No.4 2022 www.petpla.net D 51178; ISSN: 1438-9452 25 . 04 . 22 PETplanet is read in more than 140 countries MAGAZ I NE FOR BOT T L E R S AND BOT T L E - MAK E R S IN THE AMER ICAS, AS IA, EUROPE AND AL L AROUND THE PLANET MARKETsurvey Suppliers of preform & preform inspection systems Page 22 Page 26 PREFORMS Page 12
ClipAside, drink, love! Tethered ClipAside closure wins high acceptance Contact us and arrange your line trials now! www.bericap.com PET 38 PET 29/25 PCO 1881 PET 33 PET 26 PET 26 GME 30.40 A recent consumer real-life “diary study” conducted in France found a high level of acceptance among consumers for the innovative new closure. After just one or two experiences, even the youngest and oldest users could handle the smart closure without difficulty – often with one hand. What’s more, many praised the eco-friendly nature of the cap, which remains on the bottle neck and avoids creating additional plastic waste. Best of all for you, this premium product can be integrated into most lines and any popular bottle neck format without major modification of your production equipment.
No.4 2022 www.petpla.net D 51178; ISSN: 1438-9452 25 . 04 . 22 PETplanet is read in more than 140 countries MAGAZ I NE FOR BOT T L E R S AND BOT T L E - MAK E R S IN THE AMER ICAS, AS IA, EUROPE AND AL L AROUND THE PLANET MARKETsurvey Suppliers of preform & preform inspection systems Page 22 Page 26 PREFORMS Page 12
We think about your caps, so you can think of everything else. www.corvaglia.com Visit us at the Trade Fair Munich, Germany September 12-16, 2022 Hall C5/Booth 275
imprint EDITORIAL PUBLISHER Alexander Büchler, Managing Director HEAD OFFICE heidelberg business media GmbH Vangerowstraße 33 69115 Heidelberg, Germany phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 info@petpla.net EDITORIAL Kay Barton Heike Fischer Gabriele Kosmehl Michael Maruschke Ruari McCallion Anthony Withers WikiPETia. info petplanet@petpla.net MEDIA CONSULTANTS Martina Hirschmann hirschmann@petpla.net Johann Lange-Brock lange-brock@petpla.net phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 LAYOUT AND PREPRESS EXPRIM Werbeagentur | exprim.de Matthias Gaumann READER SERVICES Till Kretner reader@petpla.net PRINT Chroma Druck Eine Unternehmung der Limberg-Druck GmbH Danziger Platz 6 67059 Ludwigshafen, Germany WWW www.hbmedia.net | www.petpla.net PETplanet Insider ISSN 1438-9459 is published 10 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (1-year subscription 149 EUR, 2-year subscription 289 EUR, Young professionals’ subscription 99 EUR. Magazines will be dispatched to you by airmail). Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Note: The fact that product names may not be identified as trademarks is not an indication that such names are not registered trademarks. 3 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net Dear readers, You and I, who work with PET bottles on a daily basis, are often met with quizzical looks and good-natured ribbing when we display our expert knowledge of bottles amongst friends and acquaintances. For example, as I reflect during a break for coffee and cake on the savings made in material over the years and the challenges involved in labelling, or the sheer volumes produced by cap and preform machines, I realise that more can be done to address the public’s perception of packaging and PET in particular. In addition, we are now faced with the introduction of the tethered cap in 2024 and when I mention this in private conversations, some people shake their heads in disbelief at what they see as political over-regulation. Nevertheless, we as an industry need to rise to this challenge and bring the customer along with us. An incident that occurred during a private function convinced me that we cannot afford to wait. During this season’s first barbecue, Coca-Cola was served as well as beer and wine. Quite by chance, our host brought along new 0.33 litre bottles from the Berlin plant. Coca-Cola European Partners Berlin are one of the first German companies that have dared to offer tethered caps to their end customer. The words “Leave me on for recycling” are written in large letters on the cap. Unfortunately, none of the guests at the barbecue noticed these words. Two men pulled the cap off completely while two women only removed one attachment, which meant that the closure was still hanging on one strip. I naturally took advantage of the situation to interview these four individuals. All of them found the attached cap annoying, believing that a production fault was responsible for the cap not coming off properly. The women were also not too pleased that the partially attached cap was dangling in their faces whilst drinking. No-one realised that the cap can be folded to the side. Surely the consumer will have learned how to handle the cap better by 2024 but after the evening’s barbecue, this seems to be a distant hope. I have to say that I applaud Coca-Cola’s bold move on behalf of the whole industry and that we can all benefit from their experience when operating on the market. I will hopefully have better experiences to report after closing the barbecue season in late autumn. Yours sincerely, Alexander Büchler
PETcontents 4 PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net 04/2022 Page 46 MATERIALS / RECYCLING 10 Plastics recycling, part of the puzzle - How the industry continues to expand in Europe / Focus on PET PREFORM PRODUCTION 12 What’s new in preform production? Three-question survey on the current preform product situation and future challenges 14 Cool performance - Sipa optimises cooling systems on preform tooling to cut customer costs and enhance sustainability 16 Digital, rational, profitable - Sacmi’s Injection Preform System (IPS) 300 18 Automated quality assurance - AI and optical quality inspection solution for rPET bottles 20 Compact vertical preform moulding - Launch of the PM-100/111N series MARKET SURVEY 22 Suppliers of preforms & preform inspection systems EDITOUR 26 Off the tourist track - The European Road Show in Cyprus 27 Single-stage ISBM machines for flexible, special-sized formats 29 Plastic containers for the Cypriot market - PET packaging for drinks, food and pharmaceuticals 31 Inside PETplanet - Why the global mouthpiece for the PET sector is looking so good EVENT REVIEW 33 A well-tuned quartet - Review of PETinar Tethered Caps: Design, Produce, Inspect! BUYER’S GUIDE 40 Get listed! INSIDE TRACK 3 Editorial 4 Contents 6 News 36 Preform production products 37 PET bottles for home + personal care 38 PET bottles for beverage + liquid food 39 Patents 46 Outer Planet Page 27 Page 14 PREFORMS
yellow.agency A FAMILY OWNED SWISS COMPANY. OUR INJEC T ION MOULDS FOR PE T AND PAC FE ATURE CRAF TSMANSHIP THAT IS UNIQUELY SWISS . OT TO-HOFSTE T TER . SWISS T OTA LLY SW I S S.
