CAPS & CLOSURES 20 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 01+02/22 www.petpla.net CAPS & CLOSURES PETplanet: Thomas, what is this year’s most important trend in caps and closures? Schmidt: 2022 is the year when a lot of companies in the beverage bottling industry will be switching over to tethered caps to comply with the SUP Directive. That’s why many of our current customer projects focus on the introduction of our ClipAside tethered cap design. But we also believe that light weighting, design-for-recycling and use of bio-based or PCR materials are important to driving sustainability in product development projects. New product developments are naturally also associated with great potential to create new customer benefits and deliver consumer experiences beyond climate protection. PETplanet: Can you tell us more about your ClipAside tethered cap design? Schmidt: We’re committed to supporting our customers through this challenging transformation, and we’re doing it by offering beverage brand owners and fillers the opportunity to switch over to tethered caps with minor modifications at most to their production processes and equipment. This is one of the main reasons why they are choosing our ClipAside design, besides its intuitive and robust handling performance across all neck finishes from PET 26 to 38mm. The ClipAside design offers highest flexibility to our customers as it can be supplied in standard slit or tethered slit versions. So, once the filling line has been adapted for the new closure shell design, a switch from standard to tethered TE band doesn’t require any further modifications. We’ve already launched it in the French bottled water market and we’re in the process of starting the first serial shipments to a number of leading international market players as we speak. During the tethered cap project Bericap also made a strong contribution to the new PET 26/22 CSD GME 30.40 neck finish, which provides a significant material reduction compared to the commonly used PCO 1881 necks. Our fully industrialised ClipAside solutions for GME 30.40 therefore mark a major milestone for the introduction of tethered caps in the CSD segment. PETplanet: Of course, consumer convenience and product sustainability are important parameters when it comes to product development. Which other parameters belong to it? Schmidt: I’d like to add product integrity and operational excellence to that list – and ideally we want to achieve improvements in several of these benefit areas. Another product we developed on the basis of these priorities is the new Bericap 3438 - 38mm closure for dairy and juice beverages with our patented Safe Venting technology. The lightweight, tethered closure’s combination with Safe Venting technology is a perfect example of an innovative product being developed on the basis of consumer preferences and sustainability requirements as a solution to a customer problem. PETplanet: What exactly is this new technology – and what problem does it solve? “Clearly sustainability is a major trend – also for the closure industry” The tethered cap transformation is a great challenge for the beverage industry and the entire related supply chain, but new developments offer manufacturers opportunities to create new customer benefits and consumer experiences beyond climate protection. PETplanet talked with Thomas Schmidt, Group Marketing Director at Bericap.
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