PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2011

BOTTLE MAKING 26 PET planet insider Vol. 12 No. 11/11 www.petpla.net PET bottle light-weighting initiative offers energy and raw material savings Reducing weight, increasing benefits Founded over a century ago, Suntory Holdings Ltd, produces beverages in Japan and has more than a 20% share of the domestic market. In addition to a strong wine and spirits busi- ness, the company produces or markets a wide line-up of soft drinks, teas, juices, and bottled water. Suntory recently launched an enterprise-wide campaign to shrink its carbon footprint. Part of the sustainability strategy was aimed at light- weighting PET bottles. The benefits of this initiative range from decreased plant energy and raw material consumption to reduced carbon emissions and transportation costs. Weight and performance targets PET bottles have slimmed down over the past decade. By 2010, Sun- tory had already managed to trim 11g from its 2l tea bottle, from a weight of 55g to 44g, but the company wanted to achieve even further reductions. However, it takes considerable effort and expertise to develop a light- weighting program. The mandates of Suntory’s initiative included the need to reach aggressive light-weighting targets without compromising bottle performance criteria or the extremely stringent quality standards demanded by the Japanese market. Thorough investigation of available light-weight- ing tools led Suntory to the Process Pilot automated blow moulder man- agement system manufactured by AGR International. The Process Pilot works in con- junction with AGR’s PETWall Profiler material distribution measurement system to automate the management of blow moulding production. Analys- ing the relationship between the mate- rial distribution in the container and the blow moulder, the Process Pilot’s software algorithms and thickness measurement capabilities interact with blow moulder controls. The Process Pilot simultaneously manages all aspects of blow moulder operation to maintain proper thickness distribution during bottle production. On sensing changes in processing conditions - such as cooler than normal preforms or a draft of warm air, for instance - the Process Pilot software responds automatically to keep the blow moulder on track, making the requisite adjustments much more quickly and reliably than a human operator. Three stages of testing According to Japanese proto- col, new measurement equipment must undergo a thorough evaluation process before commissioning and adoption. Suntory’s Haruna plant, which produces tea and juice filled in PET bottles manufactured on site, was designated as the test bed for the AGR technology. The PETWall Profiler system with Process Pilot con- trol was installed on a KHS Blomax 18 Series III blowmoulder. Running at 18,000bph, the line is dedicated to producing newly designed, light- weighted 2l bottles. Together the two companies formulated a rigorous three-stage program to validate the new equipment. Mr. Toshiya Kob- ayashi, Deputy General Manager- Engineering Department at Suntory, described the testing regimen as “extensive”. The first stage validated the accuracy of the system measure- Suntory Holdings Ltd., Japan, chose AGR as a partner for their sustainability strategy. The initiative led to significant weight reductions of their 2l tea bottle