"PETbottles 34 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Beverage + Liquid Food BBQ sauces in PET The number of enthusiastic BBQ-ers in Germany is constantly increasing and this is also true of the demand for original American BBQ sauces. Two examples are the sauces (illustrated) from Bull’s Eye and Hunt’s. The “Bull’s Eye” brand name, which is owned by Mondelez, is selling its newly launched Hot Chili BBQ Sauce in a transparent bottle with a content of 425ml. The bottle features all-round embossing to ensure a better grip and a brand name logo embossed in the area of the neck. The bottle is sealed by means of a screw closure which is secured prior to initial opening by an all-round paper label. The second, likewise transparent, bottle is a honey and mustard sauce from Messrs. “Hunt’s” with a content of 510gr and a screw-on hinge lid with dispenser opening. Prior to initial opening the closure needs to be unscrewed and a sealing membrane removed. www.kraftbrands.com/BullsEyeBBQ Jim Beam cuts the mustard The German company The Food Company GmbH based in Mülheim is marketing within the retail / wholesale sector 263ml of mustard with a small quantity of Jim Beam Bourbon Whiskey added to it. The product comes in a handy, transparent bottle, which, in terms of its shape, is reminiscent of the original Jim Beam bottle. In the neck area the bottle incorporates stabilising embossed sections that also making grasping and holding easier. The bottle is closed by means of a screw-on hinged lid with double tamper-proof guarantee. A shrink label protects the lid from flipping open and the bottle neck is sealed with a sealing membrane in order to secure it. www.jimbeam.com “Blutige Sommerfrüchte” from Volvic Danone Waters Deutschland is constantly implementing variations to its “Volvic Juicy” range and, for a limited period, special combinations are available as regards the fruit juices used. Under the name of “Blutige Sommerfrüchte (“Luscious Summer Fruits”) a Halloween edition featuring apples, strawberries, blackberries and cranberries has been on offer at the PoS. The proportion of fruit juice is around eight per cent and the drink is packed in the familiar PET bottle with a content of 500ml. The deposit bottle is decorated with a shrink sleeve label and the bottle is sealed by means of a green screw cap complete with tamper-proof strip. www.volvic.de Super smoothie from Innocent One of the founding fathers of the smoothie movement, Messrs. Innocent, have extended their range to incorporate a smoothie with additives. The new juices which go by the name of Super Smoothie are available in three variants - Energise, Antioxidant and Defence. The juices are made from various types of fruit and vegetables, crushed plant seeds and individual vitamin additives. Each is packaged in quantities of 360ml in a transparent PET bottle which is decorated with an allround self-adhesive paper label, colour-coordinated to suit the product and sealed by means of a black screw cap complete with tamper-proof strip. www.innocentdrinks.de","@ID":36}, "PET TOP TALK 27 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 Agr, Butler, PA, USA Featured at this year’s show was the Process Pilot automated blow moulder management system. The Process Pilot in conjunction with Agr’s Pilot Profiler system interfaces with the re-heat stretch blow moulder to provide precise material thickness distribution management and defect detection for PET bottles while offering hands-off blow moulder control. With the trend towards ever lighter bottles, the Process Pilot is said to be the ultimate light-weighting tool. This system offers bottle producers the ability to aggressively light weight bottles to the absolute minimum while providing the confidence that material is distributed appropriately. The Process Pilot system makes it possible to produce consistent, high-quality bottles on a 24/7 basis regardless of operator skills, environmental changes and preform variations. This product claims to offer a number of benefits that include overall improved bottle quality, reduced variation in top load and volume, as well as production efficiencies that can significantly decrease scrap and incidences of downtime in the blowing operation and filling line. www.agrintl.com AGR shows their Process Pilot automated blow moulder management system J&D Packaging, Shenzhen, China This company’s presentation incorporates information on both their main products and includes a bottle blowing machine, filling machine and a packing machine. It was founded in 2000, totally funded by J&D Group, and focuses on developing, manufacturing and selling water treatment equipment, blowing machines, filling machines and packing machines. Located in Shenzhen, the factory covers an area of 3,000m2; it has 200 employees and 30 technicians. As part of the J&D group, J&D Packing Equipment has seen rapid development over the years. In 2010, more than 5000 sets of equipment were sent overseas. www.jndchina.com","@ID":29}, "MARKET SURVEY 22 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net 12/2015 MARKETsurvey Company name Fogg Filler SMI S.p.A. Serac Group Sipa Postal address Telephone number Web site address Contact name Function Direct telephone number Fax E-Mail 3455 John F. Donelly Drive Holland, MI 49424, USA +1 616 786 9644 www.foggfiller.com Ms Susan Lamar Media Relations Manager +1 616 768 3644 +1 616 786 0350 Via Carlo Ceresa, 10 24015 San Giovanni Bianco, Italy +39 0345 40111 www.smigroup.it Mr Pietro Volpi Marketing Dept. Manager +39 0345 40316 +39 0345 40209 pietro.volpi@smigroup.net 12 route de Mamers - BP 46 72400 La Ferte Bernard / France +33 2 43 60 28 28 www.serac-group.com Mr Roland Nicolas Dairy & Aseptic Business Dev. Director +33 2 43 60 28 32 +33 2 43 60 28 37 ronicolas@serac.fr Via Caduti del Lavoro n. 3 31029 Vittorio Veneto (TV) Italy +39 0438 911511 www.sipa.it Mr Matteo Tagliaferri Marketing and Communication +39 0521 548111 matteo.tagliaferri@zoppas.com 1. Machine designation / model number F Series Ecobloc, blowing, filling & capping Serac Aseptic System (SAS PL) Isofill P StillFills StillFill R\\HR Flextronic C 2. Number of filling heads (range: from/to) up to 100 Electronic volumetric fillers (18 - 126) 1 - 2 20-160 20-120 20-120 50-160 3. Min to max bottle contents (in liters) 50ml - 5l 0.25 - 10l 50ml -2l 0,125ml-3l 0,125ml-3l 0,125ml-3l 0,125ml-3l 4. Filling speed: output (bph) (min to max): 4,800 - 36,000 up to 1,200 specifiy: 1l bottle / still water (bph) up 60,000bph 4,800 - 36,000 60.000 62.000 60.000 1l bottle / CSD (bph) up 60,000bph 4,800 - 36,000 51.000 55.000 (CMW) 1l bottle / Milk (bph) up 60,000bph 4,800 - 36,000 up to 1200 1l bottle / Juice (bph) up 60,000bph 4,800 - 36,000 up to 1200 53.000 62.000 55.000 59.000 5. Filling process Pressureless (still drinks) Gravity fill yes Mass flow meter fill yes yes yes yes Pressure filling (carbonated drinks) yes yes yes Hot filling Gravity fill yes yes Cold aseptic filling Cold fill - gravity fill Mass flow meter fill Juices with high pulp content Gravity fill Mass flow meter fill yes yes 6. Type of filling valve and metering system No metering system - gravity filling vales (fill to a level) Electronic volumetric filling valves Flowmeters (metering system) Magnetic valves and flow meter isobaric mechanical level filling mechanical gravity filling mechanical gravity filling walve with recirculation isobaric volumetric filling valve Company name Sacmi Filling S.p.A Krones AG Postal address Telephone number Web site address Contact name Function Direct telephone number Fax E-Mail info@sacmifilling.it +39 0521 695411 www.sacmifilling.it Mr Iacopo Bianconcini Area & Marketing Manager +39 0542 607 111 +39 0542 64 2354 sacmi@sacmi.it Böhmerwaldstr. 5 93073 Neutraubling, Germany +49 9401 70 0 www.krones.com Mr Stefan Kraus Product Manager Filling Division +49 9401 3144 +49 9401 3056 stefan.kraus@krones.com 1. Machine designation / model number AWS, AWF, AWE, AWG, AHF, AHG, VSF, VSG, EWS, EWF, EWE, EHF, EHC, ESF, ELF, ELG, ELT, ECF Modulfill 2. Number of filling heads (range: from/to) 8 - 216 filling valves 16 - 216 3. Min to max bottle contents (in liters) 0,15ml-12l 4. Filling speed: output (bph) (min to max): 250ml to 750ml: speed 36.000 specifiy: 1l bottle / still water (bph) 5,000 - 75,000bph up to 72,000 1l bottle / CSD (bph) 5,000 - 75,000bph up to 65,000 1l bottle / Milk (bph) 4,000 - 60,000bph up to 60,000 1l bottle / Juice (bph) 4,000 - 60,000bph up to 60,000 5. Filling process Pressureless (still drinks) yes Volumetric filling system; Net weight filling system; Height filling system Pressure filling (carbonated drinks) yes Volumetric filling system; Net weight filling system; Height filling system Hot filling yes Volumetric filling system; Net weight filling system; Height filling system Cold aseptic filling PETAsept L / PETAsept D / ContiformAseptBloc Juices with high pulp content yes Height filling system; Pre-dosing system 6. Type of filling valve and metering system Isobarometric with vent tube, magnetic flow meters, mass flowmeters, volumetric long tube, strain gauges, levele probes, magnetic flowmetwers & time Volumetric filling system; Net weight filling system; Height filling system","@ID":24}, "CAPPING / CLOSURES 31 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net In-house exhibition at Sacmi, Imola by Alexander Büchler Over the past few years Sacmi has transformed itself into a full service provider. Gone are the days when Sacmi was simply a byword for closures. With a view to providing a comprehensive overview of wide by diverse techniques, ranging from preforms through to stretch blow moulding, filling and (of course) closures, Sacmi went ahead and issued an invitation to its inhouse exhibition in mid-September. 