Agr International creates new division focused on assisting PET bottle self-manufacturers optimise their production operations
Many companies that self-manufacturer struggle with PET bottle processing. This often involves determining the proper recipe for a given bottle, taking into consideration the local plant and regional environments or dealing with preforms from different sources or lineages. Sometimes it is just a challenge to produce bottles with consistent quality and performance that do not compromise downstream operations. And, let’s not forget about the scarcity of experienced blowmoulder operators and processing personnel. These are just a small sample of some of the issues that self-manufactures face.
The Agr Process Performance and Optimisation Group was established to provide self-manufacturers with a go-to resource to help overcome some of the everyday challenges in producing their own bottles. The approach of the Process Group is somewhat different than what is traditionally offered by the blowmoulder manufacturers. The Agr Process group takes a holistic approach towards optimization that not only focuses on the blowmoulder, but goes beyond to understand issues affecting the efficiency of the entire production line. Since Agr is not affiliated with any specific brand of blowmoulder, the group can provide whole plant assistance in operations that have different blowmoulder brands in the same facility.
Some of the offerings now available through this group include working directly with a plant’s process engineers and plant floor personnel to help manage challenging light weight applications, develop effective processing recipes and address process variation and quality issues as well as a myriad of downstream process improvement efforts that can lead to improved pack rate. The services of the group are offered under the following categories:
- Blowmoulder management and optimisation – individual assessment of individual blowing lines
- Effective use of basic quality tools for blowmoulder management
- Optimizing Pilot Profiler and Process Pilot automated tools to manage blowmoulder and production quality
- Production line auditing and optimization planning
- Job-specific services such as recipe design and startup assistance
According to Robert Cowden, Agr’s Chief Operating Officer, “our primary mission is to work with our customers to optimize production efficiency, both in terms of blowmoulding and total line efficiency. Agr’s consulting professionals work directly with plant personnel to optimize blowmoulding and container flow downstream in order to reduce manufacturing costs.”
