PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2011

BOTTLE MAKING 18 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 11/11 www.petpla.net to the attention of mainstream brand owners. The first commercialisation was a ball-shaped bottle used by Ohio Wesleyan University to help commem- orate the signing of baseball legend Jackie Robinson by Branch Rickey (OWU ’04) of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Target markets Emergent envisions a wide variety of applications for the Smiler concept. In addition to vended snack and drink combos, after-the-game treats for youth sports, fund-raising tools and other promotional products, the bottle can be used to promote health and wellness, and even humanitarian causes. It is possible, for example, to insert a two- week supply of water purification tablets in the bottom cavity and air drop bottles into disaster areas even when roads are impassable and it’s not possible to land aircraft. The top cavity can be used to collect locally-available water, while one of the purification tablets from the bottom cavity can create first-response, drinkable water. *Emergent Technologies is a busi- ness incubation services company that takes ideas from concept to com- mercialisation. The company partners globally with subject matter experts and firms to assist its clients in bring- ing products to commercialisation. www.emergent-technologies-us.com www.plastictechnologies.com Interview with Scott Steele PETplanet: How does the Smiler concept compare to other dual chamber packages? What are the differences or similarities? Scott Steele: The Smiler con- cept allows for packaging dissimilar amounts of the products easily. The forming technology is essentially standard with little or no impact on production speeds. No secondary forming is needed for the package. PETplanet: What kind of special- ized filling and sealing systems are required for this package? Scott Steele: None is anticipated for the main chamber, assuming it’s filled with a still beverage of some type. And Emergent can tell you about the filling and sealing systems required for products going into the secondary cavity. They’ve done an extensive amount of research on the systems needed, and every piece of equipment needed for high produc- tion runs is already available on the market. PETplanet: Does this technology also require a unique preform design or can a stock preform be used? Scott Steele: There is nothing to rule out stock-preform use. A stock production preform was used for the ball-shaped concept bottle. There are some additional restrictions on sizing the preform compared to standard bottles. PETplanet: Can you use standard PET resins with this technology? Scott Steele: Standard PET resins have been used in producing sample containers so far. PETplanet: Does it work for bar- rier (multilayer) packages? Scott Steele: Yes, barrier addi- tives or multilayer preforms could be used in the bottle. PETplanet: Is there a secondary operation which forms the base? Scott Steele: No, it’s formed with the rest of the bottle. PETplanet: As regards the bottle shape, are there any variations pos- sible? Scott Steele: The blow moulded container could also have a non- cylindrical footprint. It doesn’t necessarily have to have a ball or spherical shape. Moreover, vertical, contoured or tapered wall designs can be made. PETplanet: If the machinery to blow mold/thermoform the two com- ponents is new, who developed the equipment? Scott Steele: We produce the package on Standard Sidel SBO- series blowmoulding machines. The thermoforming equipment is also not a specifically developed machine. PETplanet: If the machinery isn’t new, but only modified, can any PET blow moulding equipment be used to blow the bulb? Scott Steele: We produce the package on Standard Sidel SBO- series blowmoulding machines and would depend on the bottle design.