§1What this business is
Dried PET resin is melted in an injection-moulding machine and shot into multi-cavity moulds to make preforms with a threaded neck. Bottle blowers later stretch-blow them into water, soft-drink, juice and edible-oil bottles. Rejects are ground and reused.
Capacity: 19,200 preforms a day, 57.6 lakh a year; year 1 at 60%. PET resin 1,84,320 kg a year at ₹50 a kg; sale ₹3 a preform in year 1.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone with plastic-moulding experience close to bottlers and bottle blowers.
Who it is not for
Someone without technical staff — the process needs close temperature and moisture control.
Advantages
- Sells to many bottle blowers
- Preforms are compact — cheaper to move than bottles
- Demand grows with packaged water and drinks
- Rejects are ground and reused
Drawbacks
- High power bill
- Resin must be dried well — moisture spoils quality
- Price pressure from large preform makers
- Each neck size and weight needs its own mould
Skills you need
- Injection moulding
- Resin drying (moisture below 50 ppm per the report)
- Mould maintenance
- Selling to businesses
Why difficulty 3/5: Technical process, heavy power use and price-sensitive bulk buyers.
§3Market
Who buys
- Bottled-water plants
- Soft-drink and juice bottlers
- Edible oil packers
How it sells
- Direct supply to bottle blowers and bottlers
Good to know
- The report notes that a 14-gram preform uses a 16-cavity mould.
- Packaged drinking water is named as a major driver of demand.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Injection moulding machine | — | — |
| Grinder (for rejects) | — | — |
| Water chiller | — | — |
| Profile dies (multi-cavity moulds) | — | — |
| Pump | — | — |
| Plant & machinery (total in the cost table) | — | ₹39.70 lakh |
From: PMEGP sample project report — PET Preforms (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- PET resin1,84,320 kg a year at ₹50 a kg (full capacity); antimony below 300 mg per the report
From: PMEGP sample project report — PET Preforms (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
In our raw material database
PET resin / polyester chips →PET resin, preforms and bottles →
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam
- GST
- State Pollution Control Board consent
- EPR registration on the CPCB portal (Plastic Waste Management Rules, plastic packaging)
- Food-contact grade resin certificates for buyers
§6Schemes & subsidies
PMEGP (report is a PMEGP sample; within the ₹50 L manufacturing limit); CGTMSE for collateral-free credit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: plant & machinery ₹39.70 L, furniture ₹1.00 L, working capital ₹5.55 L = ₹46.25 L. Land and 2,000 sq ft shed own or rented.
Working capital: ₹5.55 L, bank finance ₹5.00 L.
Year not printed on the report — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: PLEXCONCIL (Plastics Export Promotion Council)
- HS codes are from the WCO HS 2022 list; confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
- You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Resin price
- Power cost
- Losing buyers
- Quality rejections (acetaldehyde from poor drying)
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working pet preform manufacturing unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam, GST), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start PET Preform Manufacturing?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.