PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2019

CAPS & CLOSURES 16 PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 01+02/19 www.petpla.net A review of caps and closures developments It was a Swiss designer named Albert Obrist who in 1970 developed the first plastic top for CSD drinks bot- tles with the injection-moulded one- piece HDPE cap. Originally intended for use with returnable glass bottles, his idea quickly attracted the inter- est of the PET bottle industry which increased sharply at the end of the 1970s. The key advantages of the HDPE cap over its aluminium counter- part were considered to be, firstly that damage to the bottle mouth caused by rolling the aluminium caps onto the neck finish could be avoided, and secondly that the HDPE caps were more compatible with the precise geometries of the PET thread. Obrist’s innovations were subsequently incor- porated into the Crown Cork and Seal Company’s operations during the mid- 1980s. At the same point in the 20 th century, the Alcoa CSI acquired H-C Industries decided to approach the problem from a different perspective and patented the compression mould- ing process for plastic CSD caps, resulting in the H-C Wing-Lok design. Compared with injection mould- ing, compression moulding output in those days sometimes was more than double. In 1986, when CSI acquired H-C Indus- tries, its rotary compression-moulded process for making closures was an industry first. The H-C Wing-Lok closure is regarded as the beverage industry’s first successful mechanical tamper-evi- dent closure. Since then, changing consumer needs, along with new trends in drinks, regulations and technological advances, have led to ever new inno- vations and improvements being made in the design of caps and closures. What has not changed, however, is the need for tight closures (under a variety of conditions) that protect a bottle’s contents, and which are easy to open and re-seal, can be incorporated within the package design and are cost effec- tive to produce. PETplanet has been covering the developments in closures technol- ogy in over 10,000 of its magazine’s pages since 1999. And while a survey like the following can never account for completeness, we hope you enjoy our selection of 20 years of achievements in caps and closures for PET bottles, as reported in PET- planet! Caps and closures – some highlights 1999 to 2019 20 0 0 In issue 8 KHS and CCT presented a cap with a moving liner for capping oxygen-sensitive products such as beer. 20 0 1 In issue 11+12 we reported that Bericap had won a “Packaging Oscar” for their BO2S beer closure. 20 0 3 Bericap launches the one- piece hot fill closure in the Chinese market (issue 2). Products packed were mainly juices and energy drinks. 20 0 5 At PETpoint, Bericap pre- sented the “Shorty” for beer. The door was open for anyone to submit designs for lightweight caps and neck forms. Also at PETpoint, and reported in issue 12, Romeo Corvaglia enters the discussion on lightweight caps for both still drinks and CSDs. 20 06 PETplanet and Sacmi organised the first joint cap forum with an intense discussion on the advan- tages and disadvantages of injection moulded and compression moulded caps in issue 11. Alcoa summed it up with the comment “it all depends...”. In the same issue Bericap presented their Supershorty, a range of closures in line with the new 28mm light weight neck finish ISBT standard PCO 1881 for CSD. 20 07 The first commercial application of the 1881 neck finish (Martens brewery in Belgium) was reported in issue 12. 20 0 9 Romeo Corvaglia reported in issue in 2+3, that the 0.99g cap for still water was on the market in North Amer- ica. Issue 9 reported that Coca-Cola China had decided to universally adopt the PCO 1881 by the end of 2009. 20 10 Lightweight is still a hot topic: In issue 5 we report on Bericap’s new hot fill initiative, resulting in newly modified one-piece DoubleSeal 38mm closures together with neck wall thick- nesses of 2mm - as a first step. In issue 6, MHT Mold & Hotrunner Technologies presents savings from lighter caps and threads, launching with the MHT-21Light thread family a lightweight alternative to the PCO 1810. CCT has been designing the cap for the new thread. 20 1 1 In issue 4 we report on the launch of a push-pull closure for hot fill packages without aluminium foil, developed by Bericap in 2010. 20 1 2 A lightweight combination cap for the 1881 short neck format for both, carbonated drinks as well as still water, is close to launch (Corvaglia, issue 1+2). A 26mm closure range for edible oil, superseding the standard 29/21 neck finish has been developed by Bericap, as we are covering in issue 1+2, generating weight savings. In issue 6, the company announces the launch of the DoubleSeal one-piece hot fill closure in the North American market, with reduced wall thicknesses. 2 0 13 Following the K trade fair, PETplanet is publishing a study of the caps and closures markets to describe the state-of-the art technol- ogy, starting with issue no. 12/2013 and the developments, strategies and competitive differentiation of the com- panies involved in the market of sup- pliers of systems and moulds for the production of caps and closures. CAPS & CLOSURES