PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2014

CAPPING / CLOSURES 36 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 01+02/14 www.petpla.net Schöttli We met: Johannes Strassner, CSO Adolph Keller, Head of Business Unit Packaging The Swiss mouldmaking group Schöttli with locations in Switzerland, the USA and China is a specialist in the development and manufacture of high-precision moulds and a supplier of mass production solutions in the sectors of medical technology (50%), thin wall packaging as well as caps and closures (50%). In total there are 320 Schöttli employees working in R&D in Switzer- land, in design, production and testing at all locations. Currently Husky and Schöttli are closing the merger of the two compa- nies. By partnering with a like-minded industry leader Schoettli will continue to provide leading-edge technology, with the advantage of Husky’s exten- sive sales and service network to better serve their global customer base. Johannes Strassner quote: ”Our Number 1 priority at Schöt- tli is to benefit the customer, in the sense of ”Total Cost of Ownership,“ not forgetting of course, precision and reliability. What this means is that we focus on optimising material consumption, cycle time and energy consumption: these are the objectives of our developers. In short: the reduc- tion of production costs and unit costs whilst at the same time maintaining high component quality. 30% of our moulds go to convert- ers, 70% to so-called integrators (Bottlers and Brand Owners). The integrators are of particular interest: Integrators give us greater room for manoeuvre when it comes to differ- entiation, for creative aspects related to design, for experiments, for light weighting and short cycles. The aims of the converters, by contrast, are high volumes, something which necessarily gives less scope for differentiation”. Exhibits at K 2013 1) Mould on a Netstal Elion 4200, 4200 kN clamping force, 96 cavities cap 29/25 reflecting a weight of only 1.20gr. at a comprehensive level of properties– cycle time 1.9 sec. 2) Mould on an Arburg Allrounder Alldrive, 1500kN clamping force, 4 cavities thin wall – cycle time 1.9 sec using a newly developed electro magnet driven needle valve system. USP in their own words  Compact cavities arrangement with collet chuck technology, which allows 360 degree opening: best quality for the tamper evident band break performance. Stall charac- teristics can be perfectly defined. Long up-time at low maintenance expenditure  Mould concept with underfloor pull devices for smooth and trouble free running slider moulds.  Innovative cooling concept to allow for extremely short cycle times Looking ahead Johannes Strassner: ”We have plans for the coming years such as:  We aim to increase sales in the water sector (right / light weighting) and provide solutions for aseptic filling.  Together with the market and our end customers, we shall be explor- ing new closure variants that are innovative in terms of functionality and design.  Right weighting versus light weight- ing. Lightweight does not always represent the best solution for the end user.  We are accelerating dialogue between the mouldmaker and the machine builder, coordina- tion between mould and injection moulding machine and increasing the customer benefits through effi- cient system solutions.  Homework for the future is the modular structure of our modern moulds and the improvement of the ratio of clamping force to cavity – supporting us here does the collet chuck technology.  Strategic sales focal points: Asia, Middle East, North America.  Overriding Schöttli strategy: not mould makers, more a solution pro- vider instead.” Schöttli mould To follow:  BMB  Foboha  MHS  Mold-Masters