PREFORM PRODUCTION PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 04/23 www.petpla.net 14 Sustainable development of required preforms Always in tune with the times The last stop on our Editour takes us to PDG Plastiques. The PET converter is for more than 30 years active in the PET industry, being one of the pioneers in Europe. As a family-owned company, integrity, reliability and partnership are key to PDG Plastiques. The company is located south of Paris and has a subsidiary plant in Algeria. It is producing approx. 2 billion preforms consolidated. Blowing activities represent approx. 70 million bottles per year. We met: Philippe Blonda, Business Development PDG-Plastiques (left) and François Desfretier, CEO (right) In a packaging world dominated by large companies, PDG-Plastiques seeks its place by dedicating itself to special challenges. PDG produces special solutions for the dairy industry, e.g. for barrier containers. Also especially small and very large complex preforms. Two years ago, for example, PDG launched a range of large containers with 5, 10 and 20 l capacities and mouths of 48 and 63mm. Light base technology In the constant struggle to save material, PDG has developed a light base technology, Mint-Tec, together with a partner. By applying this technology, PDG removes more than 10% material from the bottom of the preform. Especially for heavy preforms it is a very interesting technology and being implemented for a new 20 l preform. Recently PDG introduced this technology for a 5 l container for a wellknown French mineral water company. Mint-Tec enables 10% material savings in the bottom of the preform. Alternatives to HDPE or carton packaing A two-layer preform blocking light entrance: Prelactia light barrier for sterilised milk PDG Plastiques and its partners also developed Prelactia, a special injection process, leading to a 2-layer preform, where the inner layer blocks the light entrance. The outer layer covers and gives the bottle a nice white appearance. Since the introduction of the Oxy Block barrier, PDG provides also a barrier against oxygen ingress. Prelactia is offering a solution to the dairy industry in finding alternatives to aseptic HDPE and carton solutions, for any kind of dairy products. It can be combined with recycled PET material as well. The technology used enables PDG Plastiques to comply with European directives requiring a 25% recycling rate for PET bottles by 2025 and 30% by 2030. A different mindset in the green economy, as one of the first in Europe, PDG introduced one and a half years ago the 26/22 light neck finish for carbonated and still beverages, saving almost 2 g as a total package solution towards the standard 1881 finish. The current material price increase led to the fact that brand owners now introducing this new neck finish on large scale. Enhancing material functionality As a researching and forwardlooking company PDG is involved in a project with Keiryo Packaging. Keiryo Packaging technology for plastic processing integrates molecular ordering into the polymer melt, triggering “flowenhanced morphological changes” in the polymer mass with the aim of enhancing material functionality. The KP technology combines a software and a hardware component. It triggers a phenomenon called Flow-Enhanced Nucleation and Induced Crystallisation (Fenic). The hardware is a 3D printed insert – the physical component of the technology, that is retrofitted on standard injection machinery. The inside Keiryo Packaging technology integrates molecular ordering into the polymer melt, triggering “flow-enhanced morphological changes” in the polymer mass. PREFORMS
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