PETnews 6 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net Pascal Lefèvre new Sidel global vice president food, home and personal care markets Sidel has announced the appointment of a new global vice president. Pascal Lefèvre will develop and drive Sidel’s food, home and personal care strategy, meeting the unique needs of these markets and delivering flexible, eco-friendly, and tailored-made solutions that will address the new and complex retailing and distribution challenges that customers face. Lefèvre will lead in the provision of innovative, eco-friendly, and ultra-flexible equipment to food, home and personal care customers. These feature a comprehensive range of blowers and end of line solutions, including packers and palletisers, for any type of primary and secondary packaging. Sidel also offers complete or partial integrated lines in categories like edible oil, sauces & dressing, coffee and more. Pascal Lefèvre explained that he will ensure Sidel can provide solutions that offer the flexibility, operability and product care demanded by these fast-moving and rapidly evolving market segments, while drawing on existing capability and expertise. Pascal Lefèvre joined Sidel in 2020. He attended ISG Paris Business School and has more than 20-years of experience working in senior positions within the packaging equipment industry. He said: “Sidel is supporting brand owners through the transition to fully recyclable light-weighted PET or rPET containers, leveraging our design capability and market-leading blow moulding solutions with its preferential heating technology for shaped containers.” www.sidel.com Extrupet doubling food-grade recycling capabilities Extrupet, one of the largest and advanced recyclers of plastics on the African continent, has announced a major expansion of their food-grade plastic recycling operations in South Africa. “Extrupet is proud to announce that we will double our food-grade operations by adding a fourth food-grade recycled PET (rPET) facility, which will increase our recycling capacity by an additional 33,000 tons per year,” said Chandru Wadhwani, Joint Managing Director at Extrupet. “The demand for food-grade recycling keeps on increasing, especially as retailers and consumers alike opt for more environmentally friendly options,” he continued. “Currently, only 60% of South Africa’s plastic bottles are recycled. With this increased capacity, we will be able to accommodate more of South Africa’s plastic waste and strengthen South Africa’s position as a circular economy leader in Africa and the world”. Phase 1 of this expansion is slated for Cape Town and is expected to be fully operational in 2023. The development will cost approximately R300 million (US$ 20.5 million) and will create additional jobs in the PET bottle collection industry. Extrupet, the first food-grade plastic recycler in South Africa, currently recycles more than 5 million PET bottles every day. The rPET is sold under Extrupet’s brand name PhoenixPET, which is certified by the European Food Safety Authority, Global Recycled Standard, BRC Packaging (AA rating) and ISO 9001:2015. The company was the first on the continent to use global FMCG approved technology to recycle PET bottles into resin for reuse in new carbonated soft drink bottles. www.extrupet.com Amcor Lift-Off initiative to offer seed funding for innovative start-ups Amcor, a global leader in packaging solutions, announced the launch of Amcor Lift-Off, an open-call initiative aimed at supporting seed stage start-ups that are focused on innovative packaging solutions and related technologies. Amcor Lift-Off offers these start-ups a chance to secure an investment of US$250,000, as well as operational guidance, to take their ideas to the next level. Amcor is looking to partner with innovative leaders that are working to create more sustainable packaging solutions, new packaging technologies or have developed a new business model. Applicants must be innovating in at least one of six strategic areas to apply: recycling systems, alternative barriers, paperbased solutions, smart and connected packaging, biomaterials, or new industry business models. Incorporated companies from around the world can apply for free. The Amcor Lift-Off program will proceed in three phases: Applications will be open online until May 15, 2022. (Applications received after May 15, 2022 will be considered for a second Amcor Lift-Off event in November 2022.) Applicants will then be screened and shortlisted, with up to 20 start-ups invited for a first call to pitch their ideas Five final start-ups will be invited to pitch on a first Lift-Off day toward the end of June before a team of senior Amcor leaders. Based on the ideas pitched, each of the five finalists could receive US$250,000 in the form of a convertible loan as well as Amcor support and resources to refine their products, build partnerships and scale across geographies. www.amcor.com/about/ventures
7 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net Coca-Cola: New PET line in operation at the Karlsruhe Germany plant Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Germany (CCEP DE) has commissioned a new PET line in Karlsruhe, Germany. With this addition, the plant can now fill up to 36,000 PET bottles/ hour, each containing 1.25 l of beverages such as Coca-Cola, Fanta or Sprite. To achieve this, the beverage manufacturer has expanded the Neureut site, also in the production-related supply areas and logistics. CCEP DE has invested 15 million Euros and created more than 60 new jobs. The new PET line, which was inaugurated at the beginning of the year, strengthens the supply of the production network around Karlsruhe five days a week after the successful relocation. In addition, up to 120,000 cans are produced every hour. The production times have been extended: from now on, the canning line will run around the clock. In addition to the new PET line, other changes at the plant include six loading ramps implemented for faster truck handling. Further innovations can be found in the water treatment and syrup room: the water capacities required to supply the two lines were doubled to supply the new line, and the tanks in the syrup room were replaced and expanded. The conversion was rounded off by a new concentrate station and purification plant. www.cocacolaep.com Tomra celebrates 50th anniversary Tomra, a global provider of advanced collection and