PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2019

TRADE SHOW PREVIEW PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 10/19 www.petpla.net 61 PET drums become reality In 2019, the Cypriot company broke its own record in large PET con- tainers, by producing an open-mouth PET drum of 120 l, with a 400mm neck diameter, providing the PET process- ing industry with the opportunity to enter new applications, with a unique and value-adding PET container. The main advantage of PET drums is their lower weight, typically being about one-third less than for an equivalent HDPE drum. This is made possible by the superior mechanical proper- ties of PET and generates substantial savings in raw material cost. The resulting important economic, logisti- cal and environmental bene- fits, especially for export- oriented applications, makes the shift to PET drums an attractive option. In addition to the weight reduction, PET drums can be made transparent, which may be preferable for spe- cific applications. Further- more, due to the orientation of the PET molecules during the stretch blow moulding process, PET drums provide very good barrier properties for alcohol and essential oils products. Finally, the smooth, glossy surface finish provides an attractive appearance and also allows for easy cleaning when required. Tailored drum dimen- sions for export Many products are exported in drums, like active pharmaceutical ingre- dients, pigments, fish oil, chemicals etc., for which logistics efficiency is very important. Drum dimen- sions can be optimised to container loading, saving freight costs. For example, a 100 l PET drum specially- designed by Cypet for the bulk drug industry, fits nine drums per pallet, allowing the loading of 360 drums per 40 ft container. This com- pares to five HDPE drums per pallet currently used, resulting in an increase of container loading from 200 to 360 drums, representing a 44% reduction in shipping costs. There is additionally a significant saving to be made on the drum cost, which would have a weight of about 1.8 kg, compared to 2.4 kg for HDPE. This is a saving of 25% on raw materi- als in addition to a saving on electric- ity due to the Cypet machine’s low energy consumption. An additional benefit of PET drums for all applications, including for exports to environmentally sensi- tive countries, is the fact that the PET drums are easily recyclable repeat- edly at the end of their service life and re-used in various applications, thus completely closing the loop and ena- bling a fully circular PET economy. www.cypet.eu IS STILL 50% TOO MUCH. 50% L SS P CK G NG The KHS solution for more sustainability: New avenues in packaging technology. We are continuously improving our packaging. By applying innovative technologies and switching over to mono-material RCEMCIKPI YG JCXG JCNXGF QWT RCEMKPI OCVGTKCNU QXGT VJG NCUV ƂXG [GCTU #PF YG CTG UQQP VQ VCMG CPQVJGT DKI UVGR HQTYCTF KP WUKPI PGY VJKPPGT V[RGU QH ƂNO khs.com/packing-systems Hall 13 | Booth A75 K-Show 2019 October 16 - 23