PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2014

BOTTLE MAKING 22 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 03/14 www.petpla.net Spreading the word Italian EBM and ISBM machinery supplier Automa S.p.a. has upgraded its new product development function and operates in 75 countries worldwide. PETplanet insider visited Automa during K 2013. iLab raises standards One of the subjects that Automa is most eager to highlight is iLab, its recently-opened centre of excellence for product improvement and new project development. iLab is made up of a team of experts who are dedi- cated to implementing the company’s approach to providing economic solu- tions for container development pro- jects. iLab has machines on-site in the European plant and Automa intends to open a similar, mould-making facility in North America. iLab uses specialised and inter- nally-developed software to support the development of our moulds and related bottle designs. It is designed to enable Automa to achieve better results in terms of container shapes and weight reduction. The company works with mould makers in various regions across the world in develop- ing final products that, after laboratory testing, will meet all customer specifi- cations as required, including CP/CPK analysis. ISBM series for PET Automa’s PET single-stage solu- tion has been continuously updated throughout the years it has been in production. It now offers reduced energy consumption, increased pro- duction output compared to compara- ble products, and a reduced machine footprint. Automa considers the most critical elements of this technology to be the mould components: blow moulds, injection hot runners and cold halves. The main features of its ISBM technology are:  hybrid technology, which leads to low energy consumption;  fast dry cycle and faster tooling changeover;  smaller footprint;  higher output per cavity  free mould legacy Automa’s ISBM machinery is used in the production of PET containers for food, pharmaceutical, detergents and personal care markets. Specifica- tions include:  narrow neck finishes (<20mm), including amenity and sample bot- tles  traditional finishes (20 to 48mm) for, e.g., beverages, personal care, and household cleaners  wide mouth finishes (> 53mm) for food products like peanut butter, mayonnaise and nuts Automa upgrades its single stage machinery