PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2011

BOTTLE MAKING 23 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 06/11 www.petpla.net Increased use of ISBM in homecare packaging En light enment with PET Procter & Gamble’s Product Research Department (PRD) combines marketing and technical functions (includ- ing testing, functional performance, assessing store shelf impact and competitiveness) in identifying consumer needs and developing products. The design department, along with design agencies, manages development of package shapes. Packdev department is responsible for develop- ing technical solutions that can be industrialised and imple- mented with third-parties, including Sidel. Patrick Etesse, Research Fellow at Procter & Gamble’s Global Packaging & Device Development R&D group in Brussels, describes the thoughts and strategy behind the company’s increasing use of injection stretch blow moulding (ISBM) packaging. ?: What is P&G’s process for package development? Patrick Etesse: Innovating to win with more consumers in more parts of the world more completely: pack- age development perfectly illustrates this strategy of P&G. Our Product Research Department, which com- bines marketing and technical sensi- bilities, works to understand consumer needs and develops products that meet them. Our design department focuses on the brand experience, in other words, the package and all the sensory aspects of the product and package experience. Our designers manage the development of package shapes with design agencies. The PackDev Department then translates the Design Department’s expectations into a technical solution that can be industrialized and implemented with external partners such as convert- ers or suppliers like Sidel. Last but not least, a mandatory step for any package development is its valida- tion through testing such as impact on store shelves against competitor prod- ucts, functional performance, etc. ?: Where does innovation come into this? Patrick Etesse: The package is the first and the last thing that the consumer sees. Innovation in pack- aging is crucial, since the brand image is at stake. Innovation is now increasingly undertaken in collabora- tion with external partners, such as Sidel. Together, we develop technical solutions for packaging, such as neck indexing to show the direction to pour from. We drive outsourcing and prefer not to manufacture our own packages. We want to use innovation to meet the needs of the consumer. ?: How do you identify brand spe- cifics within the package? Patrick Etesse: P&G’s packages are mostly extrusion blow-moulded (EBM) HDPE, which requires man- agement of several hundred specifica- tions. The company is seeking to sim- plify its processes, in order to increase productivity. One of the solutions is to switch to injection stretch blow mould- ing (ISBM). This enables different converters to use the same type of machine and standardisation of bottle specifications.” This means that P&G can achieve faster global roll out of new developments and to leverage its size in creating economies of scale. It has selected Sidel as its strategic technological partner and is moving to make all of its ISBM platforms Sidel compatible. ?: Is the switch to ISBM already a reality for P&G? Patrick Etesse: “Today, P&G produces about six billion bottles per year, 80% from extruded HDPE and 20% from blown PET. We are looking to drive ISBM in the next 15 years and to increase significantly the percent- age of ISBM bottles in our portfolio.” P&G believes that ISBM has the capability to deliver advantages in scale and simplification but it also needs improved costs in order to fully exploit scale and capability opportuni- ties. “What interests us above all is the ISBM technology itself, and PET is the material best suited for this technology today. The ISBM process enhances the properties of plastics: the flexural modulus is significantly increased, compared with processing by extrusion, and this leads to pack- ages that are 20% lighter on average, while retaining mechanical charac- teristics and reducing both costs and environmental impact. Direct coupling is also possible, as blow moulding speeds are up to five times faster than extrusion. ?: Thank you very much! Patrick Etesse, Research Fellow at Procter & Gamble’s