PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2020

CAPS & CLOSURES 36 PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 09/20 www.petpla.net Top closers Mark Smith, Vice-President and Technical Director of Universal Closures Ltd, talked about the company’s tradition of innovation, the challenges of branching out into new markets and the impact of upcoming legislation on closure system design. The name may not be immediately familiar to consumers of beverages, whether still or carbonated, or, increas- ingly, users of health and beauty or homecare products, but its designs and licensed closure systems most certainly will be. Universal Closures Ltd (UCL) is possibly the world’s leading designer of closure systems; it counts giants such as Coca-Cola, Alpla and Srithai Superware among its licensees and clients. They have recently been joined by USA-headquartered Westfall Technik, which includes Mold Craft Inc and AMA Plastics among its subsidiar- ies. UCL President and Founder, Rod Druitt, has an increasing presence in the United States, working with West- fall Technik and other connections in shaping and developing their market presence. Mark Smith, Senior Vice-Presi- dent and Technical Director, took the 90-minute drive from the company’s global HQ in Tewkesbury, England, to meet Ruari McCallion at PETplanet Insider’s representative office in Salis- bury, England. He described how UCL is reacting to marketplace demands, meeting the needs of new legislation and rising to the challenges of the post-Covid19 world. “UCL is a design and development company. We don’t manufacture clo- sures ourselves; we licence our prod- ucts to manufacturers and producers all over the world,” Mark explained. “We do a lot of work with the primes and collaborate closely with Z-Moulds, the Swiss-based toolmakers.” Focusing on the core Licensing its technology and prod- ucts, rather than making them itself, enables UCL to spread its influence and reputation further than would oth- erwise be the case, and to focus on what it does best. “We have 32 licensees currently, across Europe, the USA and Aus- tralasia – you know about Coca-Cola Amatil in Australia, who have the Sylon cap under license,” said Smith. “That structure allows us to focus on innovation; not just to react to the market but to get on the front foot and innovate, wherever we see opportuni- ties. That is the core of our business.” UCL was originally incorporated in 2004 and it has built up quite a library of designs over the years since then, including short caps for PCO1881 neck finishes and the Mercury Sylon three-piece sports closure, which was the first of its type to be made entirely of a single material – HDPE, in that case – which greatly improved its recyclability. New markets “Our past and existing designs have primarily been in beverages: CSD, water and, increasingly, in dairy and juices,” he said. “What has happened now is that we are seeing opportunities, from all directions, that are unprecedented for us as a busi- ness. Where we were, in the past, almost exclusively focused on bever- ages we are looking more and more at products for personal care, for healthcare and for home care: wash- ing liquids, detergents, dish soaps, vitamins – a whole range of products. And the technology we have devel- oped and proven in the beverage market is now being transplanted to other areas.” That is giving UCL a chance to talk to new clients about its his- tory of innovation and to help them identify opportunities to develop and improve competitiveness, material usage and recyclability. It’s a natural develop- ment; even if a business was not already planning something along those lines the economic upheav- als after Covid19 mean that any that wishes to succeed and still be here in a few years must look Mark Smith, Vice President and Technical Director of Universal Closures Ltd. UCL’s groundbreak- ing design for the Mercury Sylon sports cap used a single material – HDPE – in its construction, in order to improve recy- clability. It has been in use since it was launched by Coca Cola Amatil, in Australia, in 2018. by Ruari McCallion