Sam: This Company has been through the ringer. It's a risk takers only pick. I am a big risk taker, but just looking right now. If you had not noticed. Rexam just purchased the plastic operations from OI. It has been picking up numerous plastic operations. Rexam owns the remnants of American Can who I worked for 1978-1982. Constar also used to be owned by OI.
Message 23614629
some old pet news with Constar and others
Niche beverage markets challenge today's PET packages: soda and water are the bread and butter of PET but untapped markets are advancing new technologies. (Pet Packaging).
From: Food & Drug Packaging | Date: 12/1/2002 | Author: Barry, Christopher
Food & Drug Packaging
Pick up a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle--like those used for soft clanks such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, or any of the bottled waters out there. Examine the container, roll it around in your hands, check out its profile.
At first blush, there doesn't seem to be much going on.
So the question begs--what has been going owl with PET since the cash return capital for this plastic peaked in 1995 when all the major carbonated soft drink (CSD) manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon, bent on converting to plastic for their packaging? Scarily, in 1997, things didn't bode well for PET at all--when returns dipped to dangerously low levels. But, since then, PET has made a steady recovery, while transitioning from explosive growth to a more mature plastic.
The key to maturity comes down to two factors:
1. Using PET for new applications.
2. Developing and improving technologies that can help shift PET into almost ignored markets--including sports drinks, nutraceutical beverages and, that elusive and holiest grail of PET packaging, beer.
Not that soda and bottled water are dead--there are technological improvements in those areas that are boosting interest from converters and consumers alike.
A plastic can?
PET experts agree on one point--that if there is going to be penetration in new markets, there must be improvements in productivity and these come from changes and/or improvements in technology. Says Barnaby Wallace, global purchasing director for Coca-Cola, "It's technology that will offer opportunities to create sustainable growth for PET by improving economics and performance."
As Coca-Cola increases its share in the non-carbonated drinks market, it's addressing improvements in PET performance to keep ahead of alternative packaging formats that are going head-to-head with PET. As improvements in polypropylene and the influx of aluminum resealable beverage cans are gaining in popularity--such as Snapple Beverage Group's brushed aluminum bottle for its Mistic Real Energy line of energy drinks--Coca-Cola is making a stronger commitment to the growth of PET. According to Wallace, technological improvements in PET include: better permeability, stiffness, protection from ultraviolet (UV) light and acid aldehyde and recycling.
Another untapped area Coca-Cola is eyeing is penetration into 10-and 12-ounce PET bottles for carbonated soft drinks. However, finding a low-cost 3-5x C[O.sub.2] barrier in smaller PET bottles is the current challenge.
However, there is a new PET 12-ounce can looming on file horizon. This container is not only shaped like a can but it also fills, stacks and ships like a can. The container combines its PET body with a standard 202 aluminum end, so it opens and dispenses in a way familiar to consumers. The key is that the can-shaped container is see-through, so brightly colored beverages can be showcased alluring consumers to the product.
Rotary flange trimming machines are a breakthrough trimming solution used to produce PET "cans" from narrow neck preforms with a flange suitable for double seaming of pressurized products.
Rated at up to 800 containers per minute, the flange trimmers can trim to a fixed flange diameter without burrs, steps or slivers for PET containers between 50-mm to 110-mm in diameter. Modular trim stations are designed for easy removal and simple maintenance, as well as interchangeability between models. Additional modules allow for neck curling, pressure/leak testing, vision inspection, pressure sensitive label application and more. PET cans are available from Owens-Illinois Plastics Group and trimming machines are available from Belvac Production Machinery Inc.
Water flows to PET
Besides the CSD market, the smaller, single-serve PET bottle is strongly emerging in a supposedly staid area--bottled water. Renewed excitement in the water arena is happening for PET in two notable ways:
1. Nantze Springs has recently introduced an 8.5-ounce water bottle, supplied by Inmark, that can withstand flash pasteurization to achieve an economically and microbially stable fill without impacting color and flavor profiles. The water is marketed specifically for kids.
2. The Suntory Water Group, in conjunction with Constar, has developed the "Vend Bottle," a small-profile, high-shouldered, 11.5-ounce PET bottle that can be dispensed in a standard vending machine normally used for cans (see "`Vendable' PET water bottle taps into new sales" on page 49).
