PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2011

BOTTLE MAKING 24 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 11/11 www.petpla.net From idea to reality in large containers Bigger gets better Sipa says that it has the capacity to develop applications in PET containers right across the size range and that it has the equipment, automation, technology, design expertise and materials knowledge to take an idea from initial concept through to production. It claims that this applies whether the product is a single-serve package or a 40l container, regardless of contents – water, beer, vegetable oils, mineral oils, detergents, chemicals, and so on. Atten- tion to the container itself is not enough; the way it is handled and packed affects efficiency as well. The company has, for example, suggested changes that enable more containers to fit onto a pallet – vertically as well as horizontally – to make the best use of space and so help to reduce logistics costs. Large containers require atten- tion to aesthetics but good looks are not enough if a design has insuf- ficient top load strength or cannot be blown; all the variables have to be considered. Sipa provides advice on the best resin to use and it can design the optimum preform - or act as a partner in fine-tuning and pro- ducing and testing prototypes. 25l for edible oil Sipa recently helped Able Per- fect, a Malaysian producer of palm oil, to develop square, stackable containers in 10, 20 and 25l formats, compatible with the entire existing production system. Sipa designed preforms to optimise both the blow- ing process and container base cool- ing, which was critical to on-pallet stackability. HODs Omorika, a Bosnian converter, uses a linear SFL 2/2 for production of 680g PET containers, completely engineered by Sipa from the preform to replace an existing polycarbon- ate container. A Chinese customer asked for a new five US gallon PET bottle to replace an existing PC container, at lower weight but still tough enough to cope with the Chinese road network and arrive safely. Sipa delivered a solution for design and production of 350g one-way HOD 18l water bottles, Large, stackable containers for edible oil Large PET containers for water, edible oil, beer, detergents etc.