With slim margins in the PET bottle industry, it is often difficult to produce a quality product while maintaining meaningful profit margins. The Process Pilot® system, from Agr International, offers PET bottle manufacturers a means to reduce PET bottle production costs while at the same time improving overall bottle quality and performance. Installed in a reheat stretch blowmolder, the Agr Process Pilot system makes it possible to operate with a tighter process control than possible with traditional “hands-on” blowmolder management. With that, comes a myriad of benefits, some of which have significant cost saving implications.
Consistent and properly distributed material is the key to the production of high performance PET bottles. The precision of material distribution becomes increasingly critical when bottles when light weighting programs are in play. With a multitude of variables affecting the blowing process, producing bottles that have accurate material distribution on a consistent basis is a daily challenge. Agr’s Process Pilot® blowmolder management system addresses this challenge with a simple solution. Installed within the blowmolder, the Process Pilot system incorporates a three prong approach; 1) measure material distribution on every bottle with high precision, 2) control the blowmolder based on bottle measurement to maintain desired material distribution and 3) optimize the material orientation to maximize bottle performance. Unlike operator adjustments, the Process Pilot system can adjust one or all of the blowmolder controls simultaneously to achieve the best possible material distribution and bottle performance.
Agr’s Process Pilot system works in conjunction with the reheat stretch blowmolder to proactively manage and maintain container material distribution at a specified thickness to within ~0.01mm. This is accomplished by continuously monitoring every bottle for material distribution, analyzing minute changes and adjusting the blowmolder controls to maintain pre-defined distribution levels. Unlike operator adjustments, the Process Pilot system can adjust one or all of the blowmolder controls simultaneously to achieve the best possible material distribution.
By monitoring the material distribution of the blown container, the Process Pilot is able to account for subtle changes in the process that would normally go undetected by the operator. This prevents the process from drifting out of control before the operator’s next quality sample and averts the loss of precious little processing margin.
In the course of bottle production, an untold amount of variables in the production cycle can affect the processing and quality of light weight bottles. The Process Pilot system can accommodate many types of environmental changes in and around the blowmolder as well as preform preparation and storage conditions that can occur. Compensation can be made for temperature, moisture content, and minor Intrinsic Viscosity (IV) changes of the preform to maintain a consistent process, within the smallest process window.
A recent expansion of the Process Pilot system includes the management and optimization of crystallinity with the CrystalView option. Maintaining appropriate material distribution, and at the same time optimizing material orientation, requires great skills, and is difficult to achieve with conventional blowmolder management techniques. With the CrystalView option, the Process Pilot system has the capability to manage material distribution and material orientation simultaneously, making it possible to produce the best bottles possible, with consistent material distribution and optimal material properties. CrystalView manages the process to the point where material orientation is “just right”, while avoiding the creation of pearlescence. With CrystalView, it is possible to reduce the preform processing temperature to the ideal processing point (as much as 9 deg. C) for a given bottle design. By doing so, material orientation is optimized over the entire bottle. Plus, by running colder, excess material can be pulled from the base of the bottle, reducing the amorphous material and the residual stress that can lead to base failures associated with the transition region.
The Process Pilot system operates very similar to the auto-pilot in an aircraft. The process engineer sets up the optimized process for a given bottle. A one-time control characterization is performed (learn mode) to finalize the recipe and establish a baseline. Once set to the defined recipe, Process Pilot manages the blowmolder as if on auto-pilot, continually adjusting control parameters to maintain precise thickness distribution as the process changes. Since the Process Pilot system can oversee blowmolder operation on a 24/7 basis, it provides a continuity in bottle production that is not possible with other methods.
Light weighting has been an important tactic in the cost reduction efforts of PET bottle manufacturers. However, as manufacturers continue to remove material, bottle processing becomes increasingly difficult. The process window becomes smaller as weights are reduced. Consequently, on a light weight bottle, minor changes in the process can have major effects on material distribution. Tight control over the process is therefore imperative and the need to control the location and the thickness of the remaining material is critical for proper bottle performance.
Often bottle producers limit light weighting to a point where bottles can be processed with minimal problems, leaving extra material in place to provide “comfortable” processing safety margins. With the Process Pilot system’s ability to tightly control the process, lighter bottles with ”just enough material” to meet performance requirements can be processed with a very high level of confidence. Material distribution is managed precisely throughout the production process paving the way for maximum material reduction.
