As of May 2012 Starlinger & Co. GmbH, Austrian manufacturer of machinery for woven plastic packaging production and plastics recycling, has opened a representative office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The office is headed by Yuldosh Kazakov, who has joined Starlinger in 2009 and is the chief representative for the region. Providing sales and aftersales service, he is the contact person for Starlinger customers in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. In addition, a locally based technician is available for immediate customer care and troubleshooting in case of machine problems. The office is the first address for any requests or queries of the Central Asian customers; this way, Starlinger wants to ensure quick and efficient service and support.
A region on the upswing
The strong economic growth in Central Asia during the past years has also had a positive effect on the textile packaging industry. Starlinger sees a strong potential for growth in this region – comparable to Russia, where 7 new customers could be acquired within the last 18 months. The Uzbek-Swiss joint venture Leading Force Co., for example, was the first company in the region to purchase a production line for the patented Starlinger AD*STAR block bottom sacks in 2010. They produce 20 million AD*STAR sacks and 15 million standard sacks per year and supply bags for cement, fertilizer and flour to the respective industries in Central Asia and Russia. A second AD*STAR project has been commissioned beginning of this year in the Turkmen port city of Turkmenbashi.
Central Asian companies and governments are also beginning to recognise the economic potential that lies in reprocessing and reusing plastic waste as valuable secondary resource. Starlinger has sold their first PET Bottle-to-Bottle recycling line in Uzbekistan which is currently being installed in Tashkent. The produced rPET is supplied to the beverage bottling industry in the region and will be used in preforms to help reduce their carbon footprint, this way following a global trend that becomes more and more widespread.