218 guests from 42 countries took up the invitation. The starting point for any customer or machine development is the Sacmi Beverage R&D Center. Here Sacmi innovations are created and tested before being industrialised and placed on the market. This facility is certified by top global players. The starting point for a bottle is the preform, and Sacmi were keen to showcase its latest developments in relation to the IPS (injection preform moulding) with the IPS220 and the new IPS400 for moulds with up to 128 cavities. The operation of the lines is highly energy efficient, and the cycle times are very short. The IPS400 includes the automated preform unloading system that picks and places preforms directly in octabins, new circuiting inside the plasticising unit and a special preform cooling station configuration in which the kinetic energy of the picker is recovered and converted into electrical energy. One exciting technology was the CBF (Compression Blow Forming) for dairy containers, launched on the market by Sacmi some years ago. A production unit for a 100ml HDPE bottle with 12,000bph was on display. The bottle weighs 6g. This technology lends itself to integration with a filler, able to shorten the production cycle and increase product safety due to clean environment and less handling. A version for PET has been announced. Sacmi also demonstrated their stretch blow moulding line SBF408, on which up to 27,200bph can be produced in double cavity operation. Running on the line was a 0,5l still water bottle weighing 12g. Naturally, there was no ignoring the compression closures (CCM). This branch continues to represent Sacmi’s bread and butter business. The CCM model presented during the open day was a 48 cavity one running at 2.000 caps/min for a 29mm HDPE single-piece cap, resulting in a 1,4 seconds cycle time. All this was under the banner of “The H.E.R.O Project” or High Efficiency Resource Optimiser. The project has been applied to all new machines design and enables savings to be made in terms of raw materials, energy and storage logistics. Sacmi had shown an interactive 3D animation of an integrated H.E.R.O. beverage line highlighting the various technologies, allowing the individual machines to be examined directly from the point of view of the operator. www.sacmi.it info@hasplastik.com Tel: +90 212 695 50 00 Fax: +90 212 694 97 24 100815dmyR .com Sacmi technicians preparing the closure line for start-up","@ID":33}, "imprint EDITORIAL PUBLISHER Alexander Büchler, Managing Director HEAD OFFICE heidelberg business media GmbH Bunsenstr. 14 69115 Heidelberg, Germany phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 info@hbmedia.net EDITORIAL Kay Barton Doris Fischer Heike Fischer Gabriele Kosmehl Michael Maruschke Ruari McCallion Waldemar Schmitke Wolfgang von Schröter Anthony Withers MEDIA CONSULTANTS Martina Hirschmann hirschmann@hbmedia.net Johann Lange-Brock lange-brock@hbmedia.net phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 FRANCE, ITALY, UK Elisabeth Maria Köpke phone: +49 6201-878925 fax: +49 6201-878926 koepke@hbmedia.net LAYOUT AND PREPRESS EXPRIM Werbeagentur Matthias Gaumann | www.exprim.de READER SERVICES Till Kretner reader@hbmedia.net PRINT Chroma Druck & Verlag GmbH Werkstr. 25 67354 Römerberg Germany WWW www.hbmedia.net | petpla.net PETplanet insider ISSN 1438-9459 is published 10 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (1-year subscription 149 EUR, 2-year subscription 289 EUR, Young professionals’ subscription 99 EUR. Magazines will be dispatched to you by airmail). Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Note: The fact that product names may not be identified as trademarks is not an indication that such names are not registered trademarks. 3 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Dear friends of PETplanet insider, Without you, our faithful PETplanet insider readers, working hard on a daily basis to bring constant improvements to beverages packaging, the continued triumphs of the PET bottle would almost certainly be proceeding at snail’s pace. But is it possible to maintain this energy day in, day out, without expending quite so much effort, despite being always under pressure to go that little bit faster? Every day, you need to develop new ideas, take sometimes painful decisions, and in no circumstances can you afford to rest on your laurels. That’s how it is. Of course, your own experience will be of enormous help. But can inspiration and fresh ideas also be found elsewhere? They can, but they come only from the exchange of views with colleagues and like-minded individuals who are grappling with the same issues. And from time to time, it is also invaluable to have a look at what other companies are doing. And this is exactly where we start from. 50 to 70 times a year, on every continent, we produce reports and analysis on what your competitors are doing, highlight their successes, and investigate the problems they face. We cover their experiences with processes and plant. A critical review of delivery reliability and the competence of after sales service also come under our microscope. All this precious information comes beautifully packaged and delivered directly to your desk 10 times a year. In the engine room, we have Heike Fischer, Doris Fischer, Gabriele Kosmehl, Kay Barton and yours truly as resident editors. Their task is to assemble the reports and support our global team. Our editors at large are Waldemar Schmitke, Wolfgang von Schröter, Ruari McCallion, Michael Maruschke and Sabine Flachsmann, who diligently uncover the news that really matters in the PET world. Out of this mix can emerge a flicker of inspiration or maybe the germ of a good idea or two that can help you in your operation. Wishing you a peaceful and relaxed New Year, we look forward to stimulating plenty of good ideas for 2016. Yours Alexander Büchler","@ID":5}, "MATERIAL / RECYCLING 9 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net A ‘one-stop shop’ to plastics recyclers As the demand for plastic sorting solutions continues to soar, Buhler Sortex, a member of The Bühler Group, and US-based National Recovery Technologies (NRT) are entering a strategic agreement to offer plastics recyclers a complete solution for plastic bottle and flake sorting. The companies are bringing together their expertise in optical sorting giving recyclers’ access to their technologies, engineering expertise, customer service and support networks. Global plastics production increased by 10 million tonnes, to around 280 million tonnes in 2011, continuing to grow approximately 9% per annum. Europe and the NAFTA region together comprise 41% of the world’s total plastic materials production, driving demand for integrated bottle and flake sorting solutions, as companies strive to meet government recycling targets and corporate social responsibility pledges. Charith Gunawardena, Head of Optical Sorting at Buhler Sortex says: “This landmark agreement signifies our confidence in the future growth of recycling. It also strengthens our industry references and reinforces our leading role in optical sorting, while demonstrating our commitment to providing customers with a complete bottle and flake sorting solution from two trusted leaders in their field.” With a service support network in all major recycling markets, plastics recylers can depend on a comprehensive Buhler Sortex and NRT support network built on solid foundations of technology and service. This will also provide access to both companies’ wide range of capabilities, including system design, on-site management, installation and product training. The partnership will also include close collaboration with key members of the technology value chain. Matthias Erdmannsdoerfer, President of NRT, concludes: “This significant partnership agreement is further acknowledgement of our commitment to supply and service leading plastics recyclers with a full portfolio of leading bottle and flake sorting equipment. We’re excited to bring the industry’s first complete offering to market that doesn’t require a plastics recycler to compromise on bottle or flake sorting performance and provides high-quality, local support. We look forward to building a strong partnership with Buhler Sortex and our customers across Europe and North America.” www.bottletoflake.com","@ID":11}, "INSPECTION 24 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Part 1: Innovating PET measurement and introducing new technologies Base and wall thickness measurement by Chris Freshman MEng(Hons) CEng MIMechE, Torus Measurement Systems, Telford, UK This article describes the need for sophisticated thickness gauging to meet the PET industries growing requirements to reduce bottle weight. Detailing the principles behind confocal technology and its implementation to acquire high accuracy base and wall thickness measurements. Confocal sensors have been compared with section weights, Hall Effect sensors and infra-red absorption, exploring various advantages and limitations. The continued weight reduction of PET bottles minimises wasted raw material, but places greater emphasis on developing better production processes and creating more efficient preform and bottle designs. Recent years have seen significant advances in bottle forming technologies, producing thinner walls and lower amounts of excess material in the bottle base, whilst preserving structural rigidity and functionality. These increasing demands on Research & Development (R&D) and Production require accurate and repeatable measurement systems, to not only report wall thickness, but also provide reliable measurement data for the bottle base - peak and valley. Furthermore, it is ever more important to verify material distribution. Poor distribution in the blown bottle can be attributed to a number of reasons, for example, preform quality and blow moulder temperature variation. Thickness results at detailed heights and rotational positions are vital for meaningful material distribution analysis. Chromatic confocal sensors To meet these demands Torus Measurement Systems have developed the B300 Wall Thickness Gauge. Doing away with non-linear, infra-red, PET specific, transmission monitoring. Instead utilising Chromatic Confocal Technology for high accuracy, high linearity and flexible one-sided thickness measurement. The sensor focuses white light through a series of high precision lenses creating controlled chromatic aberration; splitting the lights wavelengths, and thus its colours, across the working distance of the sensor [Fig1]. A factory calibration assigns every wavelength of colour to a discrete distance from the sensor. The light reflected from the target surface is directed onto a spectrometer and the wavelength in focus produces a high intensity peak on the spectral graph. Linear thickness measurement When measuring transparent material, such as the PET bottle wall, a proportion of light is reflected off the outer surface of the bottle. The rest passes through the material and reflects off the inside surface, forming two high intensity peaks on the spectral graph [Fig 2]. When combined with the materials Refractive Index, defined as: where c represents the speed of light in a vacuum and v is the phase velocity of light in the material, it creates an accurate, one-sided, non-contact, thickness measurement for the