Additionally, material optimization through the CrystalView brings further lightweight opportunities. The ability to produce lightweight CSD and water bottles where the material is fully optimized makes it possible to realize the maximum bottle performance with minimal weight from a given design. Bottles are stronger with better performance and as a result provide greater stability and an increased ability to confidently process without incidence in filling, labeling and capping operations.
Another area where Process Pilot offers cost saving opportunities is regarding the type and quality of raw material. Lower grade material and/or preforms can have a variability and inconsistency that can translate into processing, quality and performance issues. With the Process Pilot system, blowmolder adjustment to accommodate minor variations in material quality (high AA or variations in IV) is performed on a continuous basis. When material-related process variations are detected, the Process Pilot system pro-actively adjusts the blowmolder to account for these variations and maintain optimal material distribution. Because the Process Pilot system tightly controls the processing window of the blowmolder, it is possible to increase the percentage of off-spec (wide-spec) material and/or PCR content safely. This capability provides bottle manufacturers additional opportunities for savings without compromising quality.
The Process Pilot system offers a number of benefits in addition to improved light weighting and materials savings. These include the elimination of the need for section weights, reduced scrap, energy savings, improved overall bottle performance and quality, and lower incidences of downtime in the filling, capping and labeling operations.
Agr’s Process Pilot® blowmolder management system offers manufacturers a means to take the variability out of the bottle blowing prociess, especially when light weighting programs are in place. It also provides the additional process feedback that makes it possible to go the extra step and take light weighting to the limits with full confidence. Where material is limited and safety margins are very tight, the Process Pilot system can provide the detailed, in-process feedback to manage and maintain bottle material distribution to a very high level of precision, resulting in the production of consistent, quality bottles, even at the fastest production speeds. In the end, with productivity improvements, energy savings, reduced downtime, improved quality and downstream performance, Process Pilot has been shown to have an ROI of less than 2 years. With an active light weighting program, ROI can be reduced to a matter of months.
Agr’s Process Pilot automated blowmolder control system has been on the market for several years and has amassed a significant global install base of major bottle converters and self-manufacturing brand owners. The Process Pilot product has proven to be a vital tool in the production of light weight bottles, while improving overall bottle performance and quality.
For years now, ALPLA has been dealing intensively with recycling. With its own PET recycling plants in Mexico, Poland and Austria, the company is considered an expert in the processing of recycled PET (rPET). In its ten largest production facilities, ALPLA utilises around 20% rPET.
‘We believe in recycling, because it is ideologically right and because we want to provide expert support to our customers in their own sustainability strategies. The increasing awareness of consumers is strengthening the trend,’ says ALPLA COO Nicolas Lehner. Successful products, long-term partnerships with industry pioneers and renowned awards underscore this fact.
In this way, ALPLA takes part in the recycling initiative of Werner & Mertz from start to finish. At multiple locations, ALPLA produces coloured preforms from rPET offered in a broad selection of attractive colours. The role of sustainable packaging in the luxury beauty and home care segment is becoming more important. ‘We develop ideal solutions in close collaboration with our customers. For a long time now, processing recycled materials has not meant a sacrifice in quality,’ says Lehner with conviction.
Since 2005 ALPLA has been a partner in a PET recycling plant joint venture in Toluca, Mexico, that produces around 15,000 tonnes of food-safe rPET flakes annually. In 2011 ALPLA took over the majority share in the Austrian company PET Recycling Team GmbH. This plant in Wöllersdorf, Austria, has an annual capacity of 35,000 tonnes of rPET in a quality suitable for use with food. In 2012 ALPLA invested in the construction of an additional PET recycling plant in Radomsko, Poland. Since 2013 around 50,000 tonnes of PET bottles have been recycled here annually by 75 employees. The plant features two sorting and washing lines as well as an extrusion line. The annual output is around 13,500 tonnes of food-safe rPET and 33,600 tonnes of flakes (non-food-safe).
