Making sure that beverage-container-manufacturing operations run smoothly from start to finish was the driving force behind the recent merger that formed PET Terra Systems Inc. (Booth N5994). President and founding partner Paul Clark was president of the PET Systems Inc., which provided engineering, project management and start-up services to bottle manufacturers.
Terra Firma International, of Woodstock, Ga., specialized in training and statistical tools for bottle manufacturing, Clark said. The two firms merged in April.
The majority of the company's customers are PET blow molders and preform injection molders. However, about 30 percent of the Hiram, Ga., firm's customers are extrusion blow molders of high density polyethylene bottles.
Over the years, the two companies have worked closely together. Their joint efforts have included the formation of the Polyester Packaging Manufacturing Institute, also in Woodstock, which offers training courses in basic PET theory; and TopWave Industries Ltd. of Marietta, Ga., which makes testing supplies and measuring instruments for bottle manufacturing.
"We've had a close relationship for some time. It became natural for us to merge the two companies," Clark said. "Rather than having to deal with two companies ... we can offer complete projects and operational support at a lower cost."
PET Terra Systems is exhibiting at the TopWave booth at NPE.
A typical turnkey cycle for a customer involves some of the following steps:
A project feasibility study.
Basic engineering, including line layout, equipment bids and building design.
Detailed engineering, including electrical design, contractor bidding and a project schedule and budget.
Project management, including maintaining the budget and schedule, supervision of contractors and equipment vendors.
Starting equipment and product qualification.
A typical turnkey operation usually takes six months from project approval to launch, and costs a processor anywhere from $50,000-$100,000, Clark said.
"We guarantee the plants will recover many times our fees in their first year of operation if we have the opportunity to implement the programs," he said.
Clark said the company tries to help processors avoid the trial-and-error approach to processing.