bottle wall and base. Advantages - Including, but not limited to: Linearity of 30μm over its full 3mm measurement range (customisable). Removing the need for offline verification of individual positions to compensate for thickness, geometry and colour. A measurement spot size of 7.2μm increases positional accuracy and removes large area averaging. Single sided wall thickness measurements give an accurate representation of material distribution. Ability to measure any transparent material with a known refractive index or a single reference sample - not just PET. Absolute measurement – non-comparative. Multi-layer thickness measurement is possible, given a refractive index change between layers. Measuring principle Lenses Beam Target Fig. 1 Fig. 2","@ID":26}, "PET TOP TALK 26 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Tour Sponsors: Talks at Pack Expo 2015, part 2 by Alexander Büchler PET Technologies, Chernigov, Ukraine This Ukraine company was exhibiting in North America for the first time. They envisage major potential with their linear blow moulding machines ranging from 3000 to 6000bph. The local competition is very strong in the northern and eastern areas of the country, although there is still sufficient potential in the south east. The Ukrainians have constructed a technical centre in Wisconsin. From here the machines are distributed within the country. The exhibit under construction at PackExpo is in the form of a technology complex. The line has already been adjusted to comply with the provisions of the North American standard. The machine makers have set their target at 10 lines for next year. They not only wish to sell the line to the customer but also offer an all-round service comprising bottle design, prototype manufacture and support with the purchase of preforms. www.pet-eu.com Serac, Carol Stream, IL, USA In addition to the New FC 15/6 900 on display with 15 filler heads and six capping turrets the highlight of the stand was the integrated monobloc Combox FC1 F12C6/720, made up of an SBL blow moulder coupled with the FC filler capper. The Serac Combox is ideal for single serve packaging such as, for example, the 50g yogurt portions in a fruit-shaped PET container as demonstrated. Blown from a PET preform of only 2.3g, with nearly half of the mass concentrated in the neck, the fruitshaped container requires an expansion rate of 16 (four times in both the length and the width), which is an extreme expansion rate in this industry. Precise transfer system, ideal for light and unsteady packages, the 100% positive neck transfer system ensures that the packages will move along through the process without ever touching each other, which is a must to avoid damage to the preforms. The SBL blow moulder can be directly coupled to most of the filler machines due to a starwheel system that compensates for the difference in pitch between the blowing and filling functions Accurate filling and capping solutions: The slightest deviation under the filling nozzles can have dramatic effects. This is why Serac has included a servo-driven transfer system that ensures state-of-art positioning and filling accuracy. Serac has also designed a capping system that will accommodate oversized aluminum strips together with a new die press tool to achieve a hygienic and user-friendly seal. Currently there are 5 lines running in North America. The trend away from HDPE towards PET heralds further installations on the continent. www.serac-inc.com Steve Cull, Regional Sales Manager F.l.t.r.: Eduardo Martinez, Export Manager Mexico; Maria Chigrinova, Export Manager; Vladimir Tsallagov, Director for Export; Alexander Suvorov, Director; Maxim Poliansky, Commercial Director. Gardner Denver, Quincy, IL, USA This company was exhibiting Type 15 from its compressor VH Series. This has a capacity of just less than 1000m³/h oil-free air for stretch blow moulding PET bottles. The VH series features a good power to footprint ratio. www.gardnerdenver.com F.l.t.r.: Tyson Mulvaney, Product Manager; Mike Bakalay, Manager; Tony Marlow, Direct Sales Manager. PACKAGING special","@ID":28}, "PACKING / PALLETISING 30 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net The real alternative to glass by Alexander Büchler ‘The real alternative to glass’ is the motto of the converter Gepack in Peoria, AZ USA. Joao Ganhao, General Manager, sees lots of potential for his company in PET containers for the pharmaceuticals sector, wine or spirits. Almost invariably the template is a heavy duty glass container which stands to be replaced by a PET container with a similar look to it. This approach is not actually new as far as the USA is concerned, but, in contrast to the competition, they do not offer any HDPE alternatives. Joao Ganhao: “We manufacture premium packaging, so there is no alternative to PET, as far as we are concerned.” And, to help him meet his aspirations for a premium product, Joao Ganhao has bought all his machines for the production operation (which was only set up in 2014) from Europe and Japan. The compressors come from Germany, the materials handling system from Italy and the single stage lines from Japan. Gepack US is a subsidiary of Gepack Portugal. In Portugal the company produces premium PET containers to the same high standard. Their expertise in the development of packaging and in the prototyping sector has existed for a number of years, and the American unit is keen to take advantage of it. Joao Ganhao conducted a detailed analysis of the market prior to 2014 and identified the Californian bottlers specifically for the Gepack PET wine bottles. However, California as a location was too expensive for him. Here in Arizona, not far from Phoenix, he has everything he needs including adequate transport capacity to his customers in the direction of California. The background is that California provides 60% of all the fruit and vegetables grown in the USA, and during the harvest season from April to October every square metre of cargo space is fully occupied with farm produce. Such is the amount of fruit and salad being transported from California to the East that there is room for little else, but on the return journey it is a different story. According to Joao Ganhao, as many as five out of six wagons return empty to California, thus increasing availability, whilst dramatically reducing overall transport costs. This is a key factor for packaging involving stretch blow moulded bottles. However, Gepack’s repertoire in terms of interesting packaging is not restricted purely to replacing glass. Customers are also coming to slowly appreciate the degrees of freedom inherent in the design of the PET bottle. This means that the single serve bottle complete with integrated drinking receptacle is a step in the right direction for the wine market. Currently the floor space given over to production and warehousing is something like 16,000m². But just next door there is already a factory building covering 12,000m² available for further expansion. www.gepackusa.com BERICAP Technology The plastic closure company committed to your success www.bericap.com Research and Development Mould Technology | Global Presence Capping Technology and Know-How Innovation and Flexibility Neck ring-free PET wine bottles in green. Tour Sponsors: PACKAGING special","@ID":32}, "BOTTLES 35 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Agave syrup in headstand bottle The Austrian company Vita + Naturprodukte GmbH is marketing, under the brand name of Verival, 250ml Bio-Agave syrup for sweetening food and beverages. The advantages of agave syrup lie in its lower calorie count compared to sugar. In terms of its flow behaviour it is superior to honey. There is also the fact that it is soluble, even in cold drinks. The product, which is certified with several bio-seals, is packaged in a transparent headstand bottle made from PET. It also incorporates a hinged lid cap with an automatic closure silicone valve. Prior to any manipulation the product is protected by means of a security label on the top of the lid and an additional safeguard in the shape of the non-label-look label on the front that extends to reach into the closure area. www.verival.at Iced tea from Adelholzener The boundaries between the different drinks manufacturers for juice, mineral water and iced tea are becoming increasingly nebulous. Following hard on the heels of “limo” from Granini, Saft Schorle from Punica and the various Volvic combinations we now also have various beverages with tea extracts from Adelholzener Alpenquellen GmbH. There are three different iced teas – with lemon, fruits of the forest and peach – and a fourth variant in the shape of black tea with orange. By way of a bottle Adelholzener have selected a transparent reusable bottle with a content of 500ml. In the neck area the bottle has all-round curved grooves and is embossed with a mountain – the brand image of Adelholzener. The bottle is decorated with an all-round paper label and sealed with a cap closure complete with strip as security against tampering. www.adelholzener.de/eistee","@ID":37}, "PACKING / PALLETISING 29 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net David Feber emphasises with a smile. Feber spoke about the Manchester pilot plant, “We have a variety of injection and blow moulding machinery for the manufacture of sample bottles and preforms to assist with customer requests.” “The capacities are designed for a maximum of 100,000 preforms/bottles per sample,” he went on, “It is then that the relevant characteristics tests in our labs commence. We can simulate field conditions to ensure our customers’ needs for labelling, closures and filling are met even before the bottles are introduced into the market.” One specific example of a development project of this nature is the conversion of a glass jar for pasta sauces. Reasons for replacing the glass packaging with PET are essentially weight and to safeguard against breakage. Prior to implementation, however, compliance with specific criteria is essential. These are: Hot-fillable Shelf life options Wide neck container with easy-open rotary closure Improved grip for customer Generates a “POP“ sound when opened. A sign of freshness for the consumer. The outcome, Amcor’s Apex63, is a lightweight PET wide neck container with a metal closure. An indicator button takes care of the “POP” sound and enables easy opening of the closure. The container design improves container handling, even with wet hands. The container is hot-fillable up to a temperature of 205 degrees Fahrenheit and shelf