PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2019

PACKAGING PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 10/19 www.petpla.net 14 In the same year (issue 08/01), we discussed a series of PET-packaged vehicle care products from Sonax, produced in cooperation with Rosti Verpackungen GmbH, which with- stood chemical substances in tests with temperatures as low as -20 °C, in the container development phase. Sonax’ vehicle care products Also in 2001, as detailed in a report (issue 10/01), RPC Contain- ers from the UK envisaged a growth market for non-food PET packaging. At that time, RPC was already manu- facturing hair gel containers and cans for household products and consid- ered the material, then new in this area, to be an asset. A little later, in 2003, the words: “unimagined ten years ago - today a reality” heralded the introduction of a new 200ml PET shampoo bottle from Kunze (issue 07/03). At the end of the same year (issue 12/03), moulds manu- facturer MHT announced an increased degree of interest in the research and development of new preform sizes and bespoke preform necks for special clo- sures, such as those used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals packaging. MHT envisaged potential growth for PET outside the straightforward beverages industry, due to attractive packaging appearance and the resulting customer appeal. However, the company also said that a considerable amount of research into the manufacturing of moulds to achieve complex or textured surfaces, for example, was still required. New preforms and closure develop- ments for non-food packaging In 2004 (PP 03/04), Astron Com- munications tapped into the area of household goods with the “wow” factor by developing small PET side tables for children’s bedrooms or picnic activities. The then highlight was a PET table top placed on either empty or full PET bottles, which form the table legs. Colourful PET table, placed on full or empty bottles Procter & Gamble is a manufac- turer we have encountered time and again during the lifetime of PETplanet. In our April issue we reported that the Ohio, USA-based multinational group had just switched its 1 l Lenor fabric softener from carton to PET. At launch, the preforms originated from Austrian converter Alpla. Fabric softener in PET by Procter & Gamble A month later (issue 05/04), we reported on German company Sauer, which manufactured containers exclu- sively for household cleaners and beauty care products, had added two of the then new Ecomax single-stage ISBM machines from SIG Blowtec to its fleet, in order to expand its portfo- lio to include PET packaging. Sauer described the look and feel of PET products as “close to glass, which remains standard in the cosmetics industry.” Products packed by Sauer Germany 2005 - 2010 In the summer of 2005 (issue 06+07), toy manufacturer Lego launched a series of PET cans, the design of which addressed their respective contents – such as the tower of a castle including battlements and the corresponding Lego bricks, as we reported in our magazine. Two years later, in 2007 (issue 10/07), Impressions Packaging Geor- gia, USA, presented its frosted and sandblasted look containers. This appearance of the thick-walled con- tainers with glass optics was achieved with a masterbatch from Ampacet, and was available in filling volumes of 100-240ml. In 2008 (issue 09), Italian con- verter Stropol presented its one-piece snap-on closures, which, in contrast to the screw-on closures for PCO and BPF preform necks then available on the market, could click easily onto a standard preform – the first time in the market. This enabled standard pre- forms to be used without much effort, for body care packaging, for example (see photo on page 15).