla.com) said it has opened a second plant in Thailand, expanding its presence in the “fast-growing Asia-Pacific region”. While group CEO Philipp Lehner did not provide an exact figure during the official opening, the company spoke of “multiplying its production capacity in the country”.

Located in Chachoengsao, near Bangkok, the 24,000 m² site features a technical centre for product development, a design centre, and administration, in addition to production lines. The new site replaces Prachinburi as the group’s Thai headquarters; the former HQ is in future to focus entirely on extrusion blow moulding.

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At Chachoengsao, Alpla manufactures plastic bottles, preforms, closures, and injection-moulded parts. The latter is an extension of its previous Thai portfolio, along with one-step injection stretch-blow moulding, the company said. Production has been up and running since the start of the year, with a staff of 190.

When presenting its most recent full-year results, Alpla said the Asia-Pacific region offers “huge potential”. In 2022, when it consolidated its activities in Southeast Asia and China, it also formed a joint venture with Thai petrochemical company PTT Global Chemical, opening a 45,000 t/y recycling plant in September of that year.

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The Austrian group said it plans to double its global recycling capacity from the current 350,000 t/y, investing at least EUR 50 mn annually for this purpose.