PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2020

PREFORM PRODUCTION PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 11/20 www.petpla.net 21 Interview with Integrated Plastics Pty. Ltd October 15, 2020 We met: Mr Nicholas Mellen, Managing Director PET bottle handles produced during the preform phase by Kay Barton In the Villawood district some 30 km west of Sydney city centre, Integrated Plastics have been working on an effective, market-ready solution for bottles and containers with integrated handles since 2010 with a view to launching a global licensing business for PET converters and bottle producers. The handle’s material and the process involved are special features of the technology. The patented idea relies exclusively on PET and rPET for the handle and, unlike other more conventional technologies, is produced with the preform at the preform stage. This allows the company to achieve key objectives such as ideal recyclability of the whole container, together with savings in weight and material compared with other combinations of plastics and production output. We spoke to Integrated Plastic’s Managing Director, Mr Nicholas Mellen, about the concept and the development of what he says is a unique product that can be promoted worldwide. Origins and development “Integrally Moulded Handle” or IMH as the company calls it is what experts most closely associate with extrusion processes or subsequently inserted HDPE handles. One occa- sionally comes across moulded grips which, for process-specific reasons, are moulded rather than recessed for effective finger insertion. The introduction of the IMH means that previous technical limita- tions should now be a thing of the past with the whole container also guaranteed to be 100% recycla- ble. The initial IMH idea was devel- oped by the Australian company, B&R, which started production for the first time in 2006 as the licen- sor. “We were really excited by the idea, acquired the relevant licence in 2012, founded Integrated Plas- tics and began producing bottles with handles”, explained Managing Director and Co-Founder, Nicho- las Mellen. The entrepreneur has 20-years’ experience in the plastics industry and runs the company with David Ramirez, Manufacturing Man- ager, Lead Innovation and R&D and Ganesh Krishnan, Global Head of Projects, Lead Innovation and R&D. Process and production systems were continually updated over the ensuing years. “We began by using a 140 g preform for 4 l bottles and produced other IMH bottle types up until 2014 such as 2 l varie- ties weighing between 75 g and 85 g which were produced using an ADS Linear Blow Moulding System. Tour Sponsors: IMH bottles used by Tru Blu Beverages