life can be improved by means of plasma coating. The filling operation continues to be carried out on the existing filler and capper with only very slight modifications. LiquiForm Ann O’Hara, President of LiquiForm, joined the conversation to discuss Amcor’s joint venture with Sidel: “Part of our joint venture with Sidel is the development of single step blow & fill technology. Instead of stretch blow moulding a preform into a bottle using compressed air, the preform is formed with the liquid product itself. The stretch blow moulding stage with air is completely omitted. A big advantage here is the generation of energy savings in excess of 50% compared to compressed air. Another big advantage this produces is logistics as there is no longer any need to transport empty bottles, just preforms.” One of the six laboratory machines in the market is installed here in Manchester, an additional one is in the vicinity for more advanced development including larger plastic bottles. There are other laboratory machines at Sidel, at Nestle and in Yoshino, Japan. We witnessed a demonstration of the blow/fill machine. The demonstration machine used is a specially modified older Series 1 Sidel sbm machine with two of the old eight moulding/filling stations using liquid not compressed air. The demonstration we saw was: 0.5 litre PET bottle Still water, heated Preform geometry designed for stretch blow moulding Preform temperature and pressure similar to typical air blow applications Fill time less than 0.5 seconds According to Ann O’Hara, there may be some minor adaptations to preform geometry for the blow/fill process in the future, dependent on the application. She explained: “As far as this technology is concerned, we are still in the early days and are aware that we still have some way to go in terms of optimisation work, e.g. in the case of cold drinks. It is important for us to have succeeded in demonstrating that this technology works. Our aim is to have a commercial machine system on the market for nonfood applications within a couple of years. Our market strategy consists of granting licences for this technology, e. g. Michael Hodges, Director, Communications and Public Relations We’ve got our sights set on expanding our horizons. For that we have a new identity and new strategy for growth. As UNITED CAPS, we’re extending our global footprint to meet your needs wherever U are. We’re also expanding our innovation capabilities and getting even closer to customers. Need performant and reliable plastic caps and closures? U need UNITED CAPS! PROCAP IS NOW UNITED CAPS! ©2015 UNITED CAPS group. All rights reserved. www.unitedcaps.com to machine manufacturers and working with end users to help them understand the technology and its advantages.” A highly informative day draws to an end and we express our appreciation for the opportunity to hold wide-ranging talks with the entire team. Our discussions have enabled us to understand something of what activated collaborative teamwork actually implies. We thank everyone involved. www.amcor.com www.liquiformgroup.com","@ID":31}, "PETpatents www.verpackungspatente.de 36 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Bottle as component Intern. Patent No. WO 2015 / 044231 A1 Applicant: Martin Olivier, Paris (FR) Date of Application: 24.9.2014 In order to give a bottle made from plastic additional service life, even in countries with reduced recycling facilities or none at all, the application proposes to incorporate recesses with a thread in the surface of the bottle. Any number of bottles can be put together in this way e.g. as a component for creating a wall. Container with handle Intern. Patent No. WO 2015 / 053257 A1 Applicant: Nissei ASB Machine Co. Ltd., Nagano (JP) Date of Application: 7.10.2014 A high volume plastic bottle is fitted in the area of the side wall with an indentation and features that enable a separately manufactured handle to be fitted and secured. Waisted bottle Intern. Patent No. WO 2015 / 059381 A1 Applicant: Sidel Participations, Octeville sur Mer (FR) Date of Application: 6.10.2014 Waisted bottle manufactured from PET with rectangular / square base. The bottle, which is designed for hot fill applications, is equipped with specially moulded compensation areas. Plastic bottle Intern. Patent No. WO 2015 / 068763 A1 Applicant: The Coca-Cola Comp., Atlanta (US) Date of Application: 6.11.2014 A thin-walled, weight-reduced plastic bottle incorporates grooves and indentations for fingers in the waisted area which enable the bottle to be held and secured without the bottle “collapsing”. Base section Europ. Patent No. EP 2853501 A1 Applicant: Yoshino Kogyosho Co. Ltd., Tokyo (JP) Date of Application: 18.11.2009 The base section of a plastic bottle for product under pressure, hot fill product, is specially designed. On reduction of the internal pressure, cooling, the base becomes distorted and changes to support points, support surfaces emerge. The bottle remains stable. Screw cap US Patent No. US 2013 / 0319968 A1 Applicant: Closure Systems International Inc., Indianapolis (US) Date of Application: 31.5.2013 In the interests of mounting a container closure securely on the container opening even under “high speed” conditions, the closure is fitted on the inside with a feature that is intended to prevent “incorrect mounting”.","@ID":38}, "INSPECTION 18 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Detecting hole and leakage Jack Hughes, Marketing Coordinator, in the background a NexGen Rotary with 10 leak tester stations by Waldemar Schmitke February 26, 2015 We met: Jack Hughes, Marketing Coordinator On this afternoon’s agenda we have a visit to Alps Leak Testing Equipment in Milwaukee, WI. Here we meet Marketing Coordinator Jack Hughes. Established in 1974 Air Logic Power Systems, Alps, the company designs and builds test systems for non-destructive leak inspection of plastic containers. Since 2000 Alps has been part of the international Tasi Group in Ohio, whose portfolio includes test, measurement, inspection and assembly solutions. The headquarters of Alps is here in Milwaukee where it has 45 employees. There are two more subsidiary companies in Ireland and Italy. North America is serviced from the headquarters which has its own manufacturing facility, sales and service. According to Jack Hughes, manufacturing is highly vertically integrated and includes wiring of control panels and development of software in Milwaukee. Jack Hughes explains: “The core technology of the equipment is use of a pressure decay test method for 100% inspection of empty plastic containers. After the containers are sealed and pressurised, a drop in pressure in the containers is precisely measured to detect the presence of leakage. In addition to detection of holes or leaks in the body of the container, the systems will detect a variety of sealing-related defects. Bad containers are automatically ejected from the production line.” The leak detector range consists of a wide variety of products, which are specified depending on the requirements for speed, sensitivity, range of container sizes, and container handling. The two major categories are rotary and linear systems, describing the motion of containers as they travel through the machine. The leak detector systems are incorporated into plastic container production lines by means of conveyors. Systems are typically installed directly downstream of the blow moulding machine (ISBM, IBM, SBM, EBM). Rotary machines use a timing screw and infeed starwheel to transport the incoming plastic containers Linear systems Line No. Leak testing tations Speed in bpm Typical container sizes Speed-Glider 2 up to 8 20 up to 500bpm 50ml to 10l SC Linear 1 10 up to 150bpm 50ml to 4l SC-XL Linear 1 10 up to 50bpm up to 30l RS Linear 1 10 up to 150bpm 3ml to 2l SX Linear 1 10 up to 30bpm 20ml to 6l LC Linear 1 2 up to 20bpm 100ml to 30l Rotary systems Line No. Leak testing tations Speed in bpm Typical container sizes NexGen Rotary 4 up to 30 50 up to 1200 100ml to 10l NexGen Rotary XLS 6 up to 16 up to 60bpm up to 20l onto a turntable for the inspection. After the test the containers are transported back onto the conveyor via an exit starwheel, any bad containers are ejected. In the case of Linear systems, standard product lines offer several varieties of container handling, including continuous motion timing screws (Speed-Glider), test heads that automatically follow the bottles on a conveyor (RS), separate indexing conveyor systems (SC), or units that position bottles using cylinders (SX).","@ID":20}, "MOULD MAKING 10 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net R&D/Leverage opens new Product Solutions Laboratory by Ruari McCallion October 15 2015 saw the official opening of R&D/Leverage Europe’s new Product Solutions Laboratory (PSL) at its European HQ in Sutton in Ashfield, near Nottingham, England. The official opening ceremony was performed by Gloria de Piero, the local Member of Parliament (MP) and “Shadow” (Opposition) Minister for Young People and Voter Registration. Elisabeth M. Köpke and Ruari McCallion attended on behalf of PETplanet Insider. They undertook a tour of the factory and interviewed Managing Director Alan Tolley about the need for and purpose behind the new PSL, as well as the company’s activities more widely. “Brand owners and plastics convertors now require much more from their tooling suppliers,” Alan Tolley said. Things have changed dramatically since the company was founded as DK Moulds in 1984. For a long time, its role was to take instructions and specifications from customers, build tools to their precise specifications and send them back, without any significant input at all. R&D/Leverage is now involved from the very earliest stage as Robert Schiavone, Global Marketing Director for R&D/Leverage, observed. “R&D/Leverage now provides the total solution, from pre-sales evaluations, product design, prototyping and tooling design, through manufacture and process validation, prior to shipping the production tooling to the customer,” he said. It could not have done so without significant investment in facilities, equipment and training. The PSL facility was originally purchased in 2012, with the intention of providing a secure research and development environment, which could confirm the feasibility of bottle and jar shapes, effect market evaluations and undertake short-run production for line, filling, labelling and capping trials, as well as tooling qualification an process validation. All of which means that it has to have similar