PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2015

CAPPING / CLOSURES 34 PET planet insider Vol. 16 No. 05/15 www.petpla.net International teamwork turns an idea into a point-of-sale product Dispensing Caps 2.0: Refillable packaging for additives or decorative closure for convenience beverages – the new-generation dispens- ing cap from Incap Ltd. offers a host of new possibilities for innovative product design. Developed by an international project team, the versatile dispensing cap was turned into a point-of-sale product by two companies: Hähl and Team- plast. Consumers are prepared to pay more for functional beverages enriched with nutrients or health- boosting additives. This trend allows beverage producers to move into a lucrative growth market, more so as their product innovations also cater to another emerging trend: conveni- ence products. Enriched with vita- mins, minerals or probiotics, the new beverages offer on-the-go solutions, which can be conveniently consumed directly after a workout or during lunch breaks. When dispensing caps become refill products In order to avoid the use of pre- servatives and prevent detrimental effects on or even loss of the effec- tiveness of additives after long stor- age, manufacturers have developed a dispensing cap that contains dry or even liquid additives in a separate chamber inside the cap. Twisting the cap, the consumer only triggers the mixing procedure when the product is about to be consumed. The patented, lightweight dispens- ing cap for PET bottles developed by Incap Ltd. now adds another benefit for beverage producers to the equa- tion: maximum freedom of product design and additive options that can be tailored to individual consumer requirements. The dispensing cap is suitable for liquid additives as well as for granules, hot or carbonised bottled beverages. There is more: as the bottom of the cap is hermeti- cally sealed, it can be sold in com- bination with the beverage or as an additive refill product. Athletes can conveniently carry their additives in their gym bags, children can mix in apple or orange flavours while they are travelling on the back seat of a car – there is no end to the creative potential of this innovative product, as Axel Hauck, co-owner of Incap Ltd. explains. Fine-tuning within an international teamwork This project is a perfect example of successful international teamwork. The German company Horst Hähl Kunststoffspritzguss & Werkzeug- bau GmbH and the Dutch plastics specialist Teamplast supported Hong Kong-based Incap Ltd. at all stages of product development right through to market maturity. While the new Incap dispensing cap has a complex design, it also meets a wide range of optical, tactile, safety and hygiene specifica- tions and provides the required ease of operation. Featuring wall-thickness levels of less than one millimetre and an extremely complex geometry, the cap has to withstand high pressure and different temperatures. The seal- ing properties must not be jeopard- ised, particularly when carbonised beverages or hot liquids are being bottled. All project partners provided input for the processing-related fine- tuning. Hähl supplied expert informa- tion on prototyping and pilot moulds, Teamplast, certified expert for plastic closures, supported the manufacturer with constructive optimisation meas- ures to ensure profitable and efficient large-scale production. Prototype and large-scale production on Sumitomo (SHI) Demag injection moulding machines In order to meet the product’s exacting precision and repeatability requirements, Hähl carried out the production mould optimization trials on an all-electric Sumitomo (SHI) Demag IntElect injection moulding machine. Teamplast also ran their large-scale production with injection moulding machines from the German- Japanese manufacturer with head- quarters in Schwaig near Nuremberg. The Dutch specialist operates a total of 30 Sumitomo (SHI) Demag injec- tion moulding machines. Jürgen Mangold, Managing Direc- tor of Horst Hähl Kunststoffspritzguss & Werkzeugbau GmbH and Axel Hauck, Director Incap Europe talk about the different project stages and the special features of the new Incap dispensing cap: How did Hähl and Incap come to be project partners? Mangold : We knew Mr Hauck from earlier projects. After we encoun- tered problems with our prototyping mould in China, he suggested that his company Hähl take on the develop- ment of the prototyping mould as well as the optimisation, construction and final design of the production mould. Together with Teamplast, we optimised the mould for large-scale production.