A major theme of the PET Strategies 2003 meeting of firms in the PET industry was the question of whether PET will be ultimately successful for the packaging of beer. The discussion focused on Eastern Europe where D Richardson of M & G Polymers USA, confirmed that there were plans to use its ActiTUF monolayer barrier technology in Russia and Eastern Europe. R Musson of Interbrew, outlined the company's success in penetrating these markets, particularly Russia where its market share had increased by 5% using its Pivopack PET bottle. Musson was keen to dismiss the idea that plastic packaging is perceived as less premium than glass or metal. However, there were some dissenters from this optimistic view and these claimed that the success of PET in Russia was a result of the product's novelty in the former Soviet bloc.