equipment to its customers. Its latest moulding machines include a Nissei 12M and Nissei 70DPW. They sit very comfortably among the latest generation of auxiliary equipment including robotics, chillers, dryers and compressors. The visit to the compressor room was something of a surprise, as it was a lot quieter than tends to be the case in manufacturing environments – and not because the equipment is in any way lightweight; R&D/Leverage makes sure it is aware of what its customers are using and upgrades if necessary. “We have the best in the market,” said Tolley. “We have them at two different levels: the shop operates at 8bar; the compressors supply air at 10bar and it can be boosted to 40 bar.” Compressors at that level are needed in order to blow-mould the bottles the company works with its customers to design and develop, a process that also includes rapid prototyping – or 3D printing, as it is now more commonly called – which it undertakes on its own 3D printing machine. The tour of the factory provided us with an insight into how far this facility of R&D/Leverage has grown from its pure toolmaking roots. It makes its own moulds, has its own inspection equipment and facilities, and is equipped with some very sophisticated laser welding tools. “Laser technology has revolutionised the repair department,” Tolley explained. “In the past, when you were working with aluminium, you had to heat it till it was nearly molten and you had to make individual blowmoulds, for example. Now, you make it from one block. If one cavity is damaged, you simply cut it out and laser weld a replacement in place.” He indicated where a join was on what looked like a completely solid, singlepiece unit. It still looked solid; the join was invisible to the naked eye. He took us through the steps necessary to make a screw thread, suitable for a neck of a bottle. Gloria de Piero (left), Member of Parliament for Ashfield, officially opens R+D/Leverage’s new Product solutions Laboratory, along with Managing Director Alan Tolley.","@ID":12}, "MOULD MAKING 12 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Engineering Excellence www.netstal.com Maximum output No defects At Netstal our aim is to help you manufacture the perfect drinks closures: minimum cycle times combined with maximum quality yield the lowest unit costs and best possible production. And that’s no coincidence: our team of experts are specialised exclusively in closures – and machines made to perform. equipped. We have top load testers, automatic height and thickness testers and finish testing,” Tolley said. “We pull off a certain amount of bottles per hour for rigorous inspection. We are not going into production – we are validating, so everything is inspected off-line.” The building housing the new PSL was bought from an engineering company and was thoroughly cleaned and remodelled. It now has a new floor, new walls and new electrics. Physically, it is located a short distance from the exiting factory, across an industrial estate access road. Software servers are to be found either side – and elsewhere. “When we bought the facility we ran ducting across the road and put in fibre optic cabling,” said Tolley. “We back up the servers from across the way and also host backup for the USA plant – and they have backup over there, as well. If we lost all of our buildings here, four hours’ work is the absolute maximum we would lose.” None of the machinery on site is more than four years old; the inspection equipment is state of the art, as is grinding, production, cutting, laser technology and design technology. Both production and data protection is about as secure as it gets. R&D/ Leverage has invested with care to ensure it is at able to deliver the total services it promises. It is training the next generation as well, a point that the local MP appreciates. “It is really good that R&D/Leverage are doing so well and its commitment to providing at least two apprenticeships a year is so welcome, and very important in this area,” she said. “Businesses like this are essential to the economic prosperity of my constituency.” www.rdleverage.com","@ID":14}, "CAPPING / CLOSURES 32 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Tour Sponsors: Balancing act between special and volume closures by Alexander Büchler Bericap’s expertise extends beyond just special closures. Bericap in North America shows by example that the company is also welcomed as a supplier by the OEMs in the mass beverage closure sector. We talked with David Watson, Business Development Manager North America. The introduction of the Double Seal closure 15 years ago was, for David Watson, the point when the company created a big advantage for beverage closures. Although Double Seal technology has now been on the US market for more than 12 years, it still continues to meet and overcome new challenges. By way of example he points to an 11oz Smoothie bottle from a leading US based High Pressure Beverage Processor which is having its beverage shelf life extended by means of newly utilised HPP technology which is enhanced and achieved via the performance provided by Bericap’s Double Seal. The idea in so doing is to expose the filled bottle, and thus the filled product, to such high pressure that all the bacteria virtually implode. The filled bottle goes into pressure chambers that are flooded with water. Then a pressure of 6,000bar is applied for approximately 3min. This leads during the course of processing to reversible distortion phenomena that affects the bottle and the closure. This is where the Double Seal comes in. During the process the closures’s task is not only to ensure that the filled material stays inside the bottle but also to make sure that the pressurised process water does not get into the bottle. Many leading HPP processors are satisfied with the Double Seal 38mm closure and so is David Watson. Bericap is famous all over the world for its special solutions, but is less well known for volume closures for water or CSD. In North America things are different. Here Bericap has become a big name with its volume closures and has consistently continued to service its customers, the Big Cs and leading water packagers. Participation is so extensive it has come to a point where the Bericap plant near Los Angeles is situated next door to one their largest water clients. Proximity simplifies the logistics chain and strengthens the supplier – customer relationship. For David Watson the fact that the major brands do not produce caps on their own premises David Watson in front of big totes each filled with 140,000 closures.","@ID":34}, "BOTTLE MAKING 15 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net lowing years were also repaired in this way until the team finally established that it had disassembled and reassembled the plants completely independently, consequently improving not only cost burden but also the durability. With this knowledge and accumulated expertise, Terekas started the serial production of its first own blow moulding machines. It made them from standard components, with the declared aims of simplifying maintenance processes on-site at customers’ facilities and creating greater flexibility. The company now uses several milling machines to produce all the components needed for its blow moulding equipment and packages them in a housing design that one could definitely describe as somewhat futuristic. Terekas has 120 employees in total, including the two founding brothers, of course: Juozas Maksvytis is CEO and Almantas Maksvytis is Director of Commerce. The blow moulding machines are today sold to customers in (among other countries and regions) Western Europe, USA and Canada. The company offers relatively broad range of equipment with 1-6 cavities for volumes from 100ml to 10l and for 15-120mm necks, including jars, hot fill containers, bottles with integrated handle or special and custom-made designs. One hundred million bottles in total are produced at its Kretinga plant every year. It purchases standard preforms from European suppliers but also produces special preform types itself and offers them to the market, with barrier technology if required. Its own preforms range from 38mm for hot-fill to 83mm diameter twistoff for standard metal lids, and in weight sizes from 30-74g for a variety of applications in juices, sauces, herring, etc.The annual output is 100 million. The preforms are usually supplied to customers as an integral part of the package for customers buying blowing machines. “Being a PET bottle producer ourselves helps us better understand the blowing machinery as we can actually test our equipment in serial production, and make reliable decisions about engineering”, Juozas Maksvytis explains and adds: “When it comes to high speed production, we are compared to established EU brands. However in the segment of flexible blowing machines we see little competition.” As for the future? We were told that the company plans to invest continuously. Terekas’ plans for 2016, for example, include the launch of a visual in-line test system to analyse the quality of preforms. www.terekas.lt","@ID":17}, "NEWS 7 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net National seminar on edible oil packaging - exploring growth opportunities The third pan-Indian seminar on “Global PET Packaging and Filling Innovations – Synergies with Edible Oil Sector 2015” was held at Taj Krishna, Hyderabad. It was organised by the PET Division of Reliance Industries Ltd. along with Bericap India Pvt. Ltd.; Spheretech Packaging India Pvt. Ltd.; and Sidel India Pvt. Ltd. The key purpose of the seminar was to engage with industry end-users and to keep attendees up to date on the current packaging situation in India and across the world. With the aim of further enhancing brand owners’ awareness of developments and innovations in the industry, the event brought a range of stakeholders to a common platform and was reported to have been well received by the country’s edible oil industry. Global developments, market trends, PET filling line innovations and SCM solutions that are of particular interest and benefit to the edible oil industry were detailed. The seminar considered a range of issues and the event as a whole covered a wide range of topics, including the role of PET package in today’s retail environment; the availability of quality bottles; optimising weight; design solutions; closures; filling lines; logistics; and shelf life improvements. India is currently registering a double-digit increase in the use of PET packaging