The EU Commission’s Circular Economy Package, for which the European Council of environmental ministers advocated in 2016, further increases the pressure. The action plan contains target provisions for recycling rates of packaging waste, the limitation of waste dumping and economic incentives for environmentally friendly products as well as the support of reutilisation and recycling systems. ‘Current figures show that Europe is still far from reaching the ambitious objectives. There is a lot of work to do,’ says Nicolas Lehner of the current status.
Additional information: www.alpla.com
The scarcity of clean water translates to strong demand in bulk water consumption.The health concern regarding to BPA associated with PC material coupled with market trend of light weight packaging signified opportunities in bulk water packaging. As the number one PET machinery solution provider in Asia, Chumpower seizes the opportunity by introducing three machines, each designed with special purpose.
Traditional water cooler uses multi-serve PC bottle, which requires refill after consumed. However, PC material raises BPA concern for the consumer health issue, and PET was used as alternative material. Typical weight of multi-serve bottle ranges from 750 to 800g, and Chumpower’s L1G machine is perfect for this application. Heating is continuous and entire machine is servo-driven. The output rate is 300BPH for 20L bottle.
In 2015, Chumpower introduced L2GM capable of producing single-serve water cooler bottle or simply the compressible bottle. The advantages are reduced raw materials in preform and lower energy consumption during processing since preform weight is reduced from typical 800g down to 119g. However, Chumpower believes that safer drinking water is the most important reason for water bottlers to make the switch. In traditional water cooler, ventilation was necessary for proper water flow. This brings the chance of contamination with outside air. In compressible bottle application, water cooler would only allow one-way travel of the water, preventing any outside air from re-entering to the system. L2GM is capable of producing 12L compressible bottles at output rate of 1200BPH with estimated power consumption of 26.4 Watt per bottle produced. Currently, two units of L2GM have been delivered to clients, while one of them is currently producing single-serve compressible water cooler bottle servicing the Taiwanese market.
In 2016, Chumpower will exhibit the 1ALLE machine at the K show. It is Chumpower’s fusion of light-weight processing technology in a cost-effective machine. The platform was chosen based on the ease of operation for entry-level clients. Heating is indexing type while clamping is hydraulic. Stretching is electric for precisive material distribution of the bottle. This machine is capable of producing single-serve light-weight 20L container under 350g. At the exhibit, the 1ALLE is producing 15L/250g single-serve bottle at output 300-350BPH. A model with electric clamping will be available in next year.
Global consumer demands for beverage packaged products are changing. Today more shelf-to-cart purchase decisions are being influenced by emerging sociocultural movements towards health, environmental responsibility, indulgence/luxury and convenience. With this new landscape, consumers are looking for packaged beverages that meet their needs and make a statement about their values – who they are or who they aspire to be as individuals. With this shift in consumer behavior beverage manufacturers and bottlers must pay more attention to the experience that consumers will have with their product to ensure the brand, the consumable product, the packaging as it appears on store shelves, and package performance all work together to deliver a positive consumer experience.
Purchase decisions are made in a matter of milliseconds. When beverage manufacturers are in tune with their brand and position themselves to meet one or more of the consumer’s needs they will experience more initial success in terms of retail sales. Overtime, manufacturers can gain the consumer’s trust, which leads to repeat purchases and ultimately, brand advocacy. These trends also indicate that packaging design is much more than a means to producing an attractive or functional package. Rather, keeping consumers engaged with the design and performance of a package is integral to the purchase decision. This is of particular importance for PET packaging because it offers such a wide range of shape, size and design possibilities and can help strategically position a brand on store shelves.
To be successful, beverage manufacturers not only need supply chain partners who understand and can support each step of the package design, production and fulfillment process, they must also offer and low cost preform molding solution that still achieves the highest levels of part quality. This requires running the right injection molding systems.
As a leader and pioneer in PET packaging, Husky Injection Molding Systems is committed to offering manufacturers of PET packaging the best return on their investments through continuous innovation and lower total costs to produce, offering freedom in packaging design for consumers who demand personalization and differentiation. Diversifying offerings from carbonated beverages to juices, liquid dairy products and even non-beverage bottled products, and ensuring functional differentiation, varied closing systems, and increased shelf appeal can help. Even modifying PET packaging sizes appeals to today’s diverse consumers – small on-the-go packages create less waste, reduce calorie intake and are more affordable for those with less discretionary income.
