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, opened in May 2012, is headed by Yuldosh Kazakov, who joined Starlinger in 2009 and is chief representative for the region.

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 seven new customers could be acquired within the last 18 months,” Starlinger said in a statement.

For example, the Uzbek-Swiss joint venture Leading Force Co, 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, fertiliser 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.