LIVE FROM INTERPACK: Oystar plans growth going forward

Published: 16-May-2011

Will expand into mid and base-level equipment

Oystar Group, which sold its process division, including Manesty and Hüttlin to Bosch last month, expects to increase sales in 2011 as it moves from a consolidation phase back into growth.

Chief executive Tom Graf said that after a ‘disastrous 2009’ the company has seen a significant turnaround and forecasts sales of €456m in 2011, up from €420m in 2010. Order intake is forecast to reach €469m for 2011.

Fifty per cent of Oystar’s business currently comes from its global service business, which includes spare parts and refurbishment, and Graf expects to generate new equipment business from this sector going forward.

In addition, Graf said at Interpack that Oystar would ‘increase and realign the product portfolio and will not in the future perhaps do everything that we do today. We have an intensive growth programme, including new products and communication.’

With the sale of its process division to Bosch, the German packaging group will now concentrate on primary and secondary packaging and service for the pharma and cosmetics, dairy, consumer and food industries. Pharma is currently the second largest after dairy, accounting for 28% of revenue.

Primary packaging for the pharmaceutical sector includes equipment for producing tubes, aerosols, pouches and StickPacks. Its secondary/tertiary packaging business in the sector includes cartoners, case packing and palletisers.

Graf said major new growth markets would be China, India, Russia, Brazil and North America. Oystar has already doubled capacity at Hassia Packaging Machinery in India and has established Oystar China.

Graf said the company would also drive growth through expansion into machines with medium-sized output and by strengthening its sales of high-end products.

‘Our big international customers are asking us to drive to the smaller end of the market and also to simplify equipment, making it suitable for the level of education in emerging markets,’ Graf added.

New products at Interpack included a new control panel that will mean uniform hardware and software across all machines, easy and intuitive operation and a modern, multi-touch system on widescreen displays of 10 to 21in.

Oystar also demonstrated the FP18 tube filling machine that fills metal and plastic tubes with a diameter from 10 to 52mm and a length of 50 to 250mm. Filling volumes range from 1 to 300ml. Up to 110 tubes per minute can be filled.

Graf said Oystar’s new TOP Service initiative, which is based on the three ‘TOP’ pillars of Technological improvements, Operations support and Productivity assistance would be the company’s ‘biggest product in the future’.

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