This June our CEO, Otto Hofstetter, and CSO, Stefan Zatti, celebrated the laying of the foundation stone of our new plant for our Indian branch in Bangalore.

Stefan Zatti, CSO/CMO and Member of the Board, and Markus Feldmann, Area Sales Manager PET, were interviewed by Barbara Appel for the magazine “comPETence”. They discussed aspects including customer relationship, resilience, supply chain reliability, availability and efficiency. The full text is available in the PDF.

In preparation for my position as an assistant in the marketing department of Otto Hofstetter AG, I completed a four-week general internship. Within one month I went through different departments to get a deeper insight into the family business and to broaden my knowledge about injection moulding tools.

Otto Hofstetter AG offers its customers various services intended to ensure the productivity of their injection moulds. The exchange programme for hot runners – OH-XChange ® has been a part of this for years. Unique in the industry, the concept provides numerous valuable advantages.

When consumers’ fundamental needs are considered before the creative process begins, the end result generates interest through beauty, function and relevance. Knowing what makes consumers tick and how the industry is evolving can help you move the creation of your future business in the right direction. Let’s have a look at four trends that are playing a crucial role on the packaging design scene right now. Get ready for the integration of tactile elements, smartness that matters, the challenges posed by interruptions and much more.

With Second Life, we provide a platform on our website where moulds that are no longer needed can be offered for sale. Once a potential buyer is found, we make sure the mould is in great shape and make any necessary adjustments. The mould is then launched into its second life, sealed with a guarantee from us. Second Life offers benefits for first and second owners, and the moulds’ improved ecobalance helps to protect the environment.

HAWITA technoplant is one of the leading producers of plastic plant containers. The company in Vechta (Germany) develops and produces articles for professional and private gardeners and has been counting on moulds from Otto Hofstetter AG for the last 20 years. Factory Manager Jens Berkensträter explains the benefits of this choice and throws some light on the peculiarities of horticulture in the interview.

OH-XCool® achieves tangible efficiency enhancement in the production of PET preforms. The in-house developments of Otto Hofstetter AG significantly improve the cooling of threads and support rings.

Mechanical components of injection moulds are exposed to very high strains. Otto Hofstetter AG has developed OH-Xtreme® to reduce mould wear substantially. OH-Xtreme® has been ensuring trouble-free operation and a long useful life of the injection moulds from Uznach for more than 10 years.

Otto Hofstetter AG started making moulds for PET preforms in 1977. The first order was placed by the Continental Can Company which had been commissioned by two major American beverage producers to evaluate a capable mould maker. Moulds for PET preforms are now a very important part of the business in Uznach. The technical specifications for preforms and production equipment have changed substantially.

Caviar is highly valuable and sensitive, and its packaging is a very decisive factor in the quality of the luxury product. A long-established technique applied to PET bottles is now finding its way into the foodstuffs industry: the multi-layer container with barrier. It offers foodstuffs producers a cost-effective, flexible and safe alternative to the conventional tin.

The application of high-tech can pay dividends even in such simple things as flowerpots. A new approach reduces the consumption of raw material and minimizes the cycle time without impairing the high product quality. The novel technology has been developed by Soparco and Otto Hofstetter AG.

Foodstuffs such as milk, for example, are very sensitive as regards their shelf life. Hereby the right packaging plays a decisive role. Multilayer packaging products based on the co-injection technology are clearly at an advantage. They are not only flexible, safe and economically efficient, but also unobjectionable from the point of view of the law on foodstuffs.

The Geneva-based luxury watch manufacturer Urwerk ranks among the most innovative manufacturers in Switzerland. Their creations combine handcraft skills that have been maintained across gener-ations with the possibilities afforded by leading-edge technology. It's a typical Swiss recipe that Otto Hofstetter AG is also committed to. And the latest example: the Cappello design for preforms.

Reduction of the wall thickness is a constant topic with the pack-aging and PET preform industries. Less raw material means to both of them shorter cycle times, lower costs and less weight. No wonder airlines favour the highly developed thin-wall technology in the production of their packaging products.