Besides adding excitement to established PET markets--CSD and water--other categories are begging for conversion to PET packaging ... and improved technology is key to making this happen.
Drinkable nutritionals
One largely untapped arena for PET can be found in drinkable nutritionals. Drinkable nutritionals are a subset of functional foods making up about $7 billion of that $95 billion global market.
Right now shoppers over the age of 50 are significantly more likely to base their behavior on health related considerations. It is inevitable that the influx of drinkable nutritionals will only expand.
Drinkable nutritionals include such products as fruit smoothies (think Tropicana Smoothies), drinkable yogurt (such as General Mills' Yoplait Nourich), vitamin fortified juices (Pulse) and waters, dietary supplements and flavored and/or carbonated dairy products (Mac Farm Inc.'s RPM[R]).
Recent PET technologies for these types of products are addressing concerns about protecting nutritional value, colors and flavors. For instance UV rays can negatively affect vitamins, flavors and colors in much the same way they can damage a person's skin. Improved gas barrier solutions and/or other technological advancements such as extended shelf life (ESL) processing can result in excessive exposure to UV light, which can negate the positive benefits of fortified beverages.
Currently there are PET resins specifically designed for the nutritional beverage market, providing essential UV absorbers to protect these products from ultraviolet light. Through a combination of co-monomer and processing optimizations, there are PET products available to enable blow molding at different temperature conditions. UV absorbing dye can now be chemically bound to PET during the polymerization reaction as opposed to adding a dye to the polymer melt. The chemically bound dye doesn't extract or migrate to the surface allowing converters to obtain consistent UV performance with their PET containers. These UV protected polymers also don't affect cycle times when used in existing injection molding tooling.
Voridian, Amcor PET Packaging, Constar, Graham Packaging, Pechiney Plastics, Schott HiCotec, SIG CorpoPlast, Owens-Illinois and PBM Plastics are currently working on advances in PET developmental technologies for product protection and barrier.
Other technologies include machines that can inject premeasured barrier material into PET preforms via metering pistons that act like mechanical hypodermic needles. If the premeasured reservoirs aren't filled and discharged at the right point of the machine cycle, an automatic shutdown will occur. Barrier accuracy is key and this technology reduces having to inspect every preform to ensure that the barrier material is present and accurate. Owens-Illinois Plastics Group provides this particular application.
PET bottles of beer on the shelf
Another market longing for growth in PET is beer. According to a study done by Sander Hanson A/S, in the world market for beverage in containers, beer covers about 42% of all containers. But, beer packaged in PET is below 1%. Consequently, the market for PET packaged beer is still wide open.
Beer has to be pasteurized to prolong shelf life. Tunnel pasteurization is the most effective because line efficiencies are generally higher and energy consumption is minimal. It is also reliable, doesn't jeopardize product quality and is cost efficient. More than 80% of beer consumed from containers is tunnel pasteurized. But subjecting PET to tunnel pasteurizing poses some challenges, especially when it comes to the inculcation of heat during the process.
Tunnel pasteurization has a thermal impact on the product and its containers. Traditionally, PET is unstable at temperatures beyond 62[degrees]C. But, combined with a C[O.sub.2] ballooning effect during pasteurizing, PET can become unstable when temperatures approach 60[degrees] C. To accommodate for this instability, something has to be done so standard PET used for beer can withstand the temperature and rising pressure at 65[degrees]C.
One solution is heat-setting the PET by increasing the crystalinity of the material. Blow molding machines have been developed with molds to heat-set PET with high heat and then introduce a rinsing process with air that quickly cools the mold. However, preforms are heavier and the process is slow, making output lower. A special PET material is required as well as a special neck design on the bottle.
But the result is a bottle with a thicker wall that can be pasteurized at 65[degrees]C. To minimize C[O.sub.2] ballooning, more headspace can be introduced into the bottle, giving the C[O.sub.2] room to expand.
The problem with beer growth in PET falls into the value chain cost of plastic meeting the value chain cost of cans and glass. Simply, glass and cans are cheaper. Plus one large hurdle in PET growth are consumers and their perceptions that beer tastes better in glass--particularly when you get into on-premise consumption of beer where glass is the preferred package. However, carts are a good target for plastic. The drawback to plastics here, however, is that they have to compete with low-cost filling and distribution of cans.
