Octal says it is targeting $500 million in sales in Europe and further international expan-sion, following its successful debut at the world’s largest packaging exhibition.

Interpack Processes and Packaging 2008, which ran from April 24-30 in Dusseldorf, Germany, welcomed 2,744 exhibitors and a total of 179,000 visitors. Octal officials said it received hundreds of visitors from all over the world during the week-long show and will take part in the next Interpack in 2011.
Octal’s global sales team conducted negotiations with more than 50 global buyers of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resin and amorphous PET (Apet) sheet – and have confirmed strong sales leads with at least 15 top consumer brands from Europe and North America, and 10 of the biggest ‘convertors’ (companies which turn plastic into packaging products). The show also generated significant investor interest.
“With the oil price near $120 a barrel and spiraling food prices, the cost of packaging is becoming a critical concern to volume-driven consumer brands. Octal aims to be the largest polyester company based in the world’s lowest cost centre. That was the message at Interpack and the biggest buyers of PET and Apet want to partner with us to develop their packaging strategies, an Octal official said.
Nicholas Barakat, managing director, Octal Petrochemicals, said: “By collapsing the value chain through integration on one site, and by producing polymer products of superior quality, Octal is providing a solution for global companies which use packaging as a main tool of their businesses. Octal is making a massive statement in the downstream plastics industry, a development which is a great advertisement for Oman and Oman industry.”
Joe Barrenberg, COO of Octal based at its US sales office in Dallas, Texas, said: “We’re seeing tremendous synergy between how we operate as a business and the needs of customers. Customers want to build relationships with materials companies to help them innovate better packaging and pull through advanced technology, and they understand that packaging is an increasingly important marketing tool to attract customers and build brands. Octal is positioned to serve these demands seamlessly and act as a packaging partner rather than simply a supplier.”
The company also announced that half the production of its new plant at the Salalah Free Zone in Oman will be reserved for placement with resin customers.
The plant will have integrated PET resin and Apet facilities with a total capacity of 300,000 tonnes per year (tpy). It will become operational in the fourth quarter of this year.
The resin sales will mark the beginning of Octal’s expansion into the soft drink and bottled water market segment.
Octal invested more than $300 million in proprietary technology and custom-made production lines for the new complex.
The company announced another expansion recently to raise capacity by another 500,000 tpy by the beginning of 2010.  Its phase-two expansion, scheduled for completion in May 2010, will make it one of the world’s largest polyester producers with 800,000 tonnes of annual capacity.
The company began initial production in December 2006 from a small-scale unit of  30,000 tpy.
Total investment on the site is set to rise to as much as $1.2 billion upon completion. Net exports are expected to reach $1.1 billion by 2011.
“Octal’s decision to begin offering PET resin allocations is in response to continued demand globally for PET resin which is running from four to 10 per cent, depending upon the region. We see particular growth opportunities for our PET resin in the soft drink and bottled water industries,” said Nicholas Barakat, managing director, Octal Petrochemicals.
“A world scale integrated complex with industry leading process technology allows us to support all segments of the beverage market. In addition, our strategic location in the Middle East was carefully selected to facilitate reliable logistics to customer locations around the world,” he said.
PET resin represents a nearly $25 billion market annually. It is the preferred packaging polymer for soft drinks, juices and bottled water, not to mention household goods such as detergents, cleaners, personal care items and consumer goods packaging.