When developing their industry-leading HyPET® HPP5 system, Husky listened to what our customers told us about the evolving needs of their consumers, and how they envision being able to sustain profitable growth. With the feedback from an entire industry in mind we designed a system that would help run a more competitive injection molding operation. HyPET® HPP5 is the result of meaningful technology refinements to many areas that when combined offer the most complete and integrated injection molding system for preform manufacturing on the market today.
Building upon the proven technology of the HyPET® HPP5 platform, Husky has developed the next innovation that will help customers grow their businesses by once again pushing the boundaries of PET packaging – the revolutionary Multi-Layer Barrier Technology. Introduced in 2015, the technology offers tremendous opportunity to unlock the potential for conversions from alternate packaging to PET, while providing enhanced product protection in a better looking package. Combining the benefits of a robust, high performing and easy-to-maintain system with the capability to precisely dose the barrier layer, Husky’s Multi-layer Barrier Technology allows customers to explore PET as a packaging material for products requiring the safety of enhanced barrier properties that were traditionally packaged in glass, carton and aluminum.
Husky has a long history of developing best-in-class solutions that take the capability of injection molding technology for PET preforms to exciting new levels. Multi-layer Barrier Technology represents the next step in how the company is working to achieve this goal.
INTRAVIS vision systems support the worldwide plastic packaging producers on their way to the industrial internet of things. They not only sort bad parts out but help avoiding them by creating trend statistics of recent production data. The result for the producers is an increased productivity by scrap reduction.
A good example for this operation is the ColorWatcher Integrated. It is a measuring and warning system which inspects transparent, translucent and opaque preforms for color deviations (ΔL*, Δa*, Δb*). It does not require its own floor space as it is integrated directly into the injection molding machine inspecting each shot. It is positioned right above the tooling plate, where the preforms are cooled down after the injection process. The camera takes images of all preforms that were newly inserted into the top row of the tooling plate. These images are immediately compared to the existing “golden sample”.
The detected deviations are displayed even before the next shot is produced. The exact and reproducible measuring condition ensures precise measurement. Therefore, the advantages of the ColorWatcher Integrated are not only its non-existent floor requirement, but also its exact positioning of the preform, which enables a quick and precise measurement. Deviations are displayed immediately so the operator has the chance to intervene early – this way, continuous production of defective parts is avoided.
This system is distinguished by advanced features, including processing an increased volume of image data, improved closure handling as well as complete system control through a single HMI. Up to seven cameras capture high-resolution images of each individual closure. The mechanics with innovative and efficient solutions for separation and micro-hole detection allow for inspection speeds of up to 252,000 closures per hour. The closures are handled gently and securely, even ultra-lightweight water closures are inspected trouble-free.
The CapWatcher III can be used inline, but also offline for a follow-up inspection of closure batches in combination with bunker, sorter and octabin filler. The new central control of each individual component is conveniently operated through the INTRAVIS HMI. A special object separation with integrated microhole inspection on the unique double track conveyor enables the correlation of the detected microholes to the specific cavities.
The PETWatcher is an inspection system for 100% quality control of stretch blow molded bottles and containers. It is designed to inspect problem areas of containers. It detects defects even on structured surfaces. As a stand-alone system the PETWatcher inspects the bottle base for holes and for the injection gate position. The system can also be seamlessly integrated into a stretch blow molding machine. Finished bottles are then additionally inspected for defects like notches and scratches at the mouth, spots on the side wall and color or shape deviations. The scope of inspection may vary depending on the version.
The PETWatcher has an easy to operate software with comprehensible menus. A clearly structured user interface intuitively guides operators through the system and displays current images of the inspected bottle as well as the inspection result data. Furthermore, a statistic shows the frequency of each defect type even during the measuring process.
Artistic and sophisticated: origami is the skill of folding a simple sheet of paper into a veritable work of art – and the multidimensional objects created by this Japanese mode of dexterity are authentic eye-catchers. However, origami embodies not only art, but science as well. Because ingenious folding creates stable structures out of a thin sheet of paper. These objects react differently to external stresses, in particular, depending on the basic structure involved: whereas some folding techniques render the surface more stable, others enhance its flexibility.
