PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2012

BOTTLE MAKING 23 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 11/12 Stacked Wines’ Vinoware patent- pending container has been designed to resemble a stemless wine glass. It is made of recyclable plastic and has a shelf life of 12-14 months. Shelf life is a function of container design and filling/sealing method, which, the company says, is difficult to get right. The young company needed industrial expertise as it sought to commercial- ise its vision – and time was of the essence, as the competition included established standard bottled wines, as well as the increasingly-popular boxed wine concepts. “As a start-up, with limited capital and a new concept, we needed to get into production fast and have the design and tooling right – the first time,” said Zimmer. The expertise was not available in-house, so he turned to R&D/Leverage. Jeff Beason, Project Engineer, R&D/Lever- age, explained that his team essentially “tweaked” the cus- tomer’s initial product sketches and, in just three weeks, deliv- ered a manufacturable design with the snap-together feature that was a key to enhanced con- sumer and trade functionality. “Our design evaluation was done in early April 2011 and we got an approved design on April 22,” said Beason. The creation of the snap-together feature was critical to the success of the stacking design, and that feature involved precise undercuts. “It was a challenge, and we got it done - and quickly.” The name ‘Vinoware’ has been trade- marked, in order to illustrate the technological achievement; its barrier qualities have been achieved with R&D’s expertise. The unit tool was built in early June, with a final sample deliv- ered in late August. The produc- tion tool was shipped November 10th. In the course of develop- ment, R&D/Leverage provided some converter contact informa- tion for producing the containers in the general area of the filler. Once the converter was chosen, R&D/Leverage designed the tool to run on a single stage machine. Current capacity is around 10 million units/a. The final product The tear-apart stack of single- serve packages is being filled with Merlot, Pinot Grigio, or Chardon- nay. The premium California wine is carefully selected by the company’s in-house sommelier to reflect the set- tings where they will be consumed. It has launched initially in Califor- nia, which is the USA’s premier wine production area and is also home to Stacked Wines’ head office at New- port Beach. Regional sales volumes have validated Zimmer’s vision, with marketing targeted at home use, pic- nics, sporting events and other infor- mal social events. “We are in roughly 400 accounts in Southern California,” he said. “As a result, we will continue to expand distribution and, in time, become a national brand.” www.rdleverage.com www.stackedwines.com