PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2017

PREFORM PRODUCTION PET planet Insider Vol. 18 No. 06/17 www.petpla.net 22 Polypropylene box for preform storage and transport Collapsible container for preforms by Tom Vander Sande Many brilliant innovations are not invented by technological geniuses who have an epiph- any, but are based on a simple idea that takes root in the minds of people with hands-on experience. While on the job, they develop an improvement for a system that is not func- tioning perfectly. The Stackabox is a nice example of this grassroots technical development. The story of the Stackabox starts in 2007 at a Coca Cola Enterprise factory. Operators wonder if there is a better solution to store and transport preforms than in the classical card- board bins or non-foldable boxes they use every day which entail all kinds of difficulties. For caps and closures the cardboard bins had to be ‘stabbed’ in order to make holes to dispense the products. Two colleagues, among whom current DS Smith employee Adrian Higgins and his partner Philip Bagley, began working on a prototype wooden, collapsible container. Their goal was to make a bigger, foldable container with multiple dispensing possibilities. Some traditional boxes could hold up only to two thousand preforms, but they hold only up to five to ten times higher. Other plas- tic packaging was as big empty as they were full, so the volume of the return transport equalled the original transport. Adrian and Phil strived to do three times better, with a fold down ratio of 1/3.5. The wooden prototype was a useful proof of concept, but a later polypropylene version got people across the industry really interested. Both preform manufacturers as well as big bottling companies saw the advantages of the collapsible con- tainer. Around this time, the concept crossed the path of DS Smith, and it was rapidly perfected and integrated into their larger product portfolio that consists mainly of bottle crates and pallets. This process was a natural symbiosis, since the larger part of the company’s clients are active in the beverage and filling industry. The final, perfected product boasts a number of advantages over previ- ous storage and transport solutions. The sturdy polypropylene guarantees an almost endless lifecycle and allows for hundreds of journeys between the producers and their customers. In contrast to cardboard which requires a wooden pallet underneath, there is no risk for odour contamination, paper particles or wood splinters. The smooth inside of the Stackabox allows for easy and thorough cleansing and the built-in lids prevent dirt getting in. If the standards have to be even higher, the Stackabox easily allows for liners to be placed and removed. Transport and handling A single operator can erect the box in 30s before filling. Once full, the Stackabox is easily handled with FLT’s, without the need of sepa- rate wooden pallets. Moreover, the absence of a centre skid at the base minimises the possible damage done. Traditional pallets suffer most of the damage at the centre skid during automatic handling. A standard trailer will hold 52 full Stackaboxes. In most trucks and containers two large Stackaboxes can be stacked. But in order to fit regional variations in transport, the Stackabox comes in three distinct sizes: Maxi (1,350l), Medium (1,187l) and Com- pact (1,030l). The tare weight ranges from 78 to 72kg, and the pay load is with 500kg equal for all varieties. Maybe the most innovative aspect of the Stackabox is the perfect inte- gration in the existing production lines of the beverage and filling companies. These global players are always look- ing for a faster pace of production and every segment of the line has to keep up. The new state of the art blowing and filling lines run at 40,000 bottles an hour. Considering a Stackabox will hold around 10,000 of 38g preforms or 60,000 closing capsules, a total of around four boxes have to be dis- pensed every hour per line. This is only feasible with a fully automated dispensing system and the Stackabox fits perfect in this concept. The pat- ented design is the only bulk container that allows for both top- as bottom dispensing in a wide variety of existing dispensing frames. Bottom dispens- ing is becoming the overall preferred PREFORM special Loaded truck stackabox First prototype of the Stackabox