Creating a container that combines a stable shape with a striking visual design – this is the daily challenge faced by the container design experts at Krones. In a students’ research project conducted in conjunction with Krones, the idea behind origami was transferred from paper to plastic. The same folding principle is then tasked with creating PET containers that can be produced in a stretch blow-moulding process. The result is the Active Pouch – a squeeze container based on the principle of origami.
The design study’s innovative container concept is in purely visual terms reminiscent of an accordion – and utilises the latter’s folding principle: this enables the contents to be dosed neatly. The container can be effectively compressed and emptied completely. Specifically, the Active Pouch concept could be ideally suited for highly viscous foods, such as sauces and toppings, of the kinds used in catering outlets, snack bars, and at large-scale events.
The shape and handling of Active Pouch create numerous advantages. In conventional sauce dispensers, for example, the product is mostly propelled by elaborate pump mechanisms. The individual components of these pumps are continuously in contact with the contents, are not at all easy to clean, and for reasons of hygiene have to be disinfected at least every 14 days.
With Active Pouch, by contrast, the user presses the product out of the container by hand. So when it’s being dosed the sauce comes into contact only with the package, and a pump-based dispenser is not required at all. The ingenious folding principle ensures that the container is emptied almost completely. It can then be recycled very easily, together with its lid, and replaced by a new one. This complete replacement also means that it is no longer necessary to perform time-intensive cleaning of all components that had previously come into contact with the preceding product. If the container is not emptied completely, it can be sealed again at any time and placed in a cold store, for example.
Design meets functionality – Active Pouch is a consummate crystallisation of this motto. And thanks to its ingenious surface design, it’s probably the only squeeze container that qualifies as an eye-catcher.
On the path from the study to final market maturity, there are several stages of development still to be tackled before Active Pouch can be successfully launched.
Active Pouch is based on a simple idea, one that has often been considered, but has never been so effectively implemented. This, at least, was the verdict of the jury for the German Packaging Prize, which is why it has now awarded Active Pouch the Newcomers’ Prize for 2016.
In today's high performance PET applications, it is more important than ever to ensure processes are optimized but also certified. It is no longer enough in the competitive landscape to simply have best in class equipment. Today, it requires intelligence. Intelligence in total process optimization and control. That is where MOISTURE METER™, by Moretto, truly shines. With the adaptability to analyze, in real time, the actual moisture content of the resin and the simultaneous ability to optimize dryer control, MOISTURE METER provides a breakthrough in total resin moisture control.
At its core MOISTURE METER is a unique instrument for the detection and control of the residual moisture content of hygroscopic plastic granules. Detection and control is possible to a minimum 15ppm, ±3ppm, and takes place immediately before the transformation stage of the resin. In detecting the moisture content, the MOISTURE METER device uses patented “Power Peak” technology, which exploits the dielectric characteristics of resin by emitting special electromagnetic waves. The waves amplitude changes depending on the variation of the moisture content. These changes are interpreted by MOISTURE METER and the correct content of water in the resin is determined.
By ensuring the resin moisture content levels are precisely controlled it is now possible for manufacturers to certify their production without batch analysis and inspection. This not only ensures every part is pre-certified but also eliminates scrap and time consuming batch analysis.
MOISTURE METER is suitable for a variety of installations including: machine mounted, machine side, remote, split and mezzanine configurations. The ON configuration places MOISTURE METER underneath the drying hopper directly mounted on the machine feed-throat. The SIDE configuration places MOISTURE METER underneath the drying hopper and positioned beside the machine. A MOBILE configuration allows MOISTURE METER to be placed remotely for long distance material transfer applications. An ON SPLIT configuration allows for MOISTURE METER to be machine mounted underneath a compressed air dryer and further connected to a remote centralized dryer and hopper. Finally, a MEZZANINE configuration allows for MOISTURE METER to be machine mounted and directly underneath a mezzanine positioned drying hopper.
An optional PLUS version turns MOISTURE METER into an active device and adds the capability to directly adjust dryer parameters in response to resin moisture analysis. The PLUS version consists of two devices, a CROWN device positioned at the top of the hopper and a BOX device located immediately below. The CROWN unit detects the incoming moisture levels before the resin passes into the drying hopper. The BOX unit checks the final quality of the drying process and in combination with the initial CROWN reading automatically adjusts the dryer parameters to ensure the requested results.