sorting systems, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Tomra was founded in Norway on April 1, 1972 by brothers Petter and Tore Planke. After seeing a local grocer struggle with the manual collection of empty bottles in their store, the brothers developed the first fully-automated reverse vending machine (RVM) in their family’s garage. This invention was ground-breaking for recycling processes and its concept is used today around the world. Over the years, Tomra’s technology expanded to include advanced sorting systems for the food, recycling, and mining industries. Today, Tomra employs more than 4,600 people around the world and has annual sales of €1bn. Twenty per cent of the group’s workforce and eight per cent of its revenues are dedicated to research and development. To meet Tomra’s ambition of increasing global recycling collection to 40 per cent and increased plastics in closed-loop systems to 30 per cent by 2030, the company plans to continue its growth and increase headcount. The expansion will explore new business opportunities, develop solutions to mitigate climate change, and in doing so, preserve natural resources for future generations. Tove Andersen, Tomra’s president and chief executive officer, said: “Fifty years after its humble beginnings, Tomra can be proud of the fact that it is a highly respected global market leader. This is living proof of our ability to adapt, innovate, and provide the solutions our customers really need. This is also a time to look forward because we are now opening a new chapter in Tomra’s story where we step up our role leading the resource revolution.” Digital transformation is at the heart of the company’s vision for the future with Tomra Insight, a cloud-based data analysis platform with remote service capability. It offers recyclers a state-of-the-art approach to improve sorting performance and reduce operating costs. Tomra Recycling is a leading global supplier of sensorbased sorting solutions and connected digital services that transform waste into valuable secondary raw materials. The company has installed over 8,200 sorting units for waste and metal recycling in more than 100 countries worldwide. Designed and built to maximise recycling yields, Tomra machines can be put to the test at any of its seven test centres worldwide. www.tomra.com
8 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net Erema establishes new R&D centre for recycling technologies Construction machinery rolls into action again at the Erema site in Ansfelden, Austria. The ground-breaking ceremony on April 6 signals the start of work on a new R&D centre. Two halls with a total area of 1,550m2 and a new office building with 50 workplaces will be built. The centre will offer cross-departmental and cross-company test machines and laboratory for research and development of plastics recycling technologies to further advance the circular economy. Completion is scheduled for February 2023. In recent years, approximately 5 per cent of turnover has been reinvested annually in R&D. Employees from different departments handle process engineering challenges, developments in mechanical engineering and automation technology, and special technologies with a view to further improving the quality of recycled pellets. They also focus on new recycling technologies for waste plastic materials for which there is currently no satisfactory circular economy solution. The decisive factor here is also to exploit the potential of digitalisation. By collecting and analysing machine data, not only can recycling processes and product quality be further improved, but the digital service offering for customers can be developed. Such offerings include customer-specific information tools that feature plant and process data, predictive maintenance and online support as well as commissioning via remote access. For material tests, an expanded machine park will be available following completion of the new centre. Here, the recycling process can be evaluated end-to-end, including upstream and downstream processes such as shredding and further processing of the recycled pellets. The material tests are supported by analysis in the professionally equipped laboratory, which will be relocated to the new premises and upgraded where necessary with the latest lab equipment. “The necessity of investing in the circular economy and in plastics recycling is clear from the current crises, which will be with us for some time to come,” says Manfred Hackl. “Both coronavirus and the consequences of the invasion of Ukraine have shown us the reality of the EU’s dependence on resources. Our mission “Another life for plastic. Because we care.” is more relevant today than ever before.” www.erema-group.com From left: Markus Huber-Lindinger Managing Director Erema GmbH, Markus Achleitner Upper Austria´s Minister for the Economy, Manfred Hackl CEO Erema Group GmbH and Christian Partoll Ansfelden´s Mayor (photo: Land OÖ/Kauder) Tony Radoszewski departs Plastics Industry Association Former President and CEO Tony Radoszewski is no longer with the Plastics Industry Association. Radoszewski’s last day was March 25, as announced by Tad McGwire, Chairman of the Board: “Tony Radoszewski is no longer with the Plastics Industry Association. His last day as President and CEO was Friday, March 25. We are grateful to Tony for his service to the plastics industry. Tony served our association during a period that included significant challenges, but Plastics remains as strong as ever. We extend Tony our best wishes in his future endeavours and extend our sincere thanks for his commitment and contributions”, McGwire stated. Radoszewski had assumed the role of President and CEO in 2019 after the death of his predecessor Bill Carteaux. Radoszewski’s successor has not yet been announced. www.plasticsindustry.org
MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net 10 How the industry continues to expand in Europe - Focus on PET Plastics recycling, part of the puzzle Interview with Casper van den Dungen, Vice President Plastics Recyclers Europe & PET Working Group Chairman PETplanet: What is the state of affairs in the plastics recycling industry in Europe? Casper: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the most widely used recycled plastics and at the same time the most widely recycled polymer destined for food contact applications. Just 20 years ago recycled beverage bottles (PET) were used to produce fibres (for strapping or clothing, for example). Back then the technology was not developed to allow recycling into food contact applications and no framework was set in place to regulate that. Only in 2008, through Regulation 282/2008, a procedure for authorisation of recycling processes for PET in food contact applications was established. Following these changes, the market for recycled beverage bottles has been steadily growing and nowadays, the majority of PET beverage bottles are recycled via closed-loop systems back into packaging. The EU is the worldwide pioneer in terms of legislation on recycling and specifically on food contact recycling, as it has one of the most robust rules and standards, ensuring highest health and safety standards for this material. Many brands include recycled plastic to pack their mineral water bottles or soft drinks, as recycled PET can be used to make new food contact bottles with even 100% recycled content. Beyond recycled material being used in bottles it is used, for example, in trays. Already 1 out of 2 trays (used to pack ham, cheese, salads), or blister packs incorporates rPET. Both of these applications were possible largely thanks to the EU targets introduced in 1994, their consecutive revision back in 2008, the establishment of the regulation on the use of recycled plastic in food contact materials, and finally the introduction of the Circular Economy Package in 2015. Another important factor here, are massive advancements in recycling technologies, and, in general, within the value chain. The examples of technological developments include changes in the product design like intelligent labels which can indicate where to recycle the product. Additionally, sorting of products is no longer manual but has moved to more reliable automated systems which include robotic-like separation technology. These advancements helped overcome the limitations that were hampering the use of recycled materials in a broad range of applications including high value products. Some of these limitations include design for recycling of the products, their sortability or cleaning operations – to name a few. The optimisation of these processes at each step of the value chain started many years ago, paving the way towards PET’s circularity. Legislative incentives and technological advancements resulted in increased efficiency and effectiveness of the recycling processes, while increasing the sustainability of every new cycle. PETplanet: How is PET recycling performing currently? Casper: There is a steady move towards circularity of the PET industry in Europe. New study for collection, recycling capacity and production of PET for 2020 shows increases - in comparison to 2018 - in all measured factors. Major growth is observed, in particular, within the PET recycling market, with an overall 21% increase in the installed capacity, totaling 2.8mt in EU27+3. Main new capacities which have been installed recently are the decontamination lines to convert the washed bottles or trays to food grade pellets. Concerning the recycled PET market there is a potential shift away from virgin production towards recycled material production. In 2020, 1.7mt of recycled PET was produced, with a steady growth within trays and sheets application, which with a 32% share remain the largest outlet for rPET in packaging, followed by beverage bottles with a 29% share. On the collection figures 61% of beverage bottles were collected & sorted for recycling in Europe - a 9% increase in comparison to 2018. Concerning the food contact grade of recycled PET, mechanical recycling is the predominant process with the highest benefits when it comes to CO2 savings. It is clear as well that the legislative framework contributed to increasing an uptake of food contact rPET. The legal requirement to include 25% rPET content in mineral and soft drink bottles by 2025 together with the collection target for PET of 90% by 2029 are the main drivers. This growth is to continue developing rapidly in response to producers’ pledges and average recycled content targets. The new legislation impacted equally the developments of new Deposit Return Systems (DRS) which allow for a higher quality of collected material. This growth needs to be programmed inline to the what the current installed capacities can absorb. The availability of certified active statistical data is needed to help us in mastering this challenge. PETplanet: Where do you see our industry in 10 years from now? Casper: To reach the 30% recycled content target for beverage bottles by 2030, 3.6mt of PET will have to be sent for recycling (in comparison Casper van den Dungen, Vice President Plastics Recyclers Europe & PET Working Group Chairman
MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net 11 MATERIALS / RECYCLING 11 to 2.2mt sent today). In that scenario rPET would reach 55% of total PET demand by 2030 (compared to 26% of today). The driving force for advancing both collection and recycling of PET is the legislative framework. The new EU Single Use Plastics Directive (SUP), which introduces specific targets on both collection and recycled material uptake, has already boosted the voluntary commitments and pledges of retailers, producers and brand owners alike. The value chain actors are, now more than ever before, focused on the integration of the recycled, food grade PET in their packaging products and declared a range of objectives to incorporate recycled content within their products. Driven by these pledges and with the mandatory recycled content targets – the share of foodgrade rPET in PET beverage bottle production is set to continue to grow rapidly. New trends and developments within the industry do and will continue to emerge. For example, capacity for PET tray recycling lines have increased in the past few years and it is estimated that the tray recycling capacity will reach around 100 kt of PET trays in the next 2 to 3 years, which is 10% of trays placed on the market and little less than half of trays currently collected. Recycling of this type of packaging will further add to the food grade volume, contributing towards the set targets. Moreover, by 2025 it is expected that 19 EU Member States will have DRS in place for PET bottles. Today, seven EU Member States with established DRS achieve sorted for recycling rates of 83% or higher. This implies that with the EU SUP