PET Packaging Shines at NPE

CaPETall is the trademarked name of Alpek Polyester’s impressive new patented PET cap that greatly simplifies PET bottle recycling by replacing the industry standard polypropylene cap for bottled water and carbonated soft drinks.

A result of a partnership with Husky, the drop-in cap maintains the mechanical, performance, and aesthetic properties of PET.

An Alpek manager told us that it required a “significant capital expenditure” to achieve. Commercial rollout of the PET cap is expected next year.

The growing legislative push for tethered caps makes the introduction of a fully recyclable, integrated PET package all the timelier.

SiroPack Respect Technology for PET thermoform trays offered a truly unexpected angle on consumer engagement. It was one of the most novel packaging offerings we found.

Although seal inspection of thermoform trays is nothing new, the way that SiroPack Italia leverages that technology is both unusual and unique.

After a tray is filled and just prior to sealing, a roller applies a polymeric adhesive with a UV-visible additive to the tray flange. Film sealing is done in a light-protected enclosure equipped with a camera and UV light positioned overhead. The adhesive’s UV-responsive blue color makes it easy to see whether the flange seal is intact or not.

RICK LINGLE

That image is associated with a unique quick-response code printed on a thermal-transfer label applied to the film. The label is also printed with standard product information.

Working conjunction with a custom mobile phone app, the QR code permits the consumer to view an image of their tray’s seal.

While one could assume miss-sealed trays would be detected by the manufacturer, another layer of food safety that directly assures consumer confidence doesn't hurt.

Michele Di Genova, a food engineer with the company, says SiroPack Respect Technology has been in the market for years in Europe and more recently was introduced into Canada. One of the next steps would be to bring it to US consumers, he suggests.

A sustainability plus is that the PET tray/PET film combo makes for 100% recyclable packaging.

Packaging wine in plastic bottles has been done before, but Italy’s SIPA SpA added a new twist. Working with Bangkok, Thailand–based resin supplier Indorama Ventures, the blow molder developed the world’s first PET bottle for sparkling wine.

Designed to mimic the exact proportions of a traditional wine bottle, the fully recyclable, shatterproof La Spumante bottle weighs just 90 grams, or about 20% of a comparable glass bottle. The optimal weight allows up to 33% more bottles per truck, which helps to lower the product’s carbon footprint.

It also can be run on filling lines designed for glass bottles, according to SIPA Communications Manager Martina Bottarel (shown). The OxyClear barrier PET resin, the company said, delivers a shelf life for the wine of some 24 months.

The product also won a 2024 WorldStar Global Packaging Award from the World Packaging Organisation in the alcoholic beverages category.

Readers are likely familiar with sustainability improvements for containers, bottles, and other types of packaging, but sustainable improvements also extend to the machinery that molds or manufactures packaging.

PET bottle manufacturing has been made more efficient in the step just prior to blowmolding. KHS displayed a simple but clever 2-lane aka Double Gate (DoGa) PET preform near-infrared (NIR) heating breakthrough launched about a year ago. The booth display model shown above substituted red LEDs for the real deal.

According to Ingo Volkers, KHS’ head of beverage team PET Americas, the shared middle heating section permits two lanes instead of the prior one. DoGa offers double the throughput with up to 40% in energy savings — or an estimated 100,000 less kilowatt hours of electricity — for high-volume customers like Coca-Cola, which can produce 80,000 to 90,000 PET bottles per hour, Volkers says.

A new twist in packaging combines a source-reduced, thin-wall PET cup with a PET film applied via in-mold labeling. The result of the partnership of StackTeck Systems, Netstal Machinery, and others is complete and seamless recyclability of the most widely recycled polymer.

The PET packaging replaces polypropylene food cups commonly used for dairy and other food categories. It improves transparency to improve shelf impact, too.

The PET cup offers barrier and recycling advantages versus PP — US recycling rates for PET hover around 30% — while directly addressing the rPET shortage due to high demand by major brands.

The PET cup uses 15% less material versus a comparable PP cup.

A new twist in packaging combines a source-reduced, thin-wall PET cup with a PET film applied via in-mold labeling. The result of the partnership of StackTeck Systems, Netstal Machinery, and others is complete and seamless recyclability of the most widely recycled polymer.

The PET packaging replaces polypropylene food cups commonly used for dairy and other food categories. It improves transparency to improve shelf impact, too.

The PET cup offers barrier and recycling advantages versus PP — US recycling rates for PET hover around 30% — while directly addressing the rPET shortage due to high demand by major brands.

The PET cup uses 15% less material versus a comparable PP cup.