MOISTURE METER is suitable for virgin resin applications ranging from 6 to 1,500kg/hr and is available in two sizes: MMB12 for 6 – 30kg/hr and the MMB22 for 10 – 1,500kg/hr. The device comes standard with an adapting flange for connection to a drying hopper and machine feed-throat. Each device comes standard with a sampling discharge for remote batch analysis and inspection. In addition, MOISTURE METER comes with an included remote capable 7” touch-view controller. This controller is able to manage up to six MOISTURE METER devices and allows for both resin type selection and ppm range requirements. The controller comes equipped with multiple communication ports including: Ethernet, Serial RS485, USB and a connection to the Moretto MOWIS centralized supervision system.
MOISTURE METER is a part of Moretto’s 4.0 project and as a signature part of a complete range of dehumidification solutions paves the wave for an ever smarter and more connected overall drying process. It is the ultimate expression of Moretto’s relentless quest for excellence in providing products that challenge the industry status quo and create breakout advantages for its customers.
has been a perennial issue since the breakthrough of PET bottles in the drinks industry. The objectives are to save material and costs, as well as resource conservation and sustainability. However, the end of the road has been reached as far as further weight reduction of the bottle surface is concerned: Very thin bottles lack the required stability and are not accepted by consumers. Nonetheless, weight and consequent cost reduction remains an important and much talked-about topic across the industry. This became very clear during the interactive workshop on “thin-walled preform bases for a significant weight reduction in the bottle base” held during the PETnology Conference in 2015. With over 60 participants, the workshop was particularly well attended, with diverse and constructive contributions to the discussion. The beside Netstal Maschinen AG, companies as MHT – Mold & Hotrunner Technology AG from Hochheim, Creative Packaging Solutions Ltd (Mint-Tec) from Balcova-Izmir in Turkey and Otto Hofstetter AG from Uznach, Switzerland presented their collective development work and results together. Netstal and Creative Packaging introduced their new processes, PreBlow and Mint-Tec respectively, and MHT and Otto Hofstetter presented initial results attained with the new processes using selected practical examples.
While it is not currently possible to further reduce the thickness of bottle surfaces without sacrificing stability, there remains some potential for weight reduction. The focus is on two areas of the bottle: the neck and the base.
The new PCO 1881 thread geometry in the bottle neck can save 2.4 g in comparison to its predecessors while a 1.4 g saving can be made with the new twist off cap 29/25. The workshop focused on the bottle base, which offers clear potential for optimization. Both of the processes presented aim to modify the base of the preform to achieve a much more uniform and hence thinner base, leading to a reduction in weight. This is achieved by optimizing the preform geometry. A larger surface is easier to heat, leading more even molding during the blowing process. Both Netstal’s Preblow and the Mint-Tec process expand the surface; Netstal achieves this by molding the base of the preforms with compressed air at 2 bar shortly before removal from the injection mold. In the Mint-Tec process, a plunger enters the preform after molding – without touching the neck – and shapes the base as required. Both processes were tested by the companies MHT and Otto Hofstetter and were shown to reduce weight considerably:
Using the PreBlow-process, MHT optimized the preform for the American brand Niagara’s still mineral water bottle – currently one of the lightest 0.5 l PET bottles. The bottle weight, which at 8.53 g already was very low, was reduced by 0.23 g to 8.3 g. Base optimization could save 188 metric tons of PET and 207,000 euros per year in an annual production output of 817 million performs. Using the PreBlow process, Otto Hofstetter managed to optimize a 1 l detergent bottle weighing 23 g from the brand Dragao, reducing the weight by 1 g to 22 g. This could save 239 metric tons of feedstock material and 262,000 euros of costs in an annual production output of 239 million preforms. Unlike in the PreBlow process, which is currently only able to optimize preforms for still drinks and fluids, the Mint-Tec process has also been approved for carbonated drinks using the Mint-Tec process, MHT successfully optimized the preform for a 1.5 l bottle for carbonated water sold on the German market. Whilst the conventional preform weighed 27.1 g, the optimized form has a weight of just 26.5 g.
