BOTTLE MAKING 12 PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 11/23 www.petpla.net A holistic approach to packaging design and development From concept to finished bottle Sipa’s capabilities in systems to produce preforms by injection moulding and using the Xtreme extrusion-injection-compression moulding technology are well-known; so is its position in bottle stretch-blow moulding, with both reheat systems and single-step injection-stretch-blow moulding, in moulds for preforms and for bottles to complement these moulding systems. The company’s design experts incorporate all this knowledge into the development of preforms and bottles, considering all the key parameters on the journey from the idea to a successful product. The company has built up a network of design centres across the world, in Europe, the USA, and China where a global team of experts, including 15 fully qualified industrial designers are busy. To produce bottle designs, many aspects have to be taken into account: What will the container contain? What specific markets it is aimed at? What is the sales strategy of the customer? Sipa’s design and engineering experts do not only have to consider the look of a container, but also how the look fits with the identity of the packaged product, how the container feels and behaves, how easy it is to produce, how it performs on the filling line, in storage, and in transport; and last but not least, how much it all costs. Market expertise The design and development team can apply its expertise not only to the container, but also to the label and/or other forms of decoration, and to the secondary packaging. Because the design centres are located in crucial end-user markets, staffed with experts steeped in local knowledge, they are positioned to create and develop ideas that best meet the needs of the specific customer and the target users. Local knowledge includes understanding of how markets are today, and how they are likely to develop, as consumer tastes change, and as new rules and regulations are introduced. In Europe, for example, environmental legislation is calling for single use bottles with tethered caps – caps that do not detach from the bottle when they are unscrewed, and so are less likely to disappear when the bottle has been emptied. New cap designs are likely to have important implications for bottle neck designs, and Sipa is already testing new versions. All these requirements and mechanisms to be considered go well beyond design. Sipa supports its design team with technical knowledge, assistance with market research and route-to-market strategies that will help the customer bring an idea into a commercial reality, sitting on the shop shelf in short time. This means that Sipa can speak to its customers from all points on the packaging circle – and it really is a circle, because Sipa has industryleading experience and expertise in multiple aspects of recycling, from design for recycling, all the way through to processing postconsumer recyclate into good-as-new containers. Design for recycling Sipa strictly follows the Recyclass Design for Recycling guidelines established by EPBP, the European PET Bottle Platform. This voluntary industry initiative provides PET bottle design guidelines for recycling, BOTTLE MAKING Luxury mineral water bottle engineered by Sipa for high speed production
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