Directive collection rate targets already in place, the collection figures, as well as quality, are likely to increase substantially in the lead up to 2025. As the EU is, on the global scale, the pioneer in terms of PET circularity thanks its extensive base of recycling companies, high-tech technologies and best practices it will have an impact on the countries across the globe by exporting its technologies and know-how. Concerning the technological development there will be more smarter packages appearing on the market which will allow for a better separation of different PET applications. Another important development will be making textile products more circular, as today PET recycling is focused on packaging. For this new stream chemical recycling will be the key technology. New infrastructure is, however, needed to handle the collection and feedstock preparation for this new circular path. Moreover, mechanical recycling with its best CO2 savings performance will remain the main practice for the industry in making PET circular, with chemical recycling being a complementary solution for new challenges to come. PETplanet: Thank you so much Casper. E N D L E S S I N N O V A T I O N S I N C E 1 9 1 9
PREFORM PRODUCTION PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net 12 Three question-survey on the current preform product situation and future challenges What’s new in preform production? PETplanet Insider gave preform producers the opportunity to describe their current situation and plans for the future. We are pleased to present the answers from Flexblow, Novapet, PDG, SGT and Plastipak. The companies answered the following three questions: 1) The last development steps in the production of preforms were the thin-wall-, the multilayer- and the use of rPET in a preform. What are the new challenges in the production of preforms? 2) Is there any specialisation in your company - what types of preforms does your company produce most often? Do you think this is the way you will continue? 3) Which markets are interesting for you, where will your company invest in the future in terms of preform production? Plastipak, Pedro Martins, Executive Managing Director Europe 1) The inclusion of rPET, with increasingly higher percentages of recycled material, often up to 100%, is still the dominant trend we see in our business. For Plastipak, a reprocessor and producer of food-grade rPET since 1998 in Europe, the inclusion of rPET in preforms is not the challenge as this has been a core capability for many years. With three recycling plants in Europe, one in the US and another one currently under construction in Spain, Plastipak is the largest producer of food-grade rPET in Europe. Reprocessing capacity is being developed at a high rate, however collection of post-consumer PET to feed the recycling plants remains a challenge, as does the leakage of material from closed loop bottle-to-bottle recycling in to applications such as textiles. Complete PREFORMS SGT & SGR Group, Frédéric Mignot, CEO 1) At SGT, we are focused on developing light weighting, sustainable and design-for-recycling preforms, three major trends for bottlers industry. Regarding light-weighting our preforms, we are currently working on a new range of ultra-lightweight PET preforms for food and non-foods applications. We are also developing a new range of preforms with the 26/22 neck finish specially designed for tethered caps. About increasing the incorporation of recycled PET, we are able to supply and incorporate 12,000 t of rPET per year in our preforms production thanks to our recycled unit - SGR - in closed-loop recycling is the ultimate goal, and so design-for-recycling is another critical component of the solution. For many years, the constant focus of our development team has been the design and creation of sustainable, fully circular packaging, and this philosophy is at the heart of every Plastipak innovation. Finally, our most important challenge is the production of the lowest carbon produc t s that we can. The design and production of low carbon preforms requi res the amalgamation of our key skills; design expertise, the latest light-weighting technologies, resin developments, inclusion of recycled content and best in class production. Underpinning this, 100% of the electricity Plastipak uses at its European plants originates from renewable sources. Our life cycle analysis service enables Plastipak to quantify environmental impacts, enabling our customers to make fully informed decisions on this basis. 2) With 15 plants across 12 countries in Europe, and many more in North and South America, Plastipak produces preforms and containers for the major applications of PET bottles and containers; beverage, food, home and personal care, industrial and more. Therefore, we cannot say that we specialise in any particular sector or in any particular product, apart from sustainable, innovative, high quality products. Our development centre looks at the whole life of the package and the requirements of the product that it destined to protect, so producing the lightest-weight, highest-performing package that is optimally designed to suit the filling platforms and logistical chains, right through to the end of life. This is the approach that has grown our business to the size it is today, and we anticipate that we will continue to follow this model. 3) Plastipak is customer-driven, and we develop long-term partnerships with our clients, many of which are multinational or leaders in their respective markets. This, combined with the contract-driven nature of our business, means that our investment is customer-centred, rather than speculative. Going forward, we anticipate this will not change, and we will grow with our customers. Plastipak will continue to make investment decisions on this basis, as well as with the long-term strategic intent of producing the lowest carbon, fully circular products possible, to support our, and our customer’s ESG aspirations and targets. www.plastipak.com