This 0.6 g difference generates savings of 173 metric tons of materials and 190.900 euros in an annual reduction capacity of 289 million preforms. The owner of Creative Packaging, Mahir Aktas also reported that the French blow molding machine manufacturer Sidel from Le Havre have tested the Mint-Tec process and obtained good results. “Due to the optimized base design, Sidel has successfully expanded the blowing process operating window and produced larger bottles at a higher output capacity.”
Since both Preblow and Mint-Tec are new processes, all partners involved were very interested in discussing them with customers, receiving questions and ideas, and carrying out further tests.
In early 2016 the Mint-Tec technology was tested on a Netstal PET-Line in our facilities including a mechanical long term test. Since the results were all to our satisfaction, the first Mint-Tec system will be installed at our customer PDG in France – just in parallel to the Petnology. PDG has invested into preliminary trials at our mold maker and partner Otto Hofstetter AG, to see the results in terms of processing and savings. The blow molding of these preforms were also tested at all market leaders for blow molding machines. Indeed, the bottle has shown significant advantages in terms of weight and as well for the blow molding process: energy saving and faster cycle times of the blow molder could be seen.
Interested? If so, please contact us any time
Through the analysis of the market and brand values a product is developed to face the business with its shelf competitors, thanks to a distinctive, shelf-appealing shape which is industrially feasible and which can be developed through a preform that is either available on the market or custom-built.
The quality of a bottle, its aesthetic appearance and its mechanical performance, also passes through a correct design of the preform, ie an item that, once blown, becomes a bottle, and through the quality of the material with which it is developed.
Services:
Packaging is one of the brand's service tool capable of making visible the marketing strategy to the final consumer. Precisely for its ability to create a daily interaction between brand, product and consumer, the packaging must be coherent in every single element and, in the case of a packaging for the beverage and for the food sector, it should be coherent with regards to the container, label, cap and secondary packaging.
Our thirty years of experience in PET allows us to turn our creative output into reality, by relying on prototype services and by testing the performance of the new packaging through in-house testing at our lab.
Our in-depth knowledge of the materials, additives, barriers and dyes, as well as the possibility to test them in-house ensure the development of a creative and feasible packaging that can preserve the organoleptic properties of a product.
Find out more on petengineering.com/technology
The implementation of the new container on the production line, using Made in Italy molds and components, together with the highly specialized skills of our technicians ensure a quick and efficient production and minimum downtime.
PET Engineering manufactures moulds for every type of container and blowing machine, ensuring rapid deliveries in accordance with high technical and quality parameters. An efficient quality control system guarantees that the blow moulds meet the quality parameters required by the client.
The service enables the rapid deployment of new threads and new shapes on bottling lines through the design, construction and installation of the machine parts to be modified by virtue of the changed dimensions and geometries.
Find out more at www.petengineering.com.
Resilux is an international rigid plastic packaging supplier, founded in 1994. In time, Resilux became a reference in PET preform production, PET bottle production, barrier technology, heat set, R&D and other innovative plastic packaging solutions.
Ground breaking barrier technology based on an extensive knowledge of material conversion, both in co-injection (multilayer), blended technologies as many other innovative solutions, has brought Resilux worldwide fame as a provider of guaranteed barrier performances in oxygen, carbon dioxide, hot fill and light barriers. The extensive research and development within Resilux is challenging future targets in sustainability, recycling, extended shelf lives and many more.
By providing both 2 stage and 1 stage bottle production either in our own production plants or in-house at our customers location, including returnable or hot fill, Resilux masters the total cost and opportunity of packaging and provides customers a package and a partnership in finding the right solution.
Combining the standards of an international leader in plastic packaging with the flexibility of medium sized plants, Resilux can provide anything from standard preforms to value added packaging. We approach each new packaging challenge using the principle of total packaging solution, meaning looking into the whole chain from preform, bottle blowing, performance on the filling line, capping, secondary packaging, palletizing and storing, ready for shipment to our customer.
Resilux is led by a decisive management team with a long term, strategic vision. This created the opportunity to harvest technological superiority and organizational strengths based on own patented machine developments, designs and material.
Centralized planning, own developed quality control system and total freedom to produce all of its products in any of the production plants, makes Resilux one of few that excels in both high end value added products and lean mass production.
These results have made Resilux a landmark of financial health with the strength, knowledge and ambition to invest in the future.
