PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2014

EDITOUR REPORT 14 PET planet insider Vol. 15 No. 05/14 www.petpla.net In the plastic closures sector, it is the 2-piece closures that have historically been dominant. This continues to be the case in the Brazilian market. All this diversity does not seem to faze Keith Carlton, who sees this as a challenge Husky is ready to take on. Up to now the bulk of overall business in Brazil has been in high cavitation preform systems. The potential offered by the niche markets is well-known. As far as preform manu- facture is concerned, Husky offers a variety of solutions. One is the increased use of Husky’s H-PET AE (All-Elec- tric) system, which offers an energy efficient, affordable solution for lower volume preform production. H-PET AE preform systems have already been sold in South Ame- rica. The other approach, which has already been put into practice, is to upgrade existing preform systems to handle smaller cavitation moulds. In addition, there is the pos- sibility of carrying out preform prototyping and testing for customer projects in Brazil. When looking at plastic beverage closures, two trends in particular are evident: the first is the increased adoption of 1-piece plastic beverage closures and the second is weight reduction. This latter is slowly becoming established. Both present considerable potential. According to Keith Carlton, this is an area where Husky, with its HyCap and HyCap HPP injection moulding systems for high output beverage closure manufacturing, is well-placed. In addition, Husky’s develop- ment centres for preforms and plastic closures work in close collaboration with the aim of achieving the best possible performance of the complete beverage package. In response to the question of just how high the poten- tial for further weight reduction is, Keith Carlton replied, “We are only at the beginning. The potential for further weight savings in packaging (closure / PET bottle) is enormous, and this applies here in Brazil too. This is an initiative we, together with our customers, are actively working on.” May 15, 2013 Bericap do Brasil We met: Aurel Forgaci, Managing Director Fernando Seabra, Plant Manager Aurel Forgaci, Managing Director (left) and Fernando Seabra, Plant Manager in front of a Netstal Evos 72-cavity injection moulding machine for closures 1-piece closures - “the right choice, right from the start” Here at the factory in Sorocaba we are meeting Aurel Forgaci, Managing Director and Fernando Seabra plant Manager and we were delighted to be able to learn about the company here in Brazil and about the trends in the clo- sure market. A member of a German family enterprise, Bericap do Brasil produces closure caps made from plastic in pro- duction workshops established throughout the world. The company’s head office is in Germany. The firm’s corporate programme also includes a central injection mould produc- tion plant in Hungary, which acts as a global supplier to all the plants. Excellence Centers in Germany, France, Spain and Turkey are all able to contribute their expertise in the devel- opment of closure caps. Specific market demands are, in some cases, developed locally. Bericap do Brasil is respon- sible for covering the Brazilian market, growing Bericap’s presence in South America and lately providing technologi- cal support for the plant in Argentina. The philosophy here, as indeed it is throughout the entire company, is to manu- facture injection-moulded plastic closures. The plant has been established in Brazil since 1997 and today it employs 120 people. Plastic closure caps produced by the company are intended for a wide spectrum of the market: bever- ages, foodstuffs, the edible oil market, milk, agro-chemicals market, engine oil containers and metal cans. Drinks and foodstuffs packaging closures account for 65% of produc- tion. The fleet of injection moulding machines is made up of 32 machines from Netstal, Demag, Sumitomo and Arburg. The moulds used in injection moulding incorporate cavities ranging from 2 to 96. The production lines are fully auto- mated. Inspection systems provide a full Quality Assurance function. Bericap do Brazil was the first closure cap manufacturer in Brazil to be awarded the FSSC 2200, a GFSI accepted protocol being a combination of ISO 22000 and PAS 223. Beverages closures Hitherto, the 2-piece plastic closure (closures with liner) was the norm in the beverages industry in Brazil, predomi- nantly manufactured using the compression process. The 2-piece closure is made up of the actual closure cap and a liner made from EVA which is either placed in the compres- sion moulding machine itself or in a subsequent station outside the compression moulding machine. The liner seals the PET bottle. The closure cap is made from PP. A serious disadvantage for the 2-piece closure is that the price of PP is rising more than PE globally and this affects prices in Brazil. The need for a liner adds to the cost base. The alternative is the 1-piece plastic closures made from HDPE. Aurel Fogaci: ”1-piece closures produced by injection moulding are more precise, providing narrower tolerances, than their compression moulded counterparts. Injection moulded closures are in high demand since a