Petco was founded in Beirut in 1996 and was successful in introducing Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic products, virtually unheard of at the time in Lebanon and the region. PET is popular in edible and non-edible product packaging because it is inexpensive, lightweight, resealable, shatter-resistant, and recyclable.
Petco is negotiating with new foreign buyers to sell PET preforms. in Cyprus, Qatar, and KSA.
The new buyers will import from Petco PET preforms for the water and beverage bottling. The main constraint affecting this deal is that for Petco to be able to handle this large increase in production, the staff must be able to keep the production lines operating smoothly in consecutive shifts, with minimal downtimes.
LED will cost-share with Petco to hire an expert in the manufacturing processes, to assist Petco in training their staff on the best practices for machine handling, and to support technically in fast maintenance procedures to avoid major downtimes in production.
With LED’s support, Petco expects to increase sales and generate 5 new jobs by 2020.