for edible oil applications, and growing interest in two litre and three litre containers. The potential and capabilities of a 15l PET container were also discussed. In the market today, among the rigid packs used for edible oil industry, 78% of edible oil sold in India is packaged in metal containers; HDPE packaging amounts to 14%; PET has eight per cent market share; and just one company sells edible oils in cartons. As well as speakers from local divisions of machine manufacturers, representatives from Sidel, Bericap, Spheretech, Reliance and Manjushree presented their technologies, ideas and possible solutions for this segment along with other presentations, including two from brand owners Gemini and Lohiya Oils. More than 100 visitors representing various parts of the process chain and from all over the country attended the event. www.ril.com","@ID":9}, "BOTTLING / FILLING 17 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net BOTTLING / FILLING coffee in 350ml, 450ml and 600ml PET bottles in round and rectangular formats. It has an output rate of 40,000bph compared with their existing aseptic PET line equipped with the traditional wet bottle decontamination which runs at 36,000 bph. The Sidel Combi Predis FMa Capdis had to be flexible enough to manage frequent changeovers as bottle formats, shapes and product recipes change several times a week. Hon Chuan has a longstanding relationship with Sidel that dates back to 1997 when the Taiwanese company first placed an order for a standalone blower. Hon Chuan ordered its first aseptic bottling line from Sidel in 2006 and placed the order for a second four years later. By investing in the Sidel Combi Predis FMa Capdis, Hon Chuan is replacing bottle rinsing with dry preform decontamination. With the additional facility of Capdis, the company is also sterilising its bottle caps in the same way, by using hydrogen peroxide vapour. The solution uses no water in the sterilising process and, requiring 10% of the agents used in traditional systems, minimal use of chemicals. Due to the uniform distribution of the hydrogen peroxide vapour on the inner walls of the preforms and its activation by the heat of the oven, Predis achieves 100% sterilisation and offers complete safety. Once sterilised, the preforms are blown with sterile air to create the finished bottles, which are transferred to the aseptic filler by the neck in a controlled atmosphere. This high-temperature treatment of the performs, rather than the blown bottles, presents greater freedom in bottle design and lightweighting opportunities, opening up further possibilities for ultra-light containers. Mr Dai sums up: “We are constantly working towards reducing waste, energy and raw material cost. Technology plays a key role and we are glad we chose Sidel’s Combi Predis FMa Capdis for our latest aseptic line. Predis dry preform decontamination ensures high hygiene for sensitive beverages while offering cost-effectiveness along with product and environmental benefits.” www.sidel.com www.honchuan.com.tw","@ID":19}, "MOULD MAKING 11 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net “We manufacture the basic shape and do everything except hardening and coating – that is done externally, by a specialist contractor,” he continued. “These components are made from Premium material. We machine it round, put holes in it, send it out for specialist heat treatment, and then we wire EDM it in half. We grind out the thread to microns, with a ‘’proprietary’’ coated wheel on a 100,000rpm spindle. These machines – the cutter and the “proprietary’’ coated wheel grinder – are two of the most important machines in the company.” The component is cut in half in order that it can open and allow the preform or fully blown package to be removed. R&D/Leverage also makes its own hot runner called Genesisi, which Tolley is particularly proud of. “We have seven patents on our hot runner, which is recognised in the industry as being probably the best-balanced, he said. “Because it’s linear, the material that comes into the mould wants to fill up the middle cavities first and the sides last, so you get imbalances. We have introduced a patented process and incorporated some adjustments that ensure a 90% balance – most of our competitors can get only circa 60% - and we can get even higher, by introducing fins into the melt flow. Achieving such high balance levels makes everything further down the line easier to do.” Design All design is carried out on computer, primarily in 3D using Pro E, and manufactured with Edgecam. Before a design gets to the shop floor, it is checked to ensure that it can be machined and that there are no conflicts. It is then downloaded to the machine and put into production. When a part is finished it undergoes very close inspection. Tolley showed us an old-style shadow graph, which has been superseded by a CMM, coordinate measuring machine. There is also a latest-generation vision inspection camera and is extremely accurate. Moulding “We are planning to spend more money in the inspection area in the PSL but we are already pretty well R+D/Leverage Europe’s new Product Solutions Laboratory in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, England. F.l.t.r.: Alan Tolley, MD of R+D/Leverage Europe, entertains PETplanet Insider’s Elisabeth M. Köpke and Ruari McCallion with an explanation of the company’s validation process during a tour of the factory. Inside R+D/Leverage Europe’s Product solutions Laboratory.","@ID":13}, "BOTTLE MAKING 14 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net From DIY user to machine manufacturer by Kay Barton Terekas, a machine builder, bottle and preform producer based in Kretinga, Lithuania, claims to be the largest company of its type in the Baltic States, in terms of size and output. The major part of its business is now the manufacture and supply of blow-moulding machines for a broad client base. Their machines are distinguished from the broader market by being made of standardised components - a concept that was born of necessity. In 1994, a few years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, brothers Juozas and Almantas Maksvytis obtained a property that had been a heavy industry repair centre during the Soviet era. The young entrepreneurs, who were just in their midthirties at that time, saw potential in the property and decided to become active in the newly flourishing PET bottle market. They invested in a PET blow moulding machine and started producing bottles. A good decision, as it turned out, as more and more Lithuanian bottlers were switching from glass to plastic containers and the availability of PET bottles was limited. Terekas’ customer base and associated output grew and ultimately triggered the first repair work for the blow moulding machine. This turned out to be a crucial turning point in the company’s future growth; in order to save time and money the brothers developed a solution to replace defective parts with standard purchased components. In keeping with the idea of “learning by doing”, other machines that Terekas acquired over the folTerekas‘ blow moulder „Lito“","@ID":16}, "PETnews 6 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net All-over preform inspection At the 3rd International User Meeting of Intravis in Aachen, Germany, customers from all over the world received detailed information on new inspection possibilities in software and inspection systems. “The International User Meeting is established in the user’s industry. We not only offer an exchange forum besides the daily business but also showcase our new developments that are interesting for the users”, said Dr. Gerd Fuhrmann, CEO Intravis, explaining the success of the wellattended event series. During the two day event the newly developed inspection system Layer Watcher was presented. It measures the thickness of different layers in clear and translucent preforms optically, non-destructively. The new software IntraVisualizer was also presented. It prepares production data, displaying it to the operator as a clear graphic. Statistics of different parameters, periods, batches and cavities could also be made by the IntraVisualizer. The user has the possibility to intervene in good time to avoid waste. A new in-line Color Watcher, detecting color deviations and provided with an early warning system, was the last presentation. The next event is planned for spring 2017. www.intravis.de A box full of creativity Of all the elements that make the styling of a plastic bottle extravagant and extraordinary, colour and colour effects are among the strongest. The Kreativbox 1.0, launched by Finke, opens a wide range of special effects for the colour design of bottles made of PET, PE or PP. Displaying a number of appealing small bottles made of different materials, the Kreativbox demonstrates the whole variety of special effects that can be realised with Fibaplast, Fibafekt or Fibacomp masterbatches. In addition, a variety of technical processes and additives allow for special effects like metallic gleam, pearly shine, rainbow or colour flop. A lustrous, lacqueredlike finish can be produced as well as a soft-grip surface. Also fragrances can be incorporated into the material. Apart from an abundance of aesthetic effects, Finke masterbatches enable a number of functional solutions for the unchangeable marking of products, like invisible safety formulations and additives for irreversible laser marking. The Kreativbox 1.0 guarantees technical feasibility, for designers as well as packaging manufacturers. Each year, Finke’s colourists develop more than 8,000 colour shades in accordance with customer’s specifications. The company’s team advises and supports users from the design stage to the final product. www.finke-colors.eu Kiefer opens new technical centre Kiefer Werkzeugbau GmbH has announced the expansion of its production facilities with the opening of a new technical centre at its headquarters in Schwaigern. The new building, which extends to 1100m2, houses blow moulding, injection moulding and thermoforming machines and enables the company to extend its program of testing, validation and pilot runs. Operations commenced in November 2015. Kiefer offers services for research and development, product development and design, mould making, maintenance/ modification and technical support. www.kiefer-mold.de Husky at Gulfood Manufacturing 2015 Husky Injection Molding Systems wrapped up its first appearance at Gulfood Manufacturing 2015, October 27-29, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, one