PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2016

TRADE SHOW PREVIEW 54 PET planet Insider Vol. 17 No. 11/16 www.petpla.net The main difference - compared to injection technology - is the heightened efficiency that stems from single-stage technology (i.e. synchronised produc- tion of preforms and their subsequent stretch-blowing). Minimum levels of potential preform contamination (thanks to high machine outlet tem- peratures and immediate transition to subsequent blow-moulding and bot- tling) make it ideal for the dairy industry and other fields where even low-level preform and container contamination can affect product integrity. In addition to considerable savings on the preform cleaning and decontamination fronts, there are energy savings as there is no need to cool, store and subsequently reheat preforms prior to blowing. Elimination of the preform stor- age unit, now transformed into the dynamic Sacmi CPB Link buffer which intervenes, only as necessary, to make up for the different “average efficiency” of the two processes and acts in a controlled ultra-clean environ- ment eradicates preform cleaning and heating-cooling costs. This is intended to allow manufacturers to cut average bottle costs by 5-15% while keep- ing energy consumption (including all preform production and blow moulding) below 1kWh per kg of processed PET. This result is also achieved thanks to net savings on the use of raw material (preform weight is reduced by 0.2-0.4g, about 4%, container characteristics remaining equal, thanks to absence of the gate; this technology also allows flat-bottomed preforms to be pro- duced). Container quality and healthi- ness: acetaldehyde formation is directly proportional to PET process- ing temperature and pressure and is thus minimised thanks to compres- sion, a process which acts at lower temperatures and pressures, provid- ing manufacturers with considerable savings vis-à-vis the additives needed to prevent the formation of this harm- ful substance; because high-viscosity PET can be used (not possible in the injection process, as it needs to transit very narrow channels) it is possible to obtain stronger, longer-lasting contain- ers. Moreover, the moisture absorption that typically affects traditional PET manufacturing processes is virtually eliminated thanks to synchronisation of preform production and blow-moulding. There is an evident boost to logistical efficiency (no internal preform transport and storage facilities required). “Sacmi heroPET 4.0”, explains Iacopo Bianconcini, Marketing Man- ager of the Sacmi Group Beverage and Closures&Containers Division, “repre- sents the culmination of that PET revo- lution which began in 1973 when plas- tic bottles first started replacing glass ones. For years, neither traditionalpre- Entire integration for the beverage industry Sacmi will present hero- PET 4.0, the first compre- hensive, integrated platform for “one-step” production of preforms, stretch-blow moulding and filling that shows all the advantages of compression technol- ogy. Sacmi has developed a completely new system that allows preform production to be synchronised with stretch- blow moulding of the preform using a rotary blow moulder. This result was achieved thanks to the flexibility of the process which, in the event of stretch-blow moulder stop- page, allows production and handling of cold preforms within an automated ultra- clean storage environment. Sacmi Hall 7A | Booth 319 / 323