PREFORM PRODUCTION PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net 13 PDG, François Desfretier, General Manager 1) I think reduction of weight is still a challenge. It will be done by preform design and dimensions, by new PET material properties, by bottle design and by blouwing process. We are working on all these subjects in order to improve LCA of liquid packaging. Novapet, Alázaro Ires, Preform Business Manager 1) To improve new references/moulds for new markets; as i t can be edible oils and housed hold, pharmacy and cosmetic products either. An rPET unit production is shortly added to Novapet to produce our rPET preforms. food liquids with a catalog of more than 260 references in mono and multilayer preforms. In addition, we are also more and more developing preforms for household products, hygiene, cosmetics and laundry industries where demand for PET and rPET packaging is growing. 3) SGT is investing into new cosmetic range of preforms like the 24/410 neck finish, in mono or multi-layer. Another area of interest is the chi l led dairy and spreadable markets for which we develop the preform “cup”. www.sgt-pet.com 2) We are specialised in preforms for UHT milk and dairy products. And it will continue. However, we also produce a lot of preforms in PET and rPET for all beverages and liquids in general. 3) All the beverage and liquid markets are intresting for us and we wi l l continue to invest in preform production because demand will continue to grow up for lighter packaging. www.pdg-plastiques.com 2) We are highly producing mineral water and carbonated soft drinks preforms. In the latest 2-3 years we have already highly entered into new markets as related. In a few months we will face as well preforms for returnable and non-returnable 3, 4 and 5 galons (from 12 to 20 l.). Common uses are edible oil, mineral water and also fertilisers. A new challenge. 3) Any of them can be interesting for Novapet. We are continuously improving the investment into preform production (current year 2500 MU) with the aim to relocate the production capacity into other location in Spain with new preform machinery units. www.novapet.com Chalon sur Saone, in Eastern of France. To answer cosme t i c cus t ome r s ’ requests, SGT will soon be able to propose new preforms with colouration effects based on a multilayer technology. 2) 80% of our production is dedicated to package Flexblow, Gintautas Maksvytis, CEO 1) Biodegradable packaging has been a big thing for a while. FlexBlow’s R&D packaging team is collaborating with partners and researching the usage of recycled biomass in packaging. rPET preform solutions are still one of the major needs. It’s related to the mandatory requirement to increase recycled material content by 2025, as well as to the global shift towards sustainable packaging. Our recent preform development projects concentrate on shelf-life extension for 100% rPET containers. 2) FlexBlow has launched special preforms as a response to the market needs. We specialise in designing and engineering custom preforms for niche projects, i.e. hot-fill product launch, conversion from glass, multilayer PP or HDPE to PET, l ightwe i ght i ng, opt imi s i ng preforms for very complicated design, etc. Our focus on customisation allows designing preforms that requi re no further adjustment of clients’ current filling, capping, palletising, or packing lines. Our know-how in preform, container, and mould engineering and dedicated in-house prototyping infrastructure enable us to provide custom preforms that are perfectly compatible for customers’ projects. Also, we have developed a tool dedicated to customising preforms - customers who consider custom preforms can receive instant offers through the self-service website. 3) We focus on developing customised preforms for var i ous produc t s : sauces, syrups, personal and home care, nutraceut icals and cosmetics, industrial chemicals, various beverages, oils, etc. FlexBlow’s in-house mould manufacturing and injection mould sharing strategy allows custom preforms with as little as 50,000 EUR on clients’ end. www.fl exblow.com
PREFORM PRODUCTION PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net 14 Sipa optimises cooling systems on preform tooling to cut customer costs and enhance sustainability Cool performance The sums are simple: productivity goes up, costs come down, carbon footprint gets smaller when you cut cycle time in preform production. Any reduction in specific energy consumption makes the process more sustainable. Plus, optimisation of water consumption leads to further falls, not only on this precious natural element but also in energy expenditure, as it reduces the electricity consumption of the pumps that feed the cooling circuits. This opens up the possibility of using smaller pumps, with another improvement in sustainability. Engineering and manufacturing in-house a huge number of PET preform moulds every year, Sipa claims to not only understand these sums, but to know how to put them into practice. The key elements that brought Sipa to a leading position on this application are the consolidated experience both on the engineering and manufacturing steps as well as the flexibility to engineer the tooling accordingly to the specific preform design and features. Considering all variables To provide maximum flexibility, Sipa engineers consider multiple variables, including the layout of the mould -- the number of cavities, horizontal pitch, vertical pitch, and so on. What results is a robust mould design that is suitable for whatever machines the customer has on their production floor. This concept of customisation is transferred into the complete mould development process, virtually from the moment the idea of the product is born, throughout the development of the application with the customer. Cooling circuits is one of the most important aspects that is considered right from the start. It goes almost without saying that the cooling system is designed not only in relation to the size of the mould and the machine, but also in relation to the geometry of the preform. Typically, based on the productivity objectives set by the customer, and the injection machine that they have available, reference is made to a specific layout (number of cavities, pitch and arrangement), each of which has a standardised architecture: this makes it possible to achieve various objectives of compatibility between the various components (between the mould cold half and the hot runner system, for example). Sipa, however, does not limit itself to applying a standard solution likely to provide satisfactory performance for any application. Instead it intends to create an optimal level of performance to meet every customer requirement. This requires checking that the cooling water distribution diagram is ideal for the specific application and, if necessary, applying corrective solutions in order to obtain a fully optimised result. In each and every case, one important job that is always carried out is optimisation of the stack cooling to ensure the best result in all its aspects. Results: 1) diagram of the water circuit always optimised for each plate in order to provide the right amount of water for each cavity, distributing it evenly; 2) cooling design of stack components always optimised, to obtain the best cooling performance with lowest energy consumption. Customised cooling design trough the FEA Dimensioning of every individual system is strongly supported by Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to evaluate the thermal and fluid dynamics of that system. Each plate has a PREFORMS
