PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2014

CAPPING / CLOSURES 34 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 01+02/14 www.petpla.net Products Engel e-cap range from 110 for 24 cavities to 420 for 96 cavities. Example of their cap production solution exhibited at the Drinktec 2013 in Munich: e-cap 380, all-electric,  3800kN, 72 cav.  Beverage closure for still water UCL Design 28 mm PCO 1881, 1.8g, cycle time under 3s  Energy requirement: 0.34kWh/kg  Mould: z-moulds  Hot runner: Mold-Masters  Quality control: Intravis USP in their own words For the production of caps and clo- sures the greatest benefit of Engel’s all- electric machine series is the significant reduction of energy consumption (up to 50 %) without any loss in performance. The e-motion and e-cap series have proven their reliability, performance and efficiency for many years in all major markets around the world. Besides that, Engel with its 8 plants on 3 conti- nents, 29 sales and service subsidiar- ies around the world and more than 60 additional sales and service representa- tive offices provides global support always being “just around the corner”. Interview with Dr Christoph Steger, Engel at drinktec/PETpoint 2013 PETplanet: Dr Steger, a little more than a year ago we met at the NPE and you mentioned that, within a short period of time, you expected to be supplying a third of the closure cap lines on the world market. How is this coming along? Dr Steger: I am convinced we are on the right track. We have set ourselves a target of 250 lines within the next 3 to 5 years. This actually corresponds to slightly more than a one third market share, and I am sticking to this figure. In addition to supplying a number of regional man- ufacturers of closure caps, we have also been able to place our lines with the multi-national producers. PETplanet: What has been the inspiration behind these marketing successes? Dr Steger: To make it short: high performance, precision and efficiency. Our all-electric solutions for the caps and closures industry combine these features uniquely. Besides that, we can offer the sta- bility and sustainability of a 100% family owned global company with decades of experience in all areas of injection molding. PETplanet: Can you flesh out these catchwords a bit? Dr Steger: Just take a look here on the exhibition stand. Before the exhibition, the cycle time envisaged for our ENGEL e-cap 3440/380 line with the Z-Mould 72 cavity mould with 1.8g water cap was 3.5s. By really utilizing the advantages and benefits of an all-electric system we have been able to reduce the cycle time here in Munich to 2.9s. The reason for this is that we are able to run an all-electric machine in a way that is totally different from a hydraulic line. PETplanet: Thank you very much, Dr Steger and global brand owners. They were pioneering light weighting throughout their existence. In 2002 Corvaglia proposed the first off standard light-weight neck finish for carbonated beverages which in turn became known as the ‘PCO Corvaglia’ neck finish and was intro- duced in the market in 2005 by Nestlé Italy. Romeo Corvaglia quote: “The key to good beverage pack- aging is the design of the closure. We -as closure designers- are defining the functionality of the cap and hence the functionality of the package in combi- nation with the standardized neck of a bottle.” In Corvaglia’s view: The injection moulding machine has to do the job, has to perform – and of course at the highest possible technical level – pre- cisely, productively and with consist- ent reliability. High tech moulds should be mounted in high tech injection moulding machines. He concludes: “A partnership with a machine maker is more than a mounted mould in a machine. We capitalize from producing closures on the machines of our partners at our own closure production sites. This is the best long-term trial pos- sible.” Products  Holistic solutions ranging from the design of the closure, the develop- ment and manufacturing of moulds, the production of closures through to support for the applications of the caps on the PET bottles  Closures for carbonated soft drinks, non-carbonated still and pressur- ized beverages, hot- and aseptic cold filled beverages.  Flat closures, push pull closures and special closures.  Moulds from 24 cavities (for 90t) to 96 cavities (for 400t) Strategy  Think -design beverage packaging with focus on soft drink closures and neck finishes  Shape make moulds for selected exclusive converters in interna- tional markets Looking ahead Dr. Christoph Steger: “The Engel e-motion and the e-cap series are “made in Austria” and feature cutting- edge technology paired with reliability and efficiency. Until today, already more than 3,000 Engel all-electric high-performance systems are run- ning around the world. The product as well as our organisation have the potential to take over a market lead- ing position in caps and closures and already today play a major role in this industry segment.” Corvaglia We met: Romeo Corvaglia, President and Owner Michael Krueger, CTO The Corvaglia Group – head- quartered in Eschlikon/Switzerland with production sites in Switzer- land and Mexico – is a supplier of closures and closure solutions for PET bottles. Thanks to their long term experience in the development of closures for the beverage industries, references exist with virtually all major