PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2016

CAPPING / CLOSURES 47 PET planet insider Vol. 17 No. 06/16 www.petpla.net DRYING HAS NEVER BEEN THIS EFFICIENT: ETA plus® LUXOR A 80-2400 Now available with ETA plus ® ETA plus ® considerably reduces energy consumption and protects materials. When it comes to drying, saving energy is a key concern. We have developed a system that combines airflow regulation with a temperature adjustment feature – that can be disabled if required – and efficient waste heat recovery. The result? A drying system that cuts energy consumption by up to 64%: ETA plus ® . motan-colortronic gmbh info@motan-colortronic.de www.motan-colortronic.com iQ weight control keeps the injected melt volume and the viscosity constant throughout the entire injection moulding process the new iQ clamp control software determines the mould breathing to continually readjust the clamping force. As mould temperature control also affects efficiency and quality, Engel is now going one step further for K 2016. The electronic temperature-control water manifold Engel e-flomo and the temperature control unit merge at controller level to form a single unit. With the help of the new iQ flow control software, the pump speed is adapted automatically to current requirements based on the measurement values determined by Engel e-flomo. Whereas Engel e-flomo increases the process stability and therefore lowers the reject risk, the automatic speed adjustment ensures that temperature control requires less energy. A second innovation I’d like to mention here is the Engel e-connect monitor, which analyses the condition of process-critical machine core components – such as the screw – in the live operation and reliably predict the risk of default. The condition-based, predictive maintenance makes it possible to exploit the service life of critical machine parts to the full and avoid any unplanned equip- ment stoppages that occur in spite of this. PETplanet: Your CV is greatly varied. From tool makers, to stamping technology, right up to electronics in China, you have been in a few businesses. For 2 years you have now been responsible for the packaging area at Engel. Why Engel exactly? Feltes: Well, firstly, the company structure fascinates me. Engel is a family company with a long-term strategic direction and short decision making pathways. This is not just me, but also the customers in the packaging indus- try that have the same impression and expectations to their suppliers. The successful ones focus on long-term partners and strategies. Moreover, since Engel started in the cap business relatively late compared to others, it is important to provide a great customer experience, sup- port and satisfaction right away with the first machine or system delivered. This resulted in an elevated increase of market potentials worldwide. That is a very appealing task for me in the years to come in a leading position at Engel. PETplanet: In conclusion: Where do you see the clo- sures in the coming years? Feltes: I think weight reduction has reached its limits. With the recently introduced closures of <0.8g, we are much more like a thin-wall injection part and hardly clo- sure technology anymore. Also, the switch-over from two- piece closures with liners to a one-piece closure of large brand-owners like Pepsi Cola, Coca Cola and others will be interesting and exciting especially in countries with difficult logistics and climates. There is a great potential for long-term changeover from compression to injection moulding. Yes, and if we continue to work with the cus- tomers and our partners like the tool makers, the magical 2s limit for a continuous operation for closure production systems is also going to drop off at some point. PETplanet: Thank you very much. www.engelglobal.com