PREFORM PRODUCTION PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net 15 personalised water diagram and each stack has a dedicated design. The reason, according to Sipa, is to make use of the best software systems currently on the market and customise them to provide high-speed mould analysis. This activity is incorporated into the engineering development flow, without having an impact on the lead time of the product. The impact that it does have is in the creation of a product with high performance, both in terms of cycle time and consumption in utilities that are all 100% tested internally before delivering the tool to the customer. Mapping characteristics Validation of the various analytical evaluations is carried out during the first stages of testing. Before conducting any functional testing, the moulds that are designed and built on the basis of these calculations are subject to measurements of the characteristic curves of flow rate and power on a special test bench. This activity is important, because it allows for validation of the project assumptions, and to increase the capacity of Sipa’s database through the acquisition of new experiences, further refining the calculation methods behind the company’s mould design capabilities. Sipa offers various adaptation kits that allow the installation of the same mould on different models of injection moulding machine to make customer operations as flexible and economical as possible. The benefits of the state-of-the-art Sipa toolings are accessible globally to all preform producers, since Sipa preform moulds can be interfaced with the vast majority of injection moulding machines that are used in this application. www.sipasolutions.com The number of cavities is one of the variables that has to be considered when optimising the preform production process. Cooling systems have to be designed in relation to the mould and machine size but also in relation to the geometry of the preform. ALL- IN- ONE-MACHINE ASSEMBLY FOLDING SLITTING TETHERED CAP CONTEXO GMBH Tel. +49 (0) 7181 / 606-100 info@contexo-gmbh.de www.contexo-automation.de
PREFORM PRODUCTION PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net 16 Sacmi’s Injection Preform System (IPS) 300 Digital, rational, profitable Recently boosted by the launch of the new IPS 300, Sacmi’s platform incorporates a new approach to the vision concept, paving the way for total quality control. This is achieved via software-controlled systems that make full use of the latest AI, states Sacmi. PREFORMS Preform production Sacmi is well known for its rigid packaging solutions. In 2012, Sacmi started diversification in the preform field by developing the IPS platform. The first solution in the family, specifically designed for bottlers, was the IPS 220. This was followed by the IPS 400, developed for converters and designed to maximise performance in terms of productivity and versatile utilisation of different mould types. Now, 10 years later, 140 Sacmi systems running worldwide. The new IPS 300 The decision to develop the IPS 300 was driven by a need to optimise the process on current needs of the industry. Like the IPS 400, what makes this machine special is the interchangeability of the moulds, including those produced by third parties, provided they are equipped with external air and coolant connections. Flexible and modular, the machine can mount the plasticising unit that best suits the preform type being produced (from 625 to 1,220 kg/hour). It has also been designed to drive down specific consumption, which remains below 0.2 kW/kg. Several options are available to design solutions based on individual production needs; these include the dye and additive mixer, the injection cycle completion kit (in the event of a power outage) and the piping and water filtration process control sensor kit. Automation The latest generation of IPS machines feature a Beckhoff TwinCat architecture with EtherCat fieldbus. This ‘infrastructure’ takes process control to advanced levels, opening the industry to IoT opportunities (selflearning and predictive checks). The solution adopted for the aftercooler allows the vision system - the PVS 156 from the Sacmi computer vision range - to be installed directly on the machine. This results constant product quality monitoring, for example on the 96-cavity solution the check time for an entire moulding is cut to about 5 minutes. This latest development aims to increase the coverage and accuracy of routine checks. It performes in a set time according to the quantity of preforms present and the complexity of inspection and allows the company to integrate preform quality control directly on the line. This differs from the common practice of post-production inspection, which carries the risk and relative cost of having to re-check entire, potentially faulty batches. Preform Vision Systems (PVS) Featuring a patented polarised light inspection device and AI, the PVS systems have been developed to provide comprehensive production tracking; this allows users, for example, to read the cavity number and correlate statistical data concerning potential defects. Hence, alongside the new PVS156, Sacmi provides the PVS002, a comprehensive unit designed to help technicians carry out routine production checks in quality control labs. It can perform all-round inspection of the mouth, finish, bottom and body, measure weight and read cavity numbers. The PVS003, instead, is an in-line solution downstream from the press that provides inspection rates up to 90,000 pph. The PVS10 off-line unit, operating at up to 72,000 pph, complements the new self-guided Sacmi D.R.I.V.A. system, which performs automatic
