A new technical and research centre for PET packaging has been opened by Continental PET Europe (CPE, Kaiserswerther Str. 115, D-40880 Ratingen) in France. The Continental PET Centre Technique et de Recherche (Bierne, BP 59, F-59380 Bergues) has been established to enhance CPE's research into new forms of PET packaging. The work of CPE's R&D group has already lead to a new generation of refillable bottles which can be washed at higher temperatures and were recently shown at "Interpack '96", as well 3 layer bottles using recycled material for the inner layer.

The centre is located at the same site as Continental PET France, one of the largest of the 17 PET processing plants in the group. It operates 24 injection moulding machines with 32 to 96 cavity moulds and expects to produce 1bn preforms this year. CPE's other production centres are to be found in Germany, Spain, the UK, Norway, Poland and more recently India.

CPE is the largest manufacturer of PET bottles in Europe, and expects to use 150,000 t of resin this year. Part of the Schmalbach-Lubeca / Continental Can Europe group, Ratingen, the PET packaging division contributed DEM 641m of sales to a group turnover of DEM 1.4bn for 1995. Sales for PET containers were up 25% thanks to strong demand for refillable PET bottles for mineral water, as well as the affects of the hot summer last year. The group plan to expand its PET activities in North Africa, Asia and South America as well expanding business in Southern and Eastern Europe. To this end a range of refillable bottles has been developed for the Czech, Slovakian and Hungarian markets. Strong future growth is also anticipated in refillable PET bottles now that the German mineral water industry is to start using them for flavoured drinks.

READER SERVICE: Details on the new PET research centre: PIE-No. 39464 – Figures 1995 of Schmalbach Lubeca / Continental Can Europe: PIE-No. 39465 (all documents in English).