Grupo Ortiz expands PP sack production with new Starlinger machinery

With a melting capacity of 720 kg/h the starEX 1600 tape extrusion line operates at up to 550 m/min. ©Starlinger

The machinery will be installed in Grupo Ortiz' new facility on the outskirts of Morelia in Michoacán State in Mexico.

Grupo Ortiz (GO), the biggest player in Latin America's plastics industry, is investing heavily in its multifaceted plastics processing business despite the difficult economic situation in Mexico and supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the company is building a 40,000 square meter (430,550 square feet) facility for woven polypropylene sack production in Morelia, Western Mexico. Vienna-based Starlinger & Co GmbH is supplying the machinery for the new production site.

The 15 million Euro (16,9 million USD) investment comprises 4 Starlinger tape extrusion lines including winders as well as 200 circular looms for raffia bag production and will increase GO's production capacity by 450 million bags to a total of 790 million bags per year. The machines will be delivered and installed during the 4th quarter of 2021.

The Starlinger FX 6.0 looms reach up to 1200 picks per minute and have the lowest amount of warp breaks per meters of fabric produced. ©Starlinger

"We want to shake up the raffia bag market by supplying high-quality bags at a very favourable price", said Emmanuel Ortiz, CEO of Grupo Ortiz. "Grupo Ortiz and Starlinger have been partners for 40 years and we rely on their unique technology. It allows us to produce premium polypropylene woven bags with low weight at very good cost. This helps us to further expand our market share." GO supplies the PP woven bags to the domestic market but plans to expand its raffia bag sales to South America and Asia.

Grupo Ortiz, formerly known as Grupo Industrial Ortiz, was founded in 1954 by Nicandro Ortiz Gaspar, Emmanuel Ortiz's father. The family-owned group employs 4,600 people at 13 manufacturing plants in Mexico and produces a wide range of raffia bags for all kinds of dry bulk goods, as well as big bags, agro textiles, baler twine, and stretch film, among others. Most of Grupo Ortiz' customers are based in Mexico, but the company also supplies to Guatemala, Costa Rica and Colombia and intends to enter the US market.