All around the world, SIPA and its customers are innovating in many ways to use PET to produce and use more sustainable packaging. In the pages that follow in this issue of SIPA SPEAKS, you will find several case studies that show how bottle makers are using novel technologies to help reduced material usage, enhance recyclability of PET packaging, and reduce consumption of energy.
Ho.Bag, for example, uses one of our highly energy-efficient ECS SP 25 injection-stretch-blow molding systems to produce cosmetic bottles incorporating post-consumer recycled PET; it also incorporates a special pigment in dark bottles so that they are easier to pick out in automatic sorting systems than bottles containing carbon black. In Turkey, major plastics processor Özler Plastik, which places strong emphasis on reducing its carbon footprint, chose a SIPA SFL4/4 EVO system to blow mold monolayer and multilayer bottles for sauces after it came out top in a benchmarking exercise for energy consumption.
Ice River Sustainable Solutions in Canada, a pioneer in processing 100% post-consumer PET recyclate into bottles for water, and already a user of SIPA’s XFORM preform injection molding system, now also uses an SFL MAXI 2 stretch-blow molding machine to make lightweight 19-liter water cooler bottles that SIPA helped design with an integrated logo, so no separate labelling is needed, making them easier to recycle the bottle after use.
In Cambodia, PET packaging manufacturer UST chose an XFORM 350, complete with a 72-cavity mold, for production of preforms for water and beverage bottles, not only because it runs and runs, but also because its high efficiency helps UST save time, cooling water, and energy. And in Africa, Angolan agricultural company Carrinho has invested in a complete bottle production, filling and packaging line from SIPA that will help it on its way to manage all stages of the value chain in food cereals and pulses, with a mission to create an ecosystem that promotes national production, always with a sense of social responsibility.
Meanwhile, in our PETWORK feature, we talk about how SIPA is pushing back the boundaries of what products can be packaged in PET. In the perfumes sector, for example, major brands are looking at PET instead of glass, partly because they need less energy to produce and transport. We also take a look at what SIPA packaging designers have been up to in developing new concepts that follow the philosophy of AWArPET, which stands for an environmentally conscious approach to the design and production of PET packaging, incorporating the principle of the “3Rs” – Reduce, Recycle, Reuse. Take a look at the beautiful bottles for water they have created, and imagine yourself on a beach in the sun as the waves lap over you – but just remember to take the bottle with you when you go back home!
We are also talking about technology, and how flexible thinking helps keep SIPA ahead across multiple segments. In mold making, for example, we show how an 84-cavity preform mold – something only SIPA makes – represents a much more cost-efficient alternative to the “regular” 72-cavity molds that often run on 250-tonne injection molding machines like the XFORM 250. Output: capital spend ratio is around 13% higher when producing preforms for 1.5L bottles – outstanding, no? Meanwhile, when it comes to blowing the bottles themselves, there are some new kids on the block in the form of XTRA BIG 4, 5, and 6, for making bottles up to 12L in volume, quickly and energy-efficiently. And speaking of blocks – or blocs – XTRA BIG can be integrated with SIPA’s BigFill volumetric gravity-filling monobloc in a new version of the SincroBloc system, which has important advantages in such areas as reduced handling and cleaning requirements.
All this, and much more, in your new issue of SIPA SPEAKS. Have a good read!