Oman-based PET resin and sheet producer Octal (Muscat; www.octal.com) has reported sales of USD 3 bn for 2013, a record in the company’s history. The company also said that it had recorded its highest quarterly production volume for PET in the first quarter of 2014 with March being its second best ever month.

The latest capacity expansion at the company’s PET complex in Salalah / Oman – see Plasteurope.com of 10.08.2012 – has increased production of bottle grade PET resin by 40%, with a monthly run-rate of USD 100m. Octal now accounts for approximately 15% of Oman’s non-oil exports, equating to around 1.5% of the national GDP, it said. Octal executive vice president and COO, Joe Barenberg, said that the gains were due to the company’s success in securing high value accounts with some of the largest and most respected international brands to meet their requirements for general food and consumer products packaging.

The company plans to demonstrate its “DPET” direct-to-sheet polyester sheet at “interpack” 2014 (Düsseldorf / Germany; www.interpack.com), held from 8 to 14 May (see Plasteurope.com of 27.03.2014), and expects to announce new high volume packaging substrates at the fair.