PREFORM PRODUCTION PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net 17 on-line size recognition and changeover (PVS10 and Sacmi PLO030 positioner); this solution shriks size changeover times to under 1 minute, streamlining the operator’s work. The software platform offers the latest CVS 22 version and enables interoperability with the Sacmi Computer Vision family of PVS systems. Focus on moulds The new IPS 300 can mount moulds with 24 cavities for 48mm necks or as many as 96 cavities for 30mm necks. Thanks to the nanopitch patent, co-developed with partner company MHT, the Sacmi range features the ability to increase productivity on small formats as it allows as many as 144 cavities on the IPS 400 and 128 on the IPS 300. Productivity The IPS 300 combines short lock-to-lock times with 2.1 s with the Cool+, the inside cooling system; The cooling system improves the thermal efficiency of the cooler, especially with thick-walled preforms. The userfriendly press interface simplifies the worker’s tasks, especially start-up and changeovers. All auxiliary units can be controlled remotely and, thanks to the new Smart Care packages, machine data can be linked to Sacmi servers to implement proactive scheduled maintenance services. Integrated design services In its long history, Sacmi has developed over 500 cap and preform designs for customers worldwide. A sharp focus on design and personalisation provides further opportunities for customers, as the lab’s know-how lets them thoroughly test materials and solutions prior to actual industrialisation, ensuring their investment yields the anticipated results. Recently, the Sacmi Rigid Packaging Technologies BU established the new Packaging Center. This operates in concert with Sacmi Beverage to provide customers with close support for every aspect of preform design, in synergy with all the upstream and downstream aspects of the process and in keeping with today’s sustainability, quality and customisation goals. www.sacmi.com Preform Vision Systems: Featuring a patented polarised light inspection device and AI, the PVS systems have been developed to provide comprehensive production tracking. September 12-16, 2022 Munich, Germany Hall C5, Booth 440 Innovative solutions for special preforms PMC units for all major PET systems German Technology
PREFORM PRODUCTION PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 04/22 www.petpla.net 18 AI and optical quality inspection solution for rPET bottles Automated quality assurance Doloop, a leading European PET packaging producer, has partnered with high-tech company Sprana to create a new quality inspection solution for beverage bottle preforms. The technology is claimed to allow the use of higher percentages of recycled material, while ensuring high product quality. This new system can inspect PET preforms at very early stages of production and provide information on quality before they are blown into bottles. Used inline, it allows detection of any defect that may have occurred during the production process. AI (artificial intelligence) driven technology enables automated, continuous quality assurance. PET bottles and increasing interest in recycled PET CO2 emissions created during production processes have a significant environmental impact; which can be reduced by greater use of recycled PET derived from collected post-consumer bottles. The EU Single-Use Plastic Directive requires PET bottles for beverages to include 25% of recycled materials by 2025, and 30% by 2030. These requirements create a need for methods and tools that can improve and guarantee high quality control and accurate analysis in the manufacturing process. The greatest challenges in increasing usage of recycled PET in preforms are: maintaining high product quality; guaranteed efficient production; and ensuring optimal performance of PET bottles in later phases. Quality control during manufacturing is thus becoming increasingly crucial in the plastics sector. Quality inspection solution Doloop has already invested € 7 million in the last seven years in quality assurance, including new inspection technologies. The use of recycled material increases colour variations. It can be difficult to ensure consistent production and product quality as recycled PET colour tends to differ from batch to batch. This is because of different sources of PET bottles, collected in different markets, being used as inputs in the recycling process. Doloop has been able to overcome this challenge by partnering with Sprana, an expert in visual inspection technologies and AI. This R&D project was supported by the EEA and Norway Grants Program for Business Development, Innovation and SMEs. During the project, the company carried out research and experimental activities to improve the control of PET preforms using artificial intelligence technologies, while increasing the use of recycled materials. Realtime monitoring and analysis allowed much faster and more efficiently inspection. Manual inspection of PET preforms is inefficient, time consuming and increases the possibility of defective production. Doloop maintains that, by optimising and improving quality control at preform stage, manufacturers are able to reduce human involvement in quality assurance and move personnel to more demanding production processes. The project aimed not only to increase the use of recycled PET in packaging products, but also to take another step towards the goal of a circular economy in the plastic packaging industry. Image recognition systems and artificial intelligence-based quality control systems and inline colour analysers have been installed in nine Doloop injection lines. Finished preforms’ colour can now be analysed and evaluated continuously during the production process. Automating the quality inspection process with the new technology saved up to 89,760 manhours of labour per year, according to Doloop’s CEO. Since introducing the technologies in 2019, the number of quality claims due to discolouration have been reduced by as much as 50 per cent, states the company, and add that clients have found that: bottling lines could work with high efficiency and had few stoppages, due to better quality of preforms with rPET content; PREFORMS Different PET preforms with different percentages of recycled materials (f.l.t.r. 25-50-75-100%) (photo: Krones)
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