18.03.2009 - Optimised weight reduction for still water caps
The magic word on everybody's lips in the PET container business right now is "light weighting" - prompted as much as anything by the increasing price of raw materials. Filling companies who are in a position to move "off standard", i.e. who do not need to use standard preforms and closures have the potential for additional cost savings. A good example is found in a North American mineral water bottler who was filling about 7 million bottles per day. For the 0.5 litre bottle Corvaglia, working closely with the client, developed an individual cap that weighed less than 1 gram, compared with the 1.6 grams of the original cap. The bottle neck finish was reduced in weight from 3.15 grams to 1.75 grams. With an estimated PET price of 1 Euro per kilogram, and about 0.95 Euros per kilogram of HDPE, this lightweighting exercise resulted in a calculated saving of about 14,000 Euros per day. Standard Alaska 3.2 gr. (right) compared to a new neck 1.75 gr. (left) Building on this individual customer solution, which also had to meet certain ancillary requirements related to existing bottles, Corvaglia then developed an optimised still water neck finish/cap concept. "This latest closure has a better performance, but with the same weight saving", says Romeo Corvaglia. The tamper band is torn off completely before there is any leakage from the bottle. "We call this BTL, i.e. Break-Then-Leak". Corvaglia's improved "Still Water BTL Short Neck" will be launched with a client in Outlook for 2010 For the period from 2010 onwards Romeo Corvaglia expects to see 0.5 litre bottles in the 6 gram category. In terms of caps he is aiming at 0.6 grams. Enquiries: Corvaglia Group - President Romeo Corvaglia: romeo@corvaglia.ch, ph: +41 71 973 77 77