PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2019

120 l PET drum next to 1.5 l bottle TRADE SHOW PREVIEW PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 10/19 www.petpla.net 60 120 l open-mouth PET drum with 400mm neck diameter World’s biggest PET container Drums are used for the storage and transport of a wide variety of products. Tradition- ally metal has been the material of choice, however plastic drums made from HDPE have become very popular as well as fibre drums to a lesser extent. Sizes vary from 30-220 l and various types are available according to the size of opening (open top, wide mouth, closed top). The tendency of metal drums to rust and the sensitivity of fibre drums to wet condi- tions, have resulted in the popularity of HDPE plastic drums, manufactured using Extrusion Blow Moulding. By using PET, Cypet are now adding another new material into the mix. The only other plastic raw mate- rial besides HDPE that exhibits high mechanical strength and is suitable for processing into hollow containers is PET. In addition to its very good mechanical properties, PET also offers transparency and a smooth, glossy surface finish, making PET containers easy to clean. It is also easily recyclable and can be upgraded during the recycling process to bring its properties back to their original levels, including the suitability for food contact applications after recycling. PET containers have very suc- cessfully replaced other materials such as metal, other plastics, glass and paper in many applications typically in sizes up to 2 l, but more recently also for applications in the 5-30 l size range. PET processing technology for large containers Machines for PET processing have been commercially available for the production of PET containers up to a maximum size of 30 l. As a result of the non-availability of machines for PET containers larger than 30 l, this market segment had not been devel- oped for PET, despite the fact that large PET containers offer a cost effi- cient and attractive alternative to other materials for large containers. Cypet Technologies states that its single-stage PET processing technol- ogy has been proven to be able to produce very large PET containers, up to 150 l. The Cypet production system has the capability to injection mould the preforms and directly stretch-blow mould them into containers on the same machine, in such a way that enables large container production with minimal energy consumption. In Cypet’s history of success, the world’s first 50 l PET container, a beer keg, was produced in Australia in 2015 on a Cypet machine. The world’s second 50 l PET container, a milk drum with built-in rigid handles, was produced in 2016 in Kenya, also on a Cypet machine. In 2018, finally breaking the 50 l size barrier, Cypet Technologies’ engineering team, succeeded in producing a 60 l PET container, the world’s first transparent, stackable crate for fruit and vegeta- bles, with a large, rectangular 570 x 370mm neck opening. 50 l milk container with built-in handles Hall 14 Cypet Booth C58