Our goal is to exceed our customer’s expectations!
Thanks to our ECO2 program, SIPA is taking numerous roads in order to ensure that its technologies—and the ways they are used by our customers—are ecologically as well as economically beneficial to all. Our program is divided into four categories:
Resin waste and the related subject of optimum resin usage: of course, injection-stretch blow molding is the ideal way to make bottles because, unlike some other technologies, nothing is wasted: every granule ends up in the bottle. At SIPA, we have been at the forefront of the movement to minimize just how many granules make a bottle, with various ground-breaking technologies aimed at lightweighting the bottle body, the base, the neck, and even the cap. And with our XTREME compression molding technology, now in commercial use at our customer Suntory in Japan, bottles are lighter still with even better performance.
Our latest developments on injection tooling are also contributing to resin waste reduction: XMOULD, allowing production of thin-walled preforms, and our HOT RUNNER GEN.3, featuring the XFLOW technology to allow a better balance and to reduce pressure drops.
However, our brand new technology, XTREME RENEW, is further raising the bar of waste reduction. SIPA has worked in partnership with EREMA, a world leader in recycling technology, to develop an integrated system for producing PET preforms using XTREME technology from 100% post-consumer flakes as cost-effectively as possible. The system, which starts with EREMA’s VACUREMA process, operates without the need for pre-drying and regranulating flakes before reprocessing—something that can waste considerable amounts of energy.
But this is far from the only innovative approach that SIPA is taking to combat energy waste. Our XFORM preform injection molding systems are class leaders in terms of energy consumption, the latest “green” ovens we offer on our reheat stretch-blow units are highly energy efficient, our XVENT solution reduces blowing pressure up to 10-20% and of course our single-stage ISBM systems mean that the energy needed to reheat preforms is minimized.
The compact nature of SIPA systems provides further waste-saving bonuses, and not just in terms of floor space—important though that often is. Keeping everything close together yields benefits in energy consumption, and this is particularly the case with our Sincro units that combine separate operations such as stretch-blow molding and filling in highly efficient monoblocs. Most recently, we have taken the Sincro concept a step further by applying it to our XTREME technology. The XTREME Sincro, the world’s first injection- compression-stretch-blow molding system, combines the flexibility of two-stage systems with the convenience of single-stage system. Obviously, Sincro XTREME can be also integrated with SIPA’s Flextronic filling systems which means over 50% space saving vs. any other configuration. XTREME Sincro also provides another example of SIPA’s aim to simplify logistics by eliminating the waste-creating steps involved when two individual steps in the complete pellet-to-pallet system are separated by time and distance.
Feel free to imagine. We make it happen.
As one of the most commonly used resin in the plastics packaging industry, PET plays a key role in the packaging industry. This position is not expected to change, as studies show that PET demand is expected to grow by 4,6% worldwide over the next five years. Increasing demand might generate more competition among converters and suppliers of items in the PET industry.
In order to stay competitive and defend their spot on the market, PET converters should invest in cost-reducing policies.
The use of purging compounds belongs to the best practices that should be encouraged in the plastics processing industry, as it is a proven fact that a good purging compound allows great savings, considering the relevant amount of resin used for purges and scrap production with the occasional appearance of black specs. Ultra System’s purging compounds – sold as ULTRA PLAST – will intensively accelerate purging operations and eliminate all residues from inside the machine that cause color stripes and black specs. A regular and frequent use will even strengthen their cleaning effect.
In order to follow PET industry requirements and increase their satisfaction, Ultra System has developed a series of purging compounds dedicated to the PET industry. The standard Ultra Plast PET can be used to clean the screw and barrel of the machine, whereas the PET-C is suitable for purges of both the screw/barrel and the hot-runners system.
Last year, Ultra System launched the new Ultra Plast PET-CS with Swiss Qualipurge technology, which provides increased savings of time and material. PET-CS was specially designed for the color changes whose difficulty has increased over the years due to the REACH regulation for the new pigments (e.g. dark blue and opaque yellow, among others).
Finally, converters can rely on the Ultra Plast PAC for the best purges in the machines processing barrier materials in preform and cast film productions.
Last but not least, all Ultra Plast grades are non-abrasive and meet all requirements for food-contact items and white room productions.