Consequently, in the U.S., beer in PET has made its biggest influx as a venue product--plastic bottles are showing up at sporting and concert arenas. Consumer acceptance has to catch up with the package to develop a profitable demand in the retail beer market sector.
To be sure, there are hurdles for PET marketplace opportunities including finding economically feasible retortable PET, increased barrier protection and cost-effective aseptic packaging, which is a growing area. But new PET technologies ultimately rely on one major driver--consumer acceptance and convenience.
RELATED ARTICLE: `Vendable' PET water bottle taps into new sales.
Bottled water in PET is so commonplace that nobody gives the package a second look when encountered on the market shelf. In fact, water bottled in PET has barely garnered a second thought--that is, until now. And the key to looking at bottled water anew lies in distribution, which is exactly what the Suntory Water Group has done to boost water sales while providing consumers with a healthy beverage alternative to soda.
The idea was to come up with a PET bottle that can be distributed from the same vending machines as 12-ounce cans--distribution especially prevalent in school markets where vending machines are present in 43% to 74% of all elementary, middle and high school sectors.
Suntory went to Constar--its primary PET bottle supplier--to brainstorm and, ultimately, develop a deceptively simple yet intrinsically complex bottle design, which came to be known as the "Vend Bottle." The PET bottle design had to be based on the physical design parameters set by the requirements of vending machines for beverage cans.
The first hurdle was arriving at a 12-ounce fluid capacity within absolute height and diameter restrictions. An earlier design concept had maximized the container capacity at less than 10-ounces, which wasn't acceptable to Suntory. Another issue was Suntory's restriction that allowed only using a 38-millimeter closure on the bottle.
The only way to answer these challenges was to raise the bottle's shoulder height, which was accomplished in two ways. First, Suntory adopted a low profile, 38-mm tamper-evident closure from Bedcap. Since the cap is shorter than most closures used in the bottled water market, this instantly allowed an increase in the battle's shoulder height.
Second, the bottle had to be run on one-step equipment that would allow the elimination of the neck support ring, which--for handling reasons--is typically found on two-step reheat and blow processes common to other PET water bottles. This change reduced the bottle's neck straight area, allowing the shoulder to be raised. The result was the ability to get the container capacity to 11.5-ounces.
The bottle also had to be designed to withstand the rigors of traditional distribution while standing up to column stacking--that is, stacking bottles on their sides--in vending machines. Gram weight and sidewall thickness were optimized using a proprietary computer program called Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to predict container performance. Plus, Suntory doses packages with liquid nitrogen to enhance rigidity.
Says Cam Glover, product manager for Suntory Water Group, "We are excited to be able to offer contemporary [bottled water] options in markets not open to us before."
The PET Vend Bottle is available across all of Suntory's regional brand names, including Belmont Springs, Crystal Springs, Kentwood Springs, Hinckley Springs and Sierra Springs. The Vend Bottle was also recognized by the Institute of Packaging Professionals (laPP) as a 2002 AmeriStar Award winner in the beverage category.
Bericap North America Inc.
905-634-2248; www.bericap.com
Crown Cork & Seal, Constar Div.
215-552-3722; www.constar.net
RELATED ARTICLE: Conference presents `ground-breaking' PET developments.
Nova-Pack Americas 2003 Conference on Polyester Containers for Food & Beverages will present emerging technologies in PET packaging. Sponsored by Schotland Business Research, the conference will be held on Feb. 3-4 in Orlando, Fla.
Among the developments to be announced are two new barrier coating processes. One is an integrated PET stretch blow molding and plasma coating system that distributes a uniform coating thickness and reduces substrate temperatures to minimize thermal damage. The other is a new proprietary open-atmosphere chemical combustion vapor deposition (CCVD) process that eliminates expensive vacuum chambers or curing ovens required for other thin-film deposition processes.
For information on the conference or to register, call Schotland Business Research or visit the web site.
Schotland Business Research
609-466-9191; www.schotland.com
For more information
Amcor PET Packaging
734-428-9741; www.amcor.com
Belvac Production Machinery Inc.
800-423-5822; www.belvac.com
Graham Packaging
717-849-8500;
www.grahampackaging.com
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