of the biggest food and beverage processing events in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. Husky’s booth showcased its range of PET preform and beverage closure moulding solutions and highlighted how its specific application expertise can support emerging packaging trends in this market. “Husky’s participation at Gulfood Manufacturing was a great opportunity to demonstrate our strong commitment to customers in this region,” said Wassim Labban, Husky’s Vice President, Beverage Packaging Sales, EMEA and SAARC. “Our focus is on supporting both existing and prospective customers in this growing market. This event allowed us to have many meaningful conversations with customers to gain insight into their specific needs and learn how we can provide innovative solutions to help them achieve their long-term manufacturing goals.” Husky has built solid relationships and has established a strong presence in MEASA, with representation in the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, India and Turkey. The company first established a presence in Dubai in 2003 and since that time has opened several local offices with representatives in multiple countries throughout the region. www.husky.ca www.gulfoodmanufacturing.com","@ID":8}, "INSPECTION 19 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 Applications Leak testers are used in the packaging industry by converters and bottlers wherever plastic containers are manufactured or handled. The main industries include the Food and Beverage, Pharmaceutical, Household, Personal Care, Chemical and Industrial market segments. According to Jack Hughes, the largest quantities of containers that are leak tested are in the Food and Beverage market, although there is widespread penetration across all plastic container markets. Alps’ installed base of machines is leak testing approximately 50 billion bottles annually; with approximately 50% of these being PET containers. We extend our thanks for the brief insight into the world of leak testers and travel back again to Chicago. www.alpsleak.com Tour Sponsors:","@ID":21}, "PETcontents 12/15 4 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net INSIDE TRACK 3 Editorial 4 Contents 6 News 34 PET bottles for Beverage + Liquid Food 36 Patents MARKET SURVEY 21 Suppliers of filling equipment PACKAGING 26 PET top talk - Pack Expo 2015, part 2 28 Think tank 30 The real alternative to glass CAPPING / CLOSURES 31 In-house exhibition at Sacmi, Imola 32 Balancing act between special and volume closure BUYER’S GUIDE 37 Get listed! Page 16 MATERIAL / RECYCLING 9 A ‘one-stop shop’ to plastics recyclers MOULD MAKING 10 R&D/Leverage opens new Product Solutions Laboratory BOTTLE MAKING 14 From DIY user to machine manufacturer BOTTLING / FILLING 16 Filling challenge in Asian market INSPECTION 18 Detecting hole and leakage 24 Base and wall thickness measurement, part 1 Page 34 Page 11","@ID":6}, "INSPECTION 25 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Torus’ B300 Wall Thickness Gauge combines a confocal sensor, 4-axis motion control and sophisticated software to provide a measurement system not only suitable for production areas, but also ideal for R&D facilities. Dimensional scanning The B300 Wall Thickness Gauge also utilises the confocal sensor’s ability to measure distances. Enabling the profile of any bottle to be scanned ready for the operator to select the required measurement positions - including on the bottle base [Fig 3]. The high accuracy motion controller positions the sensor reliably anywhere on the bottle, ensuring surface perpendicularity, achieving the highest accuracy base thickness measurements. Confocal base thickness The majority of material waste reduction in the bottle base is achieved in the preform design and tested with theoretical simulation models. Placing higher requirements on the blowing process, resulting in tougher specification limits. However, the only guaranteed method to determine its effectiveness is to physically measure the blown bottle. Historically, base thickness measurements have been performed either by comparing section weights or using Hall Effect sensors; both methods having their limitations. Section weight A destructive measurement giving an indication of the amount of material used, but no information regarding material distribution. Outside tolerance thicknesses go undetected, offering no empirical evidence that the bottle has been blown evenly through 360°. In addition, as bottle weights continue to reduce, the measurement percentage error is increasing to unacceptable levels. The B300 Wall Thickness Gauge can achieve accuracy values of 10%. Hall effect A contact measurement where a magnetic ball-bearing is dropped inside the bottle and attracted to a magnetized probe manually positioned on the outside. Introducing a magnetic field to a conductive sensor creates a voltage output proportional to the field strength: this is known as the Hall Effect or Hall voltage. The distance of the ball to the probe, set by the wall thickness, alters the magnetic field and, as such, the voltage output. These changes are calibrated for thickness measurement. Whilst this is a proven and accepted method, it is heavily influenced by the operator. Relying on manually positioning the sensor yields high reproducibility errors, with possible R&R percentages of 30%. The B300 Wall Thickness Gauge can achieve repeatability values of 10% [Fig 4]. Infra-red absorption Thickness measurement by electromagnetic absorption is principally based on the Beer-Lambert law, simplified as; where A is absorption, ε is material molar absorptivity, c is compound concentration and l is the path length of the sample. PET has a complex electromagnetic transmission spectrum [Fig 5], leading many absorption systems to use emission wavelengths specific to PET measurement. A wavelength with an optimum ratio is required to detect changes in material thickness. Unfortunately the effect of additives and barrier layers on transmissivity cannot always be anticipated. Furthermore, the relationship between path length and absorption is logarithmic and typically requires a multipoint calibration to compensate. Absorption technology uses an emitter and receiver on the same axis, often placed either side of the PET bottle. As a result the reported thickness is a combined average of both sides. The B300 Wall Thickness Gauge reports one-sided material distribution at specifiable heights and rotational positions on the bottle shoulder, wall and base. Continued innovation Torus’ next innovations are reimaginings of the industry recognised Top Load/Volume Gauge and a high-speed, high-volume Preform Inspection Gauge. It is important to recognise that the advances are not solely from the introduction of new technology, but also from the use of discernible metrology. Making the distinction between process monitoring and real measurement. Users are provided with reliable and traceable data subjected to stringent correlation, capability and R&R procedures. The importance of clearly defining and understanding terms such as Accuracy, Capability, Repeatability, Reproducibility, Precision, Resolution, Calibration and Traceability will be continued in Part 2: Metrology Principles for the PET Packaging Industry. www.torus-group.com Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5","@ID":27}, "PACKING / PALLETISING 28 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Tour Sponsors: Think tank by Waldemar Schmitke February 20, 2015 We met: Michael Hodges, Director, Communications and Public Relations, David Feber, Vice President, Global Research, Development and Advanced Engineering, and Ann A. O’Hara, President, LiquiForm with Sidel, machine manufacturer, for licensing the LiquiForm technology globally. PET packaging currently accounts for 86% of the applications, and with the remaining 14% coming from plastic materials for use in extrusion blow moulding processes. Rigid Plastics The head office of Rigid Plastics Beverages for North America have been located here in Manchester, MI since the mid-1990’s and houses the R&D Center with a Design Studio, pilot plant operation, full testing laboratory and even one of the pilot machines for LiquiForm, a one-step blow and fill technology. We are welcomed by Michael Hodges, Director of Communications and Public Relations, and a team made up of employees responsible for product and market development. What immediately strikes the visitor is that the design and engineering workstations are arranged centrally over a large area on the second floor and provide direct access to a central conference room. This is in turn partitioned by large panes of glass, providing a view into the pilot plant, which is sited on the first floor and at the same time giving the impression of sitting in the engine room, so to speak. “This room,” as Michael Hodges explains to us, “is our so-called think tank, the central area in which employees from the lab and engineering departments and our customers regularly meet to exchange ideas. This is a culture that we have built up here which allows us to respond very quickly to the demands of industry and our own plants and to implement the ensuing requirements. Teamwork takes priority when it comes to task management. Here in Manchester we handle over 200 development projects a year, from basic concept through to the filled container or bottle based on the required specifications. The range of applications covered by these development projects extends from customer beverages to CSD and water, food, spirits, home and personal care right through to pharmaceuticals.” David Feber, Vice President of Global Research, Development and Advanced Engineering, took us through a typical project sequence. “It all starts with the idea for a new package, e.g. replacing glass with PET. Our in-house design group meets with the customer first to understand the product that will be packaged. Once a design is conceived and drafted, our advanced engineering team then takes to the computer and compiles a bottle design proposal for new PET packaging. “Virtual Modelling” bottle dimensions and preform layout are optimised in conjunction with top load calculations and a stress test simulation. In the case of ribbed bottles in particular, the arrangement of the ribs, geometric reinforcements, has a significant effect on top load and bottle weight. It is only at the next stage that a 3D scanner generates, in layer format, a plastic model of the PET bottle modelled on the computer. Approval and acceptance of the bottle triggers the green light for the production of a single blow mould which is manufactured here within the facility. The corresponding preforms come from Husky injection moulding systems, similarly from single-cavity moulds in accordance with the preform geometry previously specified. The whole thing can take as little as 10 days, if it has to,” Ann O’Hara, President, LiquiForm (right), with team members of LiquiForm. Holding a filled, 0.5 litre PET bottle with still water produced in accordance with the blow/ fill - process PACKAGING special Today our schedule is pointing us in the direction of packaging specialists Amcor Rigid Plastics in Manchester, Michigan, USA. Rigid Plastics is part of Amcor Limited, an Australian packaging company. Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, the company’s head offices are located in Hawthorn near Melbourne, Australia. Amcor creates packaging solutions using rigid and flexible packaging products for circulation within the food, beverage, healthcare, home and personal care and tobacco sectors. Amcor Limited employed more than 29,000 people in 43 countries in 2015 and registered a turnover of US$10bn, some US$3.3bn of which is generated by Rigid Plastics in 58 plants in 12 countries. Rigid Plastics also maintains Joint Ventures (50/50) with Bericap, specialists in closure caps, for supplying closures in the Americas, and","@ID":30}, "MARKET SURVEY 23 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net GEA Procomac Sidel International AG Via Fedolfi 29, 43038 Sala Baganza (PR) ITALY +39 0521 839411 www.procomac.com Mr Alessandro Bellò Sales Director +39 0521 839490 +39 0521 833879 alessandro.bello@gea.com Bösch 67, PO Box 6331 Hünenberg, Switzerland +41 41 785 23 60 www.sidel.com Mr Stefano Baini Filling Product Manager stefano.baini@sidel.com Flextronic SE Flextronic S Flextronic W BigFill Aseptic filling Sidel Matrix SF 300 FM Sidel Matrix SF 100 FM Sidel Matrix SF 700 FM Sensofill FMa 20-160 20-160 20-80 15-140 32-216 24-120 32-108 27-100 0,125ml-3l 0,125ml-3l 0,125ml - 3l 3l - 12l 0,06ml to 3l 0.2-3.0 0.2-3.0 0.2-2.0 0.2-2.0 6,000-60,000 4,000-81,000 (18°C) 5,000-81,000 6,000-60,000 6,000-60,000 62.000 63.000 25.000 16.000 (3l) 80,000 70,000 40,000 68,000 (18°C) 62.000 62.000 25.000 60,000 48,000 62.000 62.000 25.000 60,000 48,000 48,000 yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes gravity volumetric filling valve gravity volumetric filling valve electronic weight filler gravity volumetric filling valve Electronic filler; Volumetric piston doser for drinks with fibres, pulps and fruit pieces Electropneumatic volumetric filler with flowmeter volume control Electropneumatic volumetric filler with flowmeter volume control, with no bottle/valve contact Electronic volumetric filler, with Electropneumatic system with magnetic flowmeter volume control, with no bottle/valve contact Electronic volumetric filler KHS GmbH Juchostr. 20 44143 Dortmund, Germany +49 231 569 0 www.khs.com InnoPET Blofill 50 - 216 0,2ml - 5l 12,000 - 81,000 81,000 80,000 60,000 Contactless filling; Contactless filling; Short tube or long tube NV filling system, free-flow, contact free Contactless filling; Contactless filling; Short tube or long tube filling system DRV filling system, short tube volumetric Contactless filling; Contactless filling; Short tube or long tube NV filling system, free-flow, contact free Contactless filling systems; dry preform sterilization only Ultra-Clean-filling Long tube; Full bore filling / contactless / for pulp, fibres or fruit pieces NV-HF filling system, free-flow, contact free Magnetic flow meter; Weighing cell; Electronic fill height measuring Inductive Flow Meter (IDM), mechanical flow meter","@ID":25}, "MARKET SURVEY 21 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Caps and closures Bottle-to-bottle recycling plants Preform and single stage machinery Preforms Preform / stretch blow moulds Closure systems Two stage SBM machinery Compressors Resins / additives Filling equipment 12/2015 MARKETsurvey Suppliers of filling equipment: This year’s final market survey presenting an overview of filling equipment suppliers. Nine companies from different countries taking part. The companies are listed in alphabetical order: Fogg Filler (USA), GEA Procomac (Italy), Sacmi (Italy), Serac (France), Sidel (Switzerland), Sipa (Italy), SMI S.p.A. (Italy), KHS Coroplast (Germany) and Krones AG (Germany). Although the publishers have made every effort to ensure that the information in this survey is up to date, no claims are made regarding completeness or accuracy.","@ID":23}, "BOTTLING / FILLING 16 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net Filling challenge in Asian market As a co-packer, Hon Chuan produces many customers’ products on their behalf at production facilities throughout Asia in China, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia, as well as Taiwan. Hon Chuan has undertaken a policy of active collaboration with other leading beverage companies within the region, combined with a programme of continual expansion. By investing in high quality production lines, the company has been able to forge partnerships for the co-packing and aseptic bottling of sensitive beverages in PET. Competition in the already competitive beverage industry has further intensified following the last two years’ slowdown of the Chinese economy. In 2014, the volume growth rate of the beverage market was only 7% - a fall of 2% compared to the previous year. Beverage growth dropped to an alltime low in the third quarter of 2014, yet market analysts remain ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the overall outlook for the beverage industry. Over the past year, the industry has witnessed the launch of many new soft drinks by various manufacturers and the expansion of several market segments. The resulting demand for this greater variety of beverages requires an increase in the number of technologies involved in their production. Consequently, producers and co-packers need to find greater flexibility from their production lines in order to react to evolving consumer trends and demands. With increases in the costs of raw materials, packaging materials, energy, labour and overall production now reducing producers’ profit margins, it is important for beverage manufacturers in the region to optimise their business operations and to improve their supply chain management. Mr Keith Dai, Chairman of Hon Chuan, explains: “We have been an early adopter of aseptic solutions in Taiwan. To date, we have installed four aseptic lines with Sidel across Asia, producing more than 20 products for several leading beverage companies. We are more than satisfied with the results.” The Sidel Combi Predis FMa Capdis, an aseptic blow-fill-cap solution with dry decontamination of both preforms and caps, is operating at Hon Chuan’s plant at Taichung, to the west of the centre of the island and the third-largest city in Taiwan. It is used for the bottling of a range of low acid to high acid products, such as ready-to-drink (RTD) tea, milk tea and Taiwan Hon Chuan Enterprises has installed a new Sidel Combi Predis FMa Capdis line to meet the fast-changing tastes and demands from consumers for sensitive products in the fiercely competitive Taiwanese/Chinese marketplace. Well known throughout Asia, Hon Chuan Enterprises offers complete solutions and an all-in-one service for beverage companies and producers, providing preforms, PET bottles, metal and plastic caps and other products.","@ID":18}, "CAPPING / CLOSURES 33 PETplanet insider Vol. 16 No. 12/15 petpla.net M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S W W W . I N T R A V I S . C O M is a logical consequence. The Bottlers do not need to bother themselves with the peaks and troughs inherent in plastics production; they always have access to the latest technology and if there are problems from time to time with the closure, it is down to the supplier to react, regardless of whether the fault lies with the capper or the cap. In North America Bericap maintains three plants: one in Canada, one in the South Carolina and one in California. We visited the site near Los Angeles. Like all Bericap plants, the plant is characterised by a transparent flow of materials. Everything happens in sequence, starting with material feed to the injection moulding machines via the actual machine proceeding to further processing and packaging. One particular feature is that the entire production facility is accommodated in a large controlled room inside the factory building. Dehumidified, filtered, and cooled air flows into the area through the tool room via air inlets. This means that there are no condensation-, contamination problems for the moulds. California may be a great place to live but it is also a very expensive place to set up a production location. The price of land, energy costs and even wages are higher than, for example, in the neighbouring Federal States. The logistics arrangement for the closures is also a particular issue in California. From April to October the farmers in California pick 60% of the USA’s vegetable and fruit harvest. During this period all the trucks are busy transporting the foodstuffs all over the USA. This means that it is difficult to get HGVs in the actual beverages season. Here it is only longterm partnerships with the hauliers that can help with obtaining sufficient transport at the right time. America has always been slightly behind Europe when it comes to progress on the PET bottle front. So, once a trend had spilled over from Europe to America, this invariably meant that Bericap had already developed the appropriate closures and was able to supply them immediately. This was certainly the case in the last century when water and CSD were developed in America; it was also the case when the switchover from hot fill to aseptic commenced. And now David Watson also envisages a trend away from PP to PE closures. It is precisely in North America, where big reserves of natural gas are being exploited using the fracking technique, that the bottlers are able to take advantage of the ethylene produced. The price is more stable and thus easier to calculate than a PP price that is directly dependent on the price of crude oil. As far as David Watson is concerned, recycling is set to become increasingly important in the future. He says he envisages a time when the closure too will find itself back with the consumer in the form of a closure in the same way as the bottle to bottle recycling of PET. www.bericap.com","@ID":35}]}}
