PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2012

CAPPING / CLOSURES 21 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 05/12 www.petpla.net there are thousands of manufacturers in the market. PETplanet: But now you are avoiding the question. For the Corvaglia Group, will you be able to keep your own head above water bearing in mind the alliances and acquisitions by the major machine manufacturers in the caps and closures sector? Corvaglia: We think of ourselves as closure specialists, rather than mould manufacturers. We also enjoy major success in operating our own produc- tion locations for closures. As regards the project business mentioned, I think that the machine manufacturers tend to take a superficial view and only see the actual production of the caps and not the subse- quent stages. Our approach is different. We consider the production of the caps only as a part of the whole process. We have now been involved in this business for over 20 years and many times we have set benchmarks in this sector. PETplanet: What were for you these benchmarks as regards the overall con- cept? Corvaglia: Way back in 2003 we were undertaking initial trials with short necks for carbonated drinks, long before ISBT developed the 1881. As regards the optimisation of bottle neck standards it is us, I believe, who have laid the founda- tion stone for global change. Our last benchmark for non-carbonated water closures we set with the CSN-26 and a customer specific solution in the North American market. These closures are still undisputed overall concepts, not only as regards their weight but also in terms of their performance. PETplanet: It was something like less than 1g? Corvaglia: First of all it was 0.99, then 0.9 and now it’s 0.82g. These are the overall concepts I was talking about. PETplanet: At the NPE in Orlando we were viewing closure caps equipment from three manufacturers at the same time. And each one of them laid claim to having the fastest piece of kit. Which one of them is, in your opinion, the best injec- tion moulding machine for a cap mould? Corvaglia: First of all we need to acknowledge that the injection mould- ing machine manufacturers and injection mould manufacturers have achieved a lot